Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head, says Instagram will charge no fee for uploading or sharing a digital collectible on the platform. This statement comes after Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced Instagram will begin testing NFTs this week with selected creators from the U.S.
Meta, the leading technology company for Facebook and Instagram is ready to launch itself in the Web3 world by introducing NFTs on both social media platforms. Meta is on a mission to create a metaverse, a virtual world where users can socialize, collaborate, and connect worldwide. It will have its own digital economy and land worth. It will start off by introducing its general users to the NFT world.
Instagram is Meta’s first step to bringing digital collectibles on the platform. Mark wrote in a post: “This week we’re starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so creators and collectors can display their NFTs on their profile.”
Mosseri tweeted a video in which he explained the various aspects of Instagram NFT testing and a group of creators who can display NFTs in stories, posts, and messages. This feature will only be available for a few users as this week is going to be the testing phase.
In a video, Mark also shared: “Similar functionality is coming to Facebook soon, along with augmented reality NFTs on Instagram Stories via Spark AR so you can place digital art into physical spaces.”
Web3 platforms involved with Instagram
Instagram NFT testing will operate through two blockchain networks, Ethereum and Polygon. The team announced Solana and Flow will also be included soon. Since Ethereum is the largest network with most NFTs, most individuals will be able to upload their NFTs on Instagram.
The users will be able to connect their wallets on Instagram. At the official launch, wallet users from Rainbow, MetaMask, and Trust Wallet will be able to upload their NFTs. Later Instagram will also include Coinbase, Dapper, and Phantom wallets.
Where will NFTs be displayed?
According to Mosseri, NFTs will be displayed similar to how videos or photos are displayed. Users can make NFT posts and share them through dms and stories to other users.
These NFTs posting features will be completely free so that many users can freely display what they own on the social media app without being limited to any charges. This means no uploading or posting fee for every time an owner displays their NFT on Instagram.
Instagram’s Web3 vision
In the video posted by Mosseri, he explains the idea behind bringing NFTs to Instagram. “I want to acknowledge upfront that NFTs and blockchain technologies are all about distributing trust and distributing power,” Mosseri said in his announcement.
He also gave reasons for starting out with selected creators to see the new grand update by saying: “But Instagram is fundamentally a centralized platform, so there’s a tension there. So one of the reasons why we’re starting small is we want to make sure that we can learn from the community.”
He added: “We do think that one of the unique opportunities we have is to make web3 technology accessible to a much broader range of people. And NFTs specifically we think will be interesting not only to creators who create NFT art but also to people who want to collect it.”
In other words, Instagram is a centralized platform that will transition toward a decentralized system in hopes of embracing “those tenets of distributed trust and distributed power.”
Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms in the world. The NFT testing is sure to bring in more users’ interest in the blockchain and crypto world.
Following the Instagram NFT testing phase, the world cannot wait to see what new features the platform will introduce now that it is finally entering the web3 world.