Meta explores the NFT field, and plans to allow users to display, mint, and trade NFT

This article comes fromThis article comes from, Original Author: Hannah Murphy & Cristina Criddle

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Odaily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

Facebook parent company Meta is developing plans to allow users to create and sell NFTs, seeking to join the ranks of companies trying to capitalize on the craze for digital collectibles.

Teams at Facebook and Instagram are preparing a feature that would allow users to showcase their NFTs on their social media profiles, and are also working on a prototype to help users create or mint NFTs, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Meta also discussed launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs — essentially digital assets that represent art or images that cannot be copied, two of the people said.All of these efforts are in the early stages, and that could still change. But these discussions mark Meta's first attempt to cash in on the hot NFT space. The popularity of NFTs has skyrocketed in the last year, making them aA $40 billion global market. Meanwhile, critics describe the "do whatever you want" industry as a。

A speculative bubble rife with scams and market manipulationDominant NFT marketplace OpenSea raised $300 million this month at a $13 billion valuation — just six months after it raised $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. It is understood that OpenSea will take a 2.5% cut from each sale. Meanwhile, major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is launching its own marketplace. Meta's competitor TwitterThe display function of NFT is being tested, and Reddit also。

In fact, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that the company might one day use NFTs tosupportsupport

Its planned marketplace for digital goods in the Metaverse. Over the next 10 years, the company will invest $10 billion a year to build the world.

More recently, the company has been dogged by privacy scandals that have sapped the popularity of its major social networking products like Facebook and Instagram, a trend that no doubt threatens the company's $85 billion a year ad-based business model.Meta’s plan will also help artists monetize their digital art, a market where money currently goes toExpensive Limited NFT Collectible Deals

Among them, such as CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. Buyers of these exclusive collections often project their “status” online by posting their work as a Twitter profile picture.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said in December that the company was "actively exploring NFTs," but gave no details. According to two people familiar with the matter, Instagram is currently testing its NFT display function internally.

Instagram’s NFT project was initially spearheaded by Kristin George, Instagram’s director of product and creators, and David Marcus, the former head of Facebook’s payments and cryptocurrency division who left the company in December, another person familiar with the matter said. Marcus has now been replaced by Stephane Kasriel, former CEO of freelancing platform Upwork.Novi, Facebook's digital currency wallet, could be crucial to those plans, the people said.Novi launched last October as a pilot

. “A number of supporting features related to Novi will power the NFT,” said a person with knowledge of the plans.