As the cryptocurrency market continues to spiral, Meta Platforms Inc. has announced that it will be discontinuing support for digital collectibles, also known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), on its platforms
It has been less than a year since they have been introduced on Facebook and Instagram.
Read on to find out all the details!
Meta Discontinuing NFTs For All Its Platforms
NFTs are digital assets that represent ownership of unique items such as artwork, music, and videos. They are stored on a blockchain, which makes them immutable and transparent. NFTs have gained popularity in recent years, with some selling for millions of dollars.
The company’s fintech head, Stephane Kasriel announced in a tweet that the company is winding down NFTs so as to find other ways for offering support to the creators, people and businesses.
In her tweet, she said, “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 and payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta.”
No Specific Reason Behind Discontinuing NFTs
The company has not provided any specific reasons for this move, but it is likely due to the recent decline in the value of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Meta’s decision to wind down support for NFTs is part of a broader restructuring effort by the company. In addition to winding down NFTs, Meta is also laying off 10,000 employees in its second-largest workforce reduction ever.
The company has not provided any details about how this restructuring will affect its other products and services. Instagram, which is owned by Meta, has also scrapped its NFT features after less than a year. Instagram launched an NFT marketplace called “Instagram Drops” in November 2021 but decided to shut it down due to low demand.
Recently, Meta also announced that the Reels creator bonus has been put on hold. Tom Alison, the head of Facebook, stated that the company is focused on adapting and improving monetization tools for short videos. The company intends to expand its tests of ads on Facebook Reels to help more creators earn ad revenue for their Reels, as well as to boost virtual gifting through Stars on Reels.
