Meta expands NFT support on Instagram to 100 more countries
- The recent expansion of NFT functionality will allow Instagram users to share their digital collectibles on the Instagram feed, in stories and in messages.
- Instagram offers support for third-party wallets such as MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet and Dapper Wallet.
On Thursday, August 4, Meta (NASDAQ: META ) CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an important announcement to expand support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram to 100 more countries.
NFTs on Instagram 💫
We’re testing ways creators and collectors can share NFTs they’ve made or own on Instagram with a shimmer effect. pic.twitter.com/tXGoH1Z6Gf
— Instagram (@instagram) 10 May 2022
The Facebook parent company has been working on introducing the NFT support since the start of 2022. Earlier this year in May 2022, Instagram started the first test for NFT support. The latest expansion means users and businesses in more than 100 countries will be able to share their NFTs on Instagram. This includes countries across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
Meta has also partnered with Ethereum Layer-2 scalability platform Polygon to power the NFTs on Instagram. During the test launch in May, the company said:
We understand that blockchain technology and NFTs raise important questions about sustainability. Meta will help reduce the emissions impact that may be associated with displaying digital collectibles on Instagram by purchasing renewable energy.
Instagram’s NFT functionality
The NFT functionality on Instagram allows users to connect to a digital wallet, share NFTs, and automatically tag both the creator and collector for attribution. Users can share their NFTs through their Instagram feed, stories and messages.
When sharing the NFTs, showing public information together with a description of the NFT will have a shimmer effect. However, to post a digital collectible on Instagram, users must first link their digital wallets. As of today, Instagram offers support for third-party wallets such as MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet and Dapper Wallet.
Some of the supported blockchain networks for the NFT functionality on Instagram include Polygon, Ethereum, and Flow. Instagram has further clarified that there will be no fees associated with posting and sharing NFTs and digital collectibles to Instagram.
On Thursday, Meta said the recent move will help the firm expand user access to Web 3 technology via NFTs. It will also help creators who want to monetize their work and build a community of fans and collectors.
More features are planned for Instagram
In June 2022, Meta launched new monetization tools for creators on FB and Instagram. At the time, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta will work with NFTs and 3D NFTs, bringing them to Instagram Stories via their own native augmented reality platform SparkAR.
On Thursday, the company announced that users can display and share their NFTs as AR stickers in Instagram Stories. Along with Instagram, other social media giants including Twitter have been testing the NFT extension functionality on their platforms. Furthermore, YouTube also wants to embrace NFTs in the future.
