Less than a year after launch, Meta to discontinue NFT support

Meta Platforms Inc. has announced that it is ending support for non-fungible tokens on Instagram and Facebook less than a year after launching support for the digital collectibles.

Meta was first rumored to be working on NFTs in January 2022 before testing them on Instagram in May and launching international support in August. With NFTs on Meta, users can display NFTs on their Instagram photos and connect to third-party crypto wallets, with support for NFTs minted on the Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains.

Connecting to third-party services and allowing users to display their NFTs is about as far as Meta’s offering went. Meta’s goal at launch was “to give the community access to this new class of digital assets by aggregating and displaying them on the platform.”

Fast forward to March 2023 and a crypto winter with a fall in the value of NFTs has seen interest in NFTs as an asset class almost fall off a cliff. Add to the mix that the US economy is faltering, layoffs are increasing and last week alone, three banks failed and Meta has more important things to focus on than supporting NFTs.

How it was announced is perhaps also an indication of how little Meta ever cared. Instead of an official announcement came the news on Twitter from Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s Head of Trade and FinTech.

“We’re taking a hard look at our company-wide priorities to increase our focus,” writes Kasriel, before adding that “We’re discontinuing digital collectibles (NFT) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses .”

Along with some platitudes to partners, exactly what Meta is winding down in terms of NFTs isn’t clear, as Kasriel adds that the company will continue to “look forward to supporting the many NFT creators who continue to use Instagram and Facebook for to amplify their work.” Kasriel also noted that Meta was focused on creating monetization opportunities for creators and businesses, particularly in messaging and Instagram Reels.

With a shelf life of less than 12 months, Meta’s NFT effort ends with a whimper and not a bang. It is unlikely to be the last company to leave the space.

Image: Meta