Just one year after its launch, Meta ends the push for digital collectibles on its most important social networks.
Meta is ending its support for NFTs on Facebook and Instagram less than a year into its push.
The update comes as the social network has laid off thousands of workers and shut down numerous projects amid what Mark Zuckerberg has described as the company’s “efficiency year.”
No more NFTs
Stephane Kasriel, director of Trading and Financial Technologies at Meta , shared this change through his Twitter account.
“We are removing digital collectibles ( NFTs ) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, individuals, and businesses. We learned a lot that we can apply to the products we continue to develop to support creators, people and businesses in our apps, both today and in the metaverse,” he says.
He added that the company would instead focus on “monetization opportunities for Reels” and “Meta messaging payments . ”
Some product news: across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023
It’s over?
The update comes almost exactly one year after Zuckerberg took to the SXSW stage to announce that Instagram was working on NFT support , which debuted this past May.
Meta is winding down several efforts regarding NFTs and cryptocurrencies. NFTs are digital files that are minted on the blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies , to give them a unique feature on the internet . Their use has supporters and opponents and it is believed that they can be used in a kind of pyramid scheme or as “bubbles”.
Meta has also shut down its crypto wallet, Novi , which was once rumored to have NFT support on its roadmap. The company has also cut projects with its metaverse division, Reality Labs, and its program that paid bonuses to the creators of Reels.