The image is by Alex Castro.
According to a report from The Financial Times, Meta is exploring the possibility of allowing users to create, showcase, and sell NFTs on social media.
It would be the biggest show of mainstream support for NFTs to date if the company launches such tools.
The plans are at an early stage and could change. A feature that will let users display NFTs as their profile pictures, as well as working on a prototype to let users mint new NFTs, is being prepared by teams at Facebook and Instagram. Meta is considering launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs.
It is impossible to say how far along these plans are, but it is not the first show of interest from Meta. Adam Mosseri said last December that the company is exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a wider audience.
The web stalwarts have shown interest in NFTs.
NFTs have been gaining support with other web platforms. The social network is working on ways to showcase such items, while the website launched its own collection of NFT avatars.
Although NFTs are derided for their speculative value and lack of security, they will become more significant if tech giants choose to support them.
An NFT is a way to claim ownership of a digital item, like a photo or a video, via a unique address on the blockchain. The legitimacy of these assets is dependent on recognition from existing online platforms. Who is to say who really owns the photo of a smoking chimp that is being copied and pasted on social media? If companies start to enforce ownership rights, they could become legitimate digital assets.
The company has labelled the metaverse a concept of connected virtual worlds, similar to the promises of VR universes floated in the 1990s and before. It could boost the value and importance of NFTs while also centralizing control over the assets.
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