LONDON: Meta, Instagram’s parent company, announced on Thursday the international expansion of its non-fungible token support across its platforms, namely Instagram.
Users in more than a hundred countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas will now be able to use the new feature, which allows them to share their NFTs on the platform.
“Today we’re starting international expansion to 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas. Additionally, we now support wallet connections with the Coinbase Wallet and Dapper, as well as the ability to post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain,” Meta said in a statement.
The tech giant announced the integration of Coinbase and Dapper, as well as other third-party wallets such as Rainbow, MetaMask and Trust Wallet, which are required to access and purchase NFTs assets.
“In order to post a digital collectible, all you need to do is connect your digital wallet to Instagram,” the statement continued.
Meta first announced its test launch in May, with the feature initially rolled out to selected creators and collectors.
Instagram users can now include NFTs in their feed and messages, as well as in augmented reality stickers in Stories. When tapped, it would reveal information about the creator of the work, as well as the owner of that digital item.
“Every day, creators inspire people and push culture forward around the world. With the incredible opportunity of blockchain technology, they can now leverage new tools to earn income, and fans can support their favorite creators by purchasing digital collectibles — art, images and videos, music or trading cards — as non-fungible tokens (NFTs),” Meta highlighted.
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of the new feature in an Instagram post featuring a signed baseball card of himself as a kid, which will soon become an NFT, he pointed out.
Meta’s move into the NFT market is considered by some to be ill-timed, but experts speculate that Instagram could soon start monetizing the new feature by introducing its own marketplace.
