A number of nonfungible token (NFT)-related tools will be introduced by the social media platform Instagram that will allow creators to mint, display, and sell NFTs.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, announced during its Creator Week event on Nov. 2 that the platform would allow its creators to produce "digital collectibles" and sell them "both on and off Instagram."
For this functionality, Meta has selected the Polygon blockchain as an initial partner and will provide creators with an "end-to-end toolkit" for creating, showing, and selling NFTs within the platform.
Concept images of Meta’s NFT interface for Instagram. Image: Meta
"A small group" of United States-based creators will be invited to test the updated features, and other countries will follow, but no date is given for this expansion.
Meta has announced that, in addition to its current lineup of supported blockchains, which include Ethereum, Flow, and Polygon, it is also supporting the Solana blockchain and the Phantom wallet.
Video NFTs will also be supported, as well as metadata, such as names and descriptions for selected NFT collections, from the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Stephane Kasriel, Meta's head of commerce and financial technology, said Meta would not charge fees for the creation or sale of NFTs until 2024. Blockchain gas fees would be covered by Meta "at launch," but he did not clarify how long that would take.
According to Kasriel, NFT transactions will still be subject to "app store fees," referring to Apple's 30% commission on NFT sales, which has been criticized as being more expensive than the average 2.5% commission charged by NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.
It appears that Instagram NFTs cannot be purchased with cryptocurrency through the Instagram app due to the fact that both Apple and Google only support in-app purchases using fiat currencies and both prohibit buttons, external links, and other actions that allow users to circumvent their commissions. Meta has not stated how much of a commission it plans to take from NFT sales, nor what its creator royalties system will look like. It is unknown whether Meta will follow the recent moves by NFT marketplaces to implement opt-in royalty models.
