Meta has announced that its U.S.-based users can link their crypto wallets to their Facebook and Instagram accounts and use their digital collectibles. With this new feature, Meta has added functionality and visibility of digital assets on two of the leading social media platforms.
The development builds on Meta’s communication in May on plans to test digital collectibles with select U.S. creators and collectors to share NFTs. Before today, Meta only supported posting digital collectibles on Facebook, as the company continued to test NFTs integrations on Instagram in 100 countries that started on August 4.
In a blog post update by Meta, users can cross-post digital collectibles across the two platforms quickly and conveniently, without any charge.
“Today, we’re announcing that everyone on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S. can connect their wallets and share their digital collectibles. This includes the ability for people to cross-post digital collectibles that they own across both Facebook and Instagram. “
The new update has increased visibility and utility for NFTs and other digital assets on its leading platforms.
Meta’s foray into the digital asset space
In March 2022, Meta Company CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced his plans to assimilate NFTs as part of Facebook and Instagram before kicking off with experiments among select U.S.-based users and making a public declaration in June that NFTs would soon feature on the two flagship social media platforms. The company stated:
“At Meta, we’re looking at what creators are already doing across our technologies to improve the experience, help them create more monetization opportunities, and bring NFTs to a broader audience.”
Therefore, the introduction of the NFT sharing feature bolsters Meta’s presence in the crypto ecosystem. According to plans by the company CEO, this is only the beginning, as Meta has aspirations to solidify its presence by rolling out brand new cryptocurrency-related projects. According to sources close to the matter, the company is planning the launch of custom animations for NFT posts and digital collectibles.
Beyond that, in January 2022, the company also expressed its desire to venture into the digital asset marketplace by rolling out Meta’s NFT marketplace.
Expanding NFTs on Instagram and Facebook to U.S. users
According to the announcement, the feature involves connecting a digital wallet, sharing digital collectibles, and automatically tagging the creator and collector. With this new feature, users can connect a digital wallet and choose which NFTs from their wallet they want to share on either of the two platforms.
After sharing the digital collectible, it will have a shimmer effect while showing information publicly, including the description of that particular NFT. Anything the account owner posts will be visible on their profile.
The third provision of this new feature is automated tagging of both the creator and collector. This means that the digital collectible post will recognize the creator and collector, subject to their privacy settings.
Meta has, however, clarified that users should be logged in to their accounts to link their wallets. Once in, click settings, select the “digital collectible” option on the menu bar, and click to select.
With the rolling out of this innovative feature, Facebook and Instagram users and NFT enthusiasts across the U.S. can link their cryptocurrency wallets like Rainbow, Trust Wallet, MetaMask, Dapper Wallet, and Coinbase, among others, and post NFTs on either platform seamlessly and simultaneously.
Meta’s entrance into the digital asset space does not come as a surprise because right from their decision to rebrand in 2021, the company highlighted plans to foray into the metaverse. With Meta’s latest development, the company is embracing a virtual world built atop multiple major tech concepts like virtual reality (V.R.) and NFTs.
