Last May, Instagram announced that it had begun testing support for i Non Fungible Token (NFT) with a handful of US creators and collectors to allow them to share digital collectibles on the platform. Starting August 4, 2022, Instagram has extended this support to more users and in more countries: now, anyone on Instagram – people, creators, companies and collectors – in over 100 countries has the ability to share NFTs they have created or own. Additionally, Instagram announced that it now supports the integration of Coinbase Wallet e Dapperas well as the ability to publish minted digital collectibles on the blockchain of Flow. As for the new countries where support has been extended, they are in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. In Italy, therefore, NFTs are still not supported on Instagram.
To honor this expansion of the availability of collectible digital NFTs on Instagram and the launch of new integrations with Coinbase and Dapper, Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg shared his very personal little league card on his Instagram profile. baseball when he was a kid, which someone recently found and sent to him, and which he will soon be selling with NFT included, to be counterfeit proof.
Non-fungible tokens are generated and stored on the blockchain and serve as unique and counterfeit-proof ownership certificates that digitally prove ownership over a specific asset. They are used for the ownership of digital artwork, collectibles and virtual items for online games and web domains. “Non-fungible” stands for “non-exchangeable”, therefore NFTs can be used, for example, to demonstrate ownership of an asset and related acquired rights in an unalterable and unambiguous way. The owner of an NFT keeps it in their blockchain wallet, which is a true digital wallet. At the end of last year, Vodafone auctioned the NFT of the “world’s first SMS”, while more recently McDonald’s gave away 300 ownership certificates on exclusive digital works.
Instagram users who wish to post an NFT digital collectible via the platform must first connect their digital wallet to Instagram. To date, Instagram supports connections with third-party wallets including Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet, and the Ethereum, Polygon and Flow blockchains. At this launch stage, Instagram has no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on the platform.
“Today we begin international expansion into 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas” reads the Instagram press release released on August 4, 2022. “It is vital to continue building in this space responsibly by reducing barriers to entry, making sure this technology is safe and accessible for people, and reducing the environmental impact of our product.” the company added.
Through this expansion, Instagram aims to improve accessibility and help make the NFT space more inclusive: “NFTs have enabled more diverse artists to gain exposure and monetize their work outside traditional channels” explains Instagram, “By allowing more people around the world to share their digital collectibles on Instagram, we are able to open new avenues for artistic connection and monetization.”
Regarding privacy and security on the platform, users can use the tools made available by Instagram to protect their accounts and report digital collectibles that go against the guidelines of the community.
Thinking in green, Meta (the company that belongs to Instagram) is committed to developing the NFT space thinking about sustainability: the company has planned to give its contribution in reducing the impact on emissions that could be associated with the display of objects to be digital collection on Instagram by purchasing renewable energy. More information on this and Meta’s other commitments to sustainability can be found at sustainability.fb.com
