Meta Abandons NFTs on Facebook and Instagram

• Meta Platforms Inc is winding down its embrace of NFTs on its platforms.
• Though a setback, the NFT ecosystem is billed to thrive considering its widespread embrace.

American multinational technology giant Meta Platforms Inc is abandoning its Non-Fungible Token (NFT) program to focus on other aspects of the company that can best support creators. As reported by The Verge, the update was first shared by the company’s commerce and fintech lead Stephane Kasriel and has been confirmed by the firm’s spokesperson Joshua Gunter.

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

Meta Platforms’ foray into the crypto ecosystem was marked by its now-defunct Diem stablecoin project. The project was first branded as Libra but after many crackdowns from regulators and lawmakers, the firm had to rebrand to Diem in December 2020. While the project was unable to introduce the stablecoin for payments it envisaged, it managed to float the Novi Wallet that can support digital currencies and NFTs.

Meta was one of the top tech giants that first pioneered entry into the multi-billion dollar crypto world. Without many successes recorded, the firm has had to sell the assets of its Diem project to Silvergate Bank for $182 million back in January 2022. In the broad series of uncertainties connected to the crypto world, Silvergate is also voluntarily closing its business after perceived accounting failures.

Meta Platforms became the delight of many Web3.0 proponents when it announced support for NFTs on Instagram and its flagship application, Facebook. The launch of these NFT features was widely accepted by the crypto community with many hoping it will create access for billions of monthly active users the firm boasts of to enter the NFT ecosystem.

Though the features are limited to some specific regions at the time of launch, more users relished the idea of the firm launching the product in their own jurisdiction.

Meta NFTs is Stopping Before Starting

In less than a year since it went all out on its NFTs integration drive, Meta Platforms is stopping the push even before starting at all. The stoppage now counts as one of the major headwinds the firm is facing in its metaverse pursuits following the accrued losses it generated from the unit handling the transition to the new world in the past few quarters.

For Meta, the focus is now shifting.

“Across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus,” Kasriel said. “We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.” Instead, the company is focusing on “areas where we can make impact at scale,” like messaging and monetization on Reels and on improving Meta Pay.

Meta Platforms remains one of the biggest Web2.0 giants that have the propensity to help drive awareness into the Web3.0 world. While it did not indicate whether or not it is coming back to NFTs in the near future, this is a major setback for the industry, however, we cannot say this is the end for NFTs as a whole.

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