• The recent expansion of NFT functionality will allow Instagram users to share their digital collectibles on the Instagram feed, in stories, and in messages.
  • Instagram is offering support to third-party wallets such as MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, and Dapper Wallet.

On Thursday, August 4, Meta (NASDAQ: META) chief Mark Zuckerberg made an important announcement about expanding the support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on Instagram to 100 more countries.

The Facebook-parent firm has been working on introducing the NFT support since the start of 2022. Earlier this year in May 2022, Instagram started the initial test for NFT support. The latest expansion means users and businesses in more than 100 countries will be able to share their NFTs on Instagram. This includes countries across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.

Meta has also partnered with Ethereum Layer-2 scalability platform Polygon to power the NFTs on Instagram. During its May test launch, the company said:

We understand that blockchain technology and NFTs raise important questions on sustainability. Meta will help reduce the emissions impact that might be associated with the display of digital collectibles on Instagram by purchasing renewable energy.

Instagram’s NFT Functionality

The NFT functionality on Instagram allows users to connect a digital wallet, share NFTs and automatically tag the creator as well as the collector for attribution. Users can share their NFTs through their Instagram feed, stories, and messages.

Upon sharing the NFTs, it will have a shimmer effect to display public information along with a description of the NFT. However, to post a digital collectible on Instagram, users first need to connect their digital wallets. As of date, Instagram is offering support to third-party wallets such as MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, and Dapper Wallet.

Some of the supported blockchain networks for the NFT functionality on Instagram include Polygon, Ethereum, and Flow. Instagram has further clarified that there will be no fees associated with posting and sharing NFTs and digital collectibles to Instagram.

On Thursday, Meta said that the recent move will help the firm expand user access to Web 3 technology via NFTs. It will also help creators looking to monetize their work and build a community of fans and collectors.

More features planned for Instagram

In June 2022, Meta launched new monetization tools for creators on FB and Instagram. Back then, company chief Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta will be working on NFTs, and 3D NFTs, and bring them to Instagram Stories via their own native augmented reality platform SparkAR.

On Thursday, the company announced that users can display and share their NFTs as AR stickers in Instagram stories. Along with Instagram, other social media giants including Twitter have been testing the NFT expansion functionality on their platforms. Furthermore, YouTube is also looking to embrace NFTs in the future.