November 29, 2022
By Sharan Kaur Phillora
Instagram is developing an NFT minting and sale feature through its app, parent company Meta announced last week. The upcoming “end-to-end toolkit” for NFTs will allow users to create and launch their own NFTs for sale through Instagram.
Here’s what we know:
“A small group of creators will soon be able to create digital collectibles (NFTs) and sell them right on Instagram,” said Meta’s Head of Commerce and Fintech Stephane Kasriel in a statement.
Instagram will use the Polygon blockchain for NFT minting. The app will also pull NFT metadata from OpenSea so that collection names and descriptions can be viewed on Instagram.
Meta said it will roll out the new NFT features to a select group of artists and content creators first before offering the features to a broader audience, the company shared in a statement. Creators such as photographer DrifterShoots, visual artist Ilse Valfré, and artist Amber Vittoria are among those selected for early access to the new Instagram NFT features.
This slow rollout strategy matches the rest of Meta’s approach to Web3. Back in May, it announced it was rolling out a wallet connection feature to select creators to display their NFTs on their Instagram and Facebook profiles.
While Meta won’t initially charge its own fees for NFT sales made through its applications, that is on the horizon. It’s also vowed to cover Polygon gas fees for buyers “at launch,” but did not specify an end date for the perk.
What’s unclear, however, is whether users will jump for the convenience of an in-app Instagram NFT purchase—and whether Instagram’s NFT features will also roll out to the browser version of its platform in the future.
About the author
Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.
