【2016 Archives】

Facebook016 ArchivesInstagram might start letting users create, buy, and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a new report claims.

According to the Financial Times, Meta's social media companies are exploring the idea at the moment, however it's still at an early stage and might change. The plans sound fairly ambitious, though: Users will be able to mint (or create) new NFTs, as well as buy and sell them on a specialized marketplace, and display the NFTs as their profile pictures.

The FT's report has no details on how far along these plans are, or when these features might launch.

NFTs are a massive internet craze right now. For a more detailed explanation of what they are, go here but, in short, they're a type of cryptocurrency where each unit is unique from every other unit. In a way, they're somewhat akin to digital collectible cards, and while the art they're typically associated with is easily copied (i.e., right-click and save), the ownership of the original NFT is near-impossible to dispute.

Like so many blockchain-related things, a lot of money is changing hands in the space at the moment, with some NFTs valued in the millions of dollars.

As such, it makes sense for Meta to try to capitalize on the interest in NFTs by integrating them into its properties. Facebook has recently announced a major investment into the metaverse, which it mostly defines in terms of virtual and augmented reality. Facebook head of metaverse products Vishal Shah has said the company's metaverse will support NFTs, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in December that the company is actively exploring NFTs.

The news comes just days after a report that Walmart is preparing to launch its own NFT collection, and other major brands such as Nike and Coca-Cola have already dipped their toes in the space as well.

We've contacted Facebook for comment on the Financial Times'report but have not yet heard back at the time of writing.

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