Instagram is preparing to add NFTs on the platform says Mark Zuckerberg

"We're working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term," the Mera CEO said, adding that he hopes NFT minting will be available in the coming months. 

Instagram is preparing to add NFTs on the platform says Mark Zuckerberg

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declared that its video and photo-sharing app, Instagram, is preparing to add non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) to the platform. 

"We're working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term," Zuckerberg said in an appearance at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. The Facebook founder did not provide specifics on when the implementation would happen. 

Casey Newton tweeted from the conference that Zuckerberg also said that he hopes in the coming months, Instagram users would be able to mint their own NFTs on the platform. 

Meta famously changed its name from Facebook to focus on its Metaberse related projects. Company reports from the last quarter of 2021. revealed for the first time the financial details of its virtual and augmented reality research and development business. Reality Labs, showing losses at over $10 billion. TO be fair though as Meta's corner of the metaverse is not yet live, it'd be hard to turn a profit from it. 

This isn't Meta's first attempt at a crypto-related project. in 2019 the company signaled to aim to develop "Libra" a USD-pegged stable coin that flunked due to a lack of regulatory approval and community pushback. The project was purchased by SIlvergate Capital. ex-Meta employees are now looking to revive the open-source Stablecoin through building a network of their own. 

Social media companies have been looking to implement cryptocurrencies and NFTs into their platforms Twiitter's famous decision to add support for NFT profile picture in January, Reddit implemented NFT avatars from its own collection, and adult site OnlyFans enabled NFT profile pictures in December 2020

It's not only social media giants looking to get in on the action that crypto offers. Traditional finance companies are showing their interest in this industry, with the giant major credit card company, American Express, hinting at its expansion into the MEtaverse according to trademark filings. 

Application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week showed American Express primed to offer virtual banking and exchange services, cryptocurrency service, and enabling the use of its credit cards at an NFT marketplace. 

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