Meta is throwing in the towel on NFTs.
NFTs on Instagram and Facebook have died in less than a year.
Meta’s Instagram added support for cryptocurrency-based digital collectibles, or NFTs, in May 2022, and Facebook quickly followed. What began as a limited test was later expanded to all Facebook and Instagram users in the United States, allowing them to connect their digital wallets to Meta’s apps and share their beloved NFTs.
However, the company is now discontinuing the program, as Meta’s Commerce and FinTech lead Stephane Kasriel announced on Twitter. “For the time being, we’re discontinuing digital collectibles (NFTs) in order to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses,” he wrote.
Some product news: across the company, we're looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023
Kasriel stated that the company is committed to developing new ways for creators and businesses to “connect with and monetize their fans,” including messaging and monetization opportunities for Reels. In addition, the company will continue to invest in fintech tools such as Meta Pay.
Meta appeared to be all-in on cryptocurrency at one point, but its ambitious Libra (later Diem) cryptocurrency was buried by regulators before it even got started, and the company hasn’t had much luck with other crypto projects, such as its cryptocurrency wallet Novi, which was shut down in July 2022.
