Come one, come all! Meta to bring NFT coining and trading to Instagram

by · November 3, 2022

Social media platform Instagram is set to introduce a number of nonfungible token (NFT)-related tools that will allow creators to create, display and sell NFTs.

Instagram parent Meta said on Nov. 2 during its Creator Week 2022 event that the platform would allow creators to create “digital collectibles” and sell them “both on and off Instagram.”

Meta says creators will have an “end-to-end toolset” from creating, displaying and then selling NFTs within the platform and has selected the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain as an initial partner for this functionality.

Concept images of Meta’s NFT interface for Instagram. Picture: Meta

It says a “small group” of US-based creators will be eligible to test the new features and expansion to other countries will follow, but gave no information on when this will take place.

In addition to its current lineup of supported blockchains that include Ethereum (ETH), Flow (FLOW), and Polygon Meta, it also revealed its support for the Solana (SOL) blockchain and its popular Phantom wallet.

Support for video NFTs will also be added, and metadata such as names and descriptions for selected NFT collections will be pulled from the OpenSea NFT marketplace.

Meta’s head of trading and financial technology, Stephane Kasriel, said that Meta will not charge fees for creating or selling NFTs until 2024, and blockchain gas fees for buyers will be covered by Meta “at launch”, but did not clarify how long the launch timeline wanted to be.

Kasriel said NFT transactions would still be subject to “app store fees”, referring to Apple’s 30% commission on NFT sales that has been heavily criticized for being more expensive than the average 2.5% commission enforced by NFT -marketplaces such as OpenSea.

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With this, buyers apparently won’t be able to buy Instagram NFTs using crypto through the Instagram app, as both Apple and Google only support in-app purchases using fiat currencies and both prohibit buttons, external links, or other actions that give users a way to bypass their commissions.

Meta has not disclosed how much of a commission it plans to take from NFT sales, or what its creator royalty system will look like, it is unknown if it will follow the recent push by NFT marketplaces to go opt-in royalty models.

Cointelegraph contacted Meta to clarify the commission and royalty structure, but did not immediately receive a response.