Instagram is testing a way for users to mint their own NFTs

Instagram is testing the feature in the US first before expanding to more countries

(AFP via Getty Images)

Meta has announced that it is testing letting users mint and sell NFTs directly on Instagram.

“Creators will soon be able to make their own digital collectibles on Instagram and sell them to fans, both on and off Instagram. They’ll have an end-to-end toolkit — from creation (starting on the Polygon blockchain) and showcasing, to selling”, the company says.

“People can easily support their favorite creators by buying their digital collectibles directly within Instagram. We’re testing these new features with a small group of creators in the US first, and hope to expand to more countries soon.”

Instagram users will also be able to show other NFTs they have on the Solana blockchain, in addition to the Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains.

(Meta)

Mark Zuckerberg had said in March that the technology would be coming to Instagram. “I would hope that you know, the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the metaverse, you know, can be basically minted as an NFT and you can take it between your different places,” the billionaire said. “There’s like a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out before that’ll really be seamless to happen.”

The update comes as Meta seeks to add new ways for creators to make money, but interest in NFTs has dropped significantly.

The hype surrounding NFTs was fuelled by popular art projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, which attracted celebrity owners like musicians Justin Bieber, Eminem and Madonna.

But the average number of daily sales of NFTs fell to around 19,000 in June 2022. At its peak between August and November last year, NFT sales were frequently topping more than 200,000 per day.

The total monthly transaction volume also plummeted to levels not seen since June 2021 dropping from a peak above $4 billion to below $800 million.

In May, it was reported that sales of NFTs had fallen 92 per cent since September.

However, advocates the the technology are still hopeful that it could be used to instil property rights in digital spaces such as the metaverse, which Mr Zuckerberg has pivoted Facebook towards.

Unfortunately, even those in the crypto space are seemingly uninterested. Figures from blockchain analysis platform Chainalysis show that between February and November last year, the 2.7 million NFTs in existence were owned by just 360,000 people.

This compares to the roughly 300 million people that use cryptocurrency.