January 17, 2023
By Sharan Kaur Phillora
Shortly after unveiling its “Digital Collectibles” product in May 2022, the Meta (FB)-owned social media platform Instagram signalled its interest in turning NFTs into a revenue stream for the creators catering to the platform’s billion-plus user base. And now Instagram has expanded its Digital Collectibles feature, allowing select digital artists to begin minting and selling NFTs directly on the platform.
Here’s what we know:
The addition of NFT trading for a platform like Instagram makes sense considering its huge global audience. The feature exposes users to Web3 concepts, many for the first time, in a way that doesn’t add friction to Instagram’s core business model.
Users on Instagram also pay for NFTs in fiat currency, eliminating an otherwise challenging on-ramp for Web3 newcomers.
Earlier Meta said it will not charge fees to create or sell NFTs until 2024. Also, blockchain gas fees will be covered by Meta “at launch,” but no timeline was provided.
Instagram users will likely be unable to purchase NFTs with crypto from the Instagram app since both Apple and Google only support in-app purchases and charge fees between 15% to 30%.
In the past, users could get around their commissions by using buttons, external links, or other actions. Further, Apple’s newly announced 30% commission fee on NFT sales would still apply to NFT transactions.
Despite this, early NFT sales on the platform have been a success, with collections selling out quickly. Instagram’s strategy of recruiting well-known NFT artists to tout the new feature has worked in two ways – it enticed NFT collectors and helped to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 users.
Drifter Shoots (aka Isaac Wright), Refik Anadol, Amber Vittoria, Dave Krugman and Micah Johnson have each launched NFTs through Instagram over the past few months, selling out each time.
Going further with the expansion, Meta also plans on introducing AR NFTs and virtual reality on Instagram using SparkAR, their AR platform. The company also mentioned its plans to purchase renewable energy to reduce the impact of displaying NFT on Instagram.
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.
