Meta Platforms has begun shuttering its non-fungible token (NFT) functionality across its family of social media apps.
Facebook and Instagram will no longer accommodate the feature, just a year after it went live.
According to Stephane Kasriel, commerce and fintech chief for Meta, the Menlo Park-based firm was “winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.”
He thanked partners of the programme for “doing great work in a dynamic space,” referring to Web3 technologies. Kasriel also looked forward to backing “the many NFT creators who continue using Instagram and Facebook to amplify their work.”
He said that Meta would continue to build to support “creators, people, and businesses” across Meta’s apps, “both today and in the metaverse.”
Kasriel added that Meta prioritised supporting opportunities for creatives and businesses to interact with and monetise interactions with fans.
“We’re going to focus on areas where we can make [an] impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels,” he explained.
The Meta executive concluded: “[We’ll] continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta.”
The news comes after the product launched in May last year with a select group of users in the United States. The pilot later rolled out across Facebook the following June, with further expansions in July with Instagram NFT tool across 100 countries.
