We all saw it coming – but the day has finally arrived. A few days ago, Zuckerberg officially announced that Instagram would be adopting NFTs into its overall gameplan. The CEO also highlighted that the switch was coming in the “near term,” suggesting that we’re likely to see non-fungible tokens on the platform within the year or perhaps even within a few months.
Some might argue that the move came a little late – especially since Twitter has been letting people use NFTs as their profile pics for some time now. After all, Meta is supposed to be the leader when it comes to ushering in a new virtual existence. So is this a case of “too little, too late?” Can NFTs really save Meta’s plummeting stock prices?
What Will NFTs Look Like on Instragram?
NFTs may operate in the same way as they do on Twitter. In other words, users would simply display their NFTs in the form of a profile pic or post – probably with some kind of authenticity verification method. With this in mind, Instagram’s adoption of NFTs perhaps isn’t the most exciting news in the world – especially since they’re not the first platform to do this.
But wait – it gets better. Speaking recently at SXSW, Zuckerberg spoke about non-fungible tokens and specifically stated that “hopefully over time [users will] be able to mint things within that environment.”
That’s taking things one step further than simply showing off your Bored Ape through a profile pic. The Facebook CEO is talking about giving users the power to actually create their own NFTs. This would really set them apart from the crowd – as long as Zuckerberg isn’t just blowing smoke.
When Can We Post NFTs on Instagram?
So far, Meta hasn’t revealed any kind of timeline as to when this will happen. Zuckerberg has admitted that a significant amount of technical tinkering is necessary before the platform can even handle NFTs, so it could be a while. As far as exact dates, it’s really anyone’s guess.
Will This Save Meta?
In February of 2022, Meta’s stock took a serious dive – shaving billions off Zuckerberg’s net worth over the course of just a few days.
So could Insta’s adoption of NFTs save the company and restore it to its former heights? Maybe.
What’s clear is that Meta needs to think outside of the box and adapt if it wants to truly remain relevant. People are leaving Facebook in droves, and the company needs to come up with something revolutionary if it wants to keep its social media crown.
Of course, the acquisition of Instagram was a big win, but that will only get them so far. It’s also worth mentioning that Meta attempted to cash in on crypto once before with an unsuccessful coin named “Diem.”
