In a Facebook video posted on Monday, April 9th, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg goes over details on Instagram's NFT integration, which he says is slated for testing this week. The executive talked about all things Web3 and metaverse, citing big things in the future with augmented reality NFTs, which users could potentially share through Instagram Stories via the firm's Spark AR software.
"We're starting building for NFTs not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps," he says amid the interview with Tom Bilyeu. "We're starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so that creators and collectors can display their NFTs."
Although he doesn't give a specific date as to when users can expect the full NFT functionality on Instagram, he does highlight the importance of its use case and why creators and collectors alike should be excited to use the platform for this purpose moving forward, claiming that "It's about expression," and "saying something about yourself."
Zuckerberg likewise said that "similar functionality" will be coming "to Facebook soon," adding that NFT integration could be integrated "to other apps in our family," as well per a successful Instagram rollout and avid utilization by users. It doesn't stop at just the popular 2D NFTs and animated forms of digital collectibles, either, as the executive cited hype in building broadened 3D NFT articulation through the company's AR platform.
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"We're also going to work on augmented reality NFTs, basically 3D NFTs, that you can bring to Instagram Stories using Spark AR, that's our software AR platform," Zuckerberg says. "So you can put this kind of digital art into 3D spaces and kind of project it onto physical spaces as well."
Adam Mosseri, Instagram lead, posted his own video on Twitter announcing the Instagram NFT integrations tests. He notes that a select number of collectors and creators in the US "will be able to share NFTs on Instagram" starting this week. He also claims that the project will not have any associated fees for "posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG."
NFTs on Instagram 🎉
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) May 9, 2022
This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.
See you next week! ✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr
Said users will be able to showcase their NFTs across the Instagram platform in the form of internal messages, stories, and of course, the main feed. Details surrounding the posted NFT will be displayed akin to tagged products, with the tag showing the owner and creator of the NFT after being clicked. These display tags will be coined "digital collectibles" for all interested.
The initial tests will remain small as Instagram will learn alongside the community in its NFT integration process. The photo-sharing platform will only thus far support such blockchains as Solana, Flow NFTs, Ethereum, and Polygon.
It's unclear yet how much of a change this will make to Instagram, as various reports suggest that the NFT market is stagnating and holistically flatlining as estimates on digital assets slowly dwindle. Instagram, however, wouldn't be the first of its kind in the media sphere to introduce such Web3 proponents, as best expressed in Twitter's profile picture NFT integration, which debuted in Jan.
To Mosseri, the adoption of NFTs via Instagram is all but a stepping stone for broader acceptance of the assets in question. The Instagram head also noted that although NFTs are a specific brand in decentralized Web3 concepts, "Instagram is fundamentally a centralized platform."
