Facebook and Instagram want to punch your ticket for the NFT hype train

Menlo Park, California - Facebook and Instagram are working on ways to get into the NFT game, which feels a little late for the company that changed its name to push the "metaverse."

Facebook and Instagram might roll out NFT features soon.
Facebook and Instagram might roll out NFT features soon.  © Collage: IMAGO/Aviation-Stock & ZUMA Wire

Facebook's ownership company Meta is slow off the starting blocks, but seems to be sprinting to hook up its users with the ability to create, buy, and show off Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), which are technology-dependent receipts proving (a sort of) ownership of a piece of digital art.

According to the Financial Times, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said in December that Insta NFTs were being looked into. Now, at least two insiders confirmed that a feature to let users show off NFTs is in testing.

Meta might be a big stabilizer to the NFT game because the company could end up growing past the current leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea.

Users on Insta and Facebook would also likely be using the Novi digital wallet, which Facebook has been testing since October.

Digital wallets are a key part of NFT and crypto trading, where users can hold currencies and NFTs.

However, a darker side to Meta's potential entry into the fray is a sudden spike in would-be traders, who happen to also be prime targets for scammers.

NFTs are notorious for stories of scams and accidental sales, and adding Facebook and Instagram users to the trading scene sounds like a recipe for more trouble.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Aviation-Stock, ZUMA Wire

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