Metaversal is a Bankless newsletter for weekly level-ups on NFTs, virtual worlds, & collectibles
Dear Bankless Nation,
In my recent write-up on Reddit avatar NFTs, I speculated we could soon see other social media giants making big NFT pivots.Ā
It didnāt take long for that speculation to bear out, as this week Mark Zuckerbergās Meta announced it would be launching an āend-to-endā NFT toolkit for Instagram users.Ā
Love it or hate it, the news is huge.Ā
By huge I mean the potential reach of this development is literally massive, seeing as how Instagram has +1.4 billion users. Thatās 18% of everyone in the world!
Letās dive into what we can expect from this NFT toolkit and also touch on the rise of web3ās native social media ecosystem for todayās post!
-WMP
š Sponsor:Ā Sorare - Collect, Play, Win. Own Your Game.āØ
Instagram goes long on NFTs
![Twitter avatar for @Meta](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/Meta.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgl1GyIUcAAdzu8.jpg)
Whatās new
This week Meta revealed it would soon introduce the ability for users to create, buy, and sell digital collectibles ā i.e. NFTs ā on Instagram.Ā
The announcement noted:
ā[Creators will] have an end-to-end toolkit ā from creation (starting on the Polygon blockchain) and showcasing, to selling. People can easily support their favorite creators by buying their digital collectibles directly within Instagram. Weāre testing these new features with a small group of creators in the US first, and hope to expand to more countries soon.ā
Little more is known for now.Ā
However, Meta has confirmed Instagram collectibles will be tradable outside of Instagram, for example on NFT marketplaces like OpenSea.Ā
Additionally, the metadata for these collectibles will be underpinned by Arweave, a decentralized data storage network thatās surged in popularity in the NFT ecosystem over the past couple of years.
![Twitter avatar for @samecwilliams](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/samecwilliams.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgl83hvVUAIUPvi.jpg)
The context
The news of the NFT toolkit rollout comes as Meta has been ramping up its digital collectibles plans this year. A timeline of the companyās prior collectibles developments is as follows:Ā
May 2022 ā Meta started testing the ability to connect wallets and display Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow NFTs on Facebook or Instagram
August 2022 ā Meta expanded its NFT tests to users in 100 additional countries, added support for new wallets like Coinbase Wallet, and activated collectibles crossposting across Facebook and Instagram
September 2022 ā Meta opened its digital collectibles features to all Facebook and Instagram users in the U.S.
Why it matters
With nearly 3 million minted to date, Reddit Collectible Avatars have introduced a whole new ānormieā audience to the world of NFTs.Ā
For perspective, though, Reddit has something like 50 million daily active users (DAUs) right now, while Instagram has 10x that reach at 500 million DAUs.Ā
That means Instagramās digital collectibles program has the potential to reach an absolutely massive amount of people going forward. There are +200 million businesses on Instagram alone, for example!Ā
If even a fraction of these users and businesses embrace NFTs via Instagram in the years ahead, then the size of the NFT ecosystem and its user base is poised to swell rapidly soon.Ā
Whoās next?
Ark Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood recently told Bloomberg (~16:00 min. mark) that she wouldnāt be surprised to see Twitter start work on its own crypto wallet.Ā
I wouldnāt be surprised either.Ā
Of course, Twitter already supports adding Ethereum NFT profile pictures via wallets like Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, and Rainbow. The platform also just began testing NFT Tweet Tiles:
![Twitter avatar for @TwitterDev](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/TwitterDev.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgGQ8p9XgAYOU-c.jpg)
The crypto community is one of Twitterās most active user groups, and the NFT ecosystem is a significant part of these activity levels, so Twitterās leadership may eventually decide that offering even more direct crypto and NFT services ā e.g. a native Twitter wallet ā is a win-win for the company.Ā
Decentralized social media rising, too
![Twitter avatar for @StaniKulechov](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/StaniKulechov.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgVhmRmXgAId36k.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @Ttrader242](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_40/Ttrader242.jpg)
In web3, we use tech like blockchain and NFTs to further decentralization.
Why decentralization? Because the concentration of power in culture and finance leads to all sorts of top-down abuses and disparities.Ā
In building with blockchain and NFTs, we seek to level the playing field in bottom-up fashion to give everyone a say and access to open empowering tools they can use to take better control of their own journeys.Ā
All that said, decentralized social media ā i.e. projects that are built natively on web3 tech ā is one area of interest thatās seeing a tremendous surge of building and experimentation lately.Ā
![Twitter avatar for @StaniKulechov](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/StaniKulechov.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgo4w6XWIAcBnBv.jpg)
No project exemplifies this recent blooming more than Lens Protocol, an NFT-based social graph system built on Polygon thatās designed to serve as a foundation for an ecosystem of decentralized social network apps.
![Twitter avatar for @Crypto_McKenna](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/Crypto_McKenna.jpg)
![Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFgklEy8WYAInxDU.png)
To be sure, Lens, its ecosystem, and the decentralized social media sector in general are incredibly early on. Weāre still at least a couple years away from these solutions being able to handle massive user bases. Yet the early progress around these web3 social plays is encouraging and gives us hope theyāll be ready for the limelight soon enough.Ā
![Twitter avatar for @0xChristina](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/0xChristina.jpg)
Polygon the home of web3 social?
Reddit, Instagram, Lens ā what do they have in common? Theyāre all relying on Polygon, the Ethereum scaling solution, to support their early NFT efforts.Ā
Indeed, Reddit avatars are minted on Polygon, Instagram is starting its collectibles program on Polygon, Lens profiles and posts are minted on Polygon, etc.Ā
With its affordable and rapid transactions, plus its scaling roadmap and bizdev efforts, the Polygon team has been on a tear when it comes to locking down the early makings of a teeming social media scene. At this rate, donāt be surprised if other mainstream social media companies make their way to Polygon.Ā
Action steps
š± Check out Metaās Instagram NFT toolkit news
š§± Read my previous post Zora launches Nouns Builder
Author Bio
William M. Peaster is a professional writer and creator of Metaversalāa Bankless newsletter focused on the emergence of NFTs in the cryptoeconomy. Heās also recently been contributing content to Bankless, JPG, and beyond!
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Not financial or tax advice.Ā This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
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