Key takeaways
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Meta is ending support for NFTs on Instagram and Facebook.
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The company introduced the NFT feature roughly a year ago.
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Meta said it would focus on other ways to support businesses and creators.
Meta’s NFT integration comes to an end
Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial services, announced on Monday that the social media giant is ending its support for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on its social media platforms.
Some product news: across the company, we're looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023
According to Kasriel, the decision was prompted by Meta’s desire to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. He said;
“A big Thank You to the partners who joined us on this journey and who are doing great work in a dynamic space. Proud of the relationships we built. And look forward to supporting 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.”
Meta introduced its NFT feature on May 10, 2022. By August, the social media giant had expanded the NFT feature to capture 100 countries in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, and Africa.
By September, Meta introduced a new feature that allowed users on both Facebook and Instagram apps to share and cross-post their digital collectibles.
Meta to focus on other products
Despite winding down support for NFTs, Kasriel said Meta continues to pursue various ways it can help creators connect with their fans. The social media giant will focus on other products, including Reels, for messaging and monetisation.
Meta added that it would continue to work with NFT and web3 content creators who take advantage of its various tools to help them grow their community. Kasriel wrote;
“And we’ll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta.”
Despite the initial traction, the social media giant is shifting its strategy in a bid to explore other areas.