Snap Eyes adds NFTs as AR filters to Snapchat – TechCrunch

The crypto market may have entered its deep mid-winter, but that does not stop mainstream technology companies from continuing to joke in space in case things get hotter again. In recent developments, Snap is exploring ways to let artists display their digital collectibles as AR filters on Snapchat.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the company will start this experiment with a limited set of creators in August. In this test, artists will be able to create and create NFTs on another platform and then import them into Snapchat as lenses. FT’s report noted that Snap does not plan to take money from creators to showcase their digital collectibles – just like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. It is rather to think of ways in which these artists can make money from their work.

Social media platforms have taken different approaches to NFTs that take advantage of the special dynamics of their respective platforms. Twitter was one of the first to come on board the NFT train by introducing the ability to set digital collectibles as avatars for its paid users.

In May, Instagram said it would allow a limited set of creators to showcase NFTs in feeds, stories and messages. Last month, Facebook began testing a similar set of features for a limited number of users in the United States. Last week, Reddit launched its own NFT marketplace where you can buy digital avatars at a fixed price through fiat currency.

Snaps’ closest rival in the NFT area will be Meta, given that the company has already said it wants to bring them into the “real world” using its own SparkAR technology. In addition, in an interview with FT, Meta’s head of fintech Stephane Kasriel said that the company aims to create a marketplace for digital collectibles that can be used in metaverse.

The leak of the NFT test seems to be part of a mini-product sprint at Snap: it comes just days after Snapchat launched the premium subscription Snapchat Plus. With the company’s announcement of its quarterly financial results on July 21, one thing to listen to is whether it elaborates any further on any of these fronts, which will virtually help Snap strengthen the message to investors that it is working on more ideas for to generate revenue. , to complement, or compensate, whatever ups and downs it may encounter in the advertising market.

TechCrunch has contacted Snap for a comment, and we will update the story if we hear back.