Meta Expands NFT Support on Instagram to 100 Countries – TechCrunch
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the company is beginning its international expansion of NFT support on Instagram. The expansion follows the social network’s first NFT test launch in May. With this expansion, users and businesses in more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas will now be able to share their NFTs on Instagram. Prior to the expansion, support was only available to select creators in the United States.
The company also announced today that Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet are now accepted as third-party wallet compatible for use. Instagram is also expanding its supported blockchains to include Flow.
Instagram’s NFT functionality allows users to connect to a digital wallet, share NFTs, and automatically tag both a creator and collector for attribution. You can share NFTs in your main Instagram feed, Stories or in messages. When you post a digital collectible, it will have a shimmering effect and may display public information, such as a description of the NFT.
To post a digital collectible on Instagram, you need to connect your digital wallet to Instagram. As of today, Instagram supports connections with third-party wallets including Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase Wallet, with Dapper Wallet coming soon. Supported blockchains include Ethereum, Polygon and Flow. The social network notes that there are no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on Instagram.
Earlier this year, Zuckerberg said that Meta will work with augmented reality NFT, or 3D NFT, that you can bring to Instagram Stories using Spark AR, which is the company’s software AR platform. Today, the company revealed that it’s starting to allow people to display and share their digital collectibles as AR stickers in Instagram Stories.
Meta says today’s expansion reflects efforts to expand access to web3 technology through NFTs, supporting creators who want to monetize their work and build community with fans and collectors.
“We understand that blockchain technology and NFTs raise important questions about sustainability,” the company said during its first NFT test launch in May. “Meta will help reduce the emissions impact that may be associated with displaying digital collectibles on Instagram by purchasing renewable energy.”
The expansion on Instagram comes a few weeks after Meta began testing NFTs with select creators on Facebook. At the time, the company said it would not offer the ability to turn digital collectibles into ads for now.
Instagram’s expansion of NFT functionality comes as Twitter-enabled NFT profile pictures for premium users earlier this year. Instagram and Twitter aren’t the only digital giants looking to embrace NFTs, as YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki suggested the platform could embrace web3 technologies, including NFTs, as a means to help YouTube creators monetize . In addition, Reddit recently launched a new NFT-based avatar marketplace that allows users to purchase blockchain-based profile pictures for a fixed price.
