Facebook parent to drop Meta NFT activities
Facebook parent to drop Meta NFT activities
The company says that it will continue to provide monetization options to creators.
Cover art/illustration via Cryptooshala
Stephen Kasriel, head of commerce and financial technology at Meta, said on March 13 that his company plans to shut down its non-fungible token (NFT) features.
META Will Adopt Fintech Instead of NFTs
Kasteel said in a twitter thread,
“We are discontinuing digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people and businesses.”
Kasriel implied that the NFT features would no longer be available on Facebook and Instagram, as he said that the purpose of the meta is to support creators who continue to use those platforms.
He also said that the company will give users other ways to earn from their work. Specifically, he said Meta aims to provide monetization opportunities through Facebook’s video platform, Reels, and the streamlined Meta Pay and messaging payments. He stressed that the company will “continue to invest in fintech tools.”
The decision to discontinue NFT support has been met with significant backlash, as commentators have criticized the company’s relatively low involvement in the NFT space.
Facebook’s failed NFT plans
Meta first hinted at support for NFTs in December 2021. It began rolling out the feature on Instagram in May and gradually expanded support over the following months. As of September 2022, Meta will allow all US users to share NFTs on Facebook and Instagram.
Additionally, in May 2022, Meta began working on an NFT platform in partnership with Polygon. The effort, which would have allowed users to create and sell NFTs, was still in the testing phase. November 2022According to the report from Polygon itself. Today’s news potentially means that the project is on hold or will remain on hold.
Expectations for NFT support were also closely tied to Meta’s virtual reality (VR) and “metaverse” efforts. However, those products ultimately did not use NFTs for their tradable items, and the company’s VR unit saw significant losses through the end of 2022.
Facebook’s declining NFT ambitions may be linked to declining NFT market activity. according to data from dAppRadarUnrelated NFT platform OpenSea saw only $750,000 in daily volume on 13 March. At the height of NFT mania – between August 2021 and May 2022 – OpenSea saw volumes in the millions of dollars in a row.
Facebook’s main competitor, Twitter, continues to offer support for NFTs in the form of profile pictures (PFPs) and marketplace links.
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