NFTs have risen in cultural symbolism and importance since taking center stage in 2021 and, as such, have seen massive adoption and integration. Furthermore, a long-awaited integration of NFTs with social media platforms Instagram and Facebook is on the horizon.
Instagram’s Integration Of NFTs Closer Than You Think
According to confirmed reports, social media platform, Instagram is gearing up to provide support for Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Flow blockchain NFTs. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also just confirmed that the platform will start to test digital collectibles on Instagram this week.
It’s not the first time news of the platform’s planned integration of NFTs has come to light, but the latest report indicates that the long-awaited integration of the digital collectibles may be closer than we think. The first suggestion that the social media giants were looking to integrate NFTs on their platforms came in June 2021, when an Italian mobile developer Allessandro Paluzzi hinted that Instagram was looking to integrate NFTs.
In March, the head of Instagram’s parent company, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, also hinted that Instagram would provide NFT functionality in the coming months without giving details about the timeline and how it would work.
Meta’s pilot test will be open to a small number of NFT enthusiasts in the US.
Meanwhile, the report reveals that Instagram will provide support for popular crypto wallets, which will allow the platform to validate NFT ownership. In addition, as per the report, users will be able to use NFTs as profile pictures, share them in posts, and tag the NFT creators. Unlike Twitter which initially required users to pay to use NFTs as profile pictures, Instagram will reportedly offer these features to users for free.
The Evolution Of NFTs And The Importance Of Instagram Adoption
NFTs have been evolving since they started gaining traction in 2021. They now represent more than just digital collectibles or art and are now seen in some spaces as a symbol of status, a form of membership ID, or even ways to record and share historical moments, as seen in the war in Ukraine.
While the NFT space has faced some hurdles in 2022, the adoption of the technology isn’t slowing down. As previously reported by ZyCrypto, the NFT market reached record numbers in secondary sales in Q1 of 2022.
Moreover, more firms from different industries are now utilizing the technology to change the way online communities are built, with wealth managers VanEck the latest to reveal plans to issue community-based NFTs. Notably, Meta’s integration of NFTs is likely to push the concept of NFTs to an even broader audience with its over 3 billion active monthly users on Instagram and Facebook.