Meta Is 'Winding Down' NFT Support on Facebook, Instagram

pcmag.com:

Less than a year after introducing NFTs on Facebook and Instagram, Meta is "winding down" support for the digital collectibles.

Last year Meta started allowing Instagram users to create NFTs, and then Facebook gained the ability to share them. Clearly the venture hasn't proved popular or profitable enough for the company, though.

"We're looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus," Meta commerce and financial tech lead Stephane Kasriel wrote in a Monday Twitter thread(Opens in a new window). "We're winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses."

After thanking early participants "who're doing great work in a dynamic space," Kasriel promised ongoing assistance for "the many NFT creators who continue using Instagram and Facebook to amplify their work."

"We learned a ton that we'll be able to apply to products we're continuing to build to support creators, people, and businesses on our apps, both today and in the metaverse," according to Kasriel. "Let me be clear: Creating opportunities for creators and businesses to connect with their fans and monetize remains a priority, and we're going to focus on areas where we can make impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels."

There is no word on when (if at all) Meta will completely cut ties with non-fungible tokens; the company still plans to integrate financial technology into its platforms.

"We'll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future," Kasriel said. "We're streamlining payments with Meta Pay, making checkout and payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta."

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