Instagram parent company Meta announced on November 2 during its Creator Week 2022 event that a "end-to-end toolkit" enabling creators to create, display, and sell "digital collectibles" will be available on the social media platform Instagram.
Related tools that will enable users to mint, display, and sell NFTs.
Instagram parent firm Meta announced at its Creator Week 2022 event on November 2 that the network would allow its creators to create "digital collectibles" and sell them "both on and off Instagram."
Meta claims that creators will have a "end-to-end toolkit" for minting, displaying, and selling NFTs on the platform, and that the Polygon blockchain has been chosen as an initial partner for this functionality.
It says a "limited set" of US-based creators will be eligible to test the new capabilities, and that expansion to other countries will follow, although it doesn't explain when this will happen.
Meta announced support for the Solana blockchain and its popular Phantom wallet, in addition to its current list of supported blockchains, which includes Ethereum, Flow (FLOW), and Polygon.
Support for video NFTs will also be introduced, and metadata for chosen NFT collections, such as names and descriptions, will be retrieved from the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
Stephane Kasriel, Meta's head of commerce and finance technology, stated that Meta will not charge fees to mint or sell NFTs until 2024. Kasriel also noted that blockchain gas fees for buyers will be covered by Meta "at launch," though he did not specify how long the launch timeframe would be.
Kasriel stated that NFT transactions would still be subject to "app store fees," referring to Apple's 30% commission on NFT sales, which has been heavily criticised for being higher than the usual 2.5% charge imposed by NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.
As a result, buyers appear to be unable to acquire Instagram NFTs using crypto via the Instagram app. Since both Apple and Google only enable in-app purchases using fiat currencies and both prohibit buttons, external links, and other actions that allow users to avoid commissions.
Meta has not disclosed how much of a commission it intends to take from NFT sales, nor has it revealed the details of its creator royalties structure. It is also unknown whether it will follow the current pushes from NFT marketplaces to migrate to opt-in royalty models.
Several local media outlets reached out to Meta for clarity on its commission and royalty structure, but did not receive an instant response.
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