Due to the fall of the cryptocurrency market, Meta is discontinuing support for non-fungible tokens on its platforms less than a year after its launch.
“We’re shutting down digital collectibles (NFTs) for the time being to focus on other approaches to help creators, individuals, and businesses,” Meta’s head of fintech, Stephane Kasriel, tweeted on Monday.
Meta authorized support for authors to distribute NFTs on Instagram and Facebook last year when the digital asset had soared in popularity and sales of everything from cartoon apes to video snippets had reached billions of dollars.
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However, bitcoin and other tokens saw a steep fall after the important exchange FTX crashed overnight in late 2022. This week saw the failure of three American banks, two of which had substantial holdings in cryptocurrencies, which made matters worse.
We’ll continue to invest in the fintech innovations that businesses and consumers will need in the future, Kasriel said. They added that with Meta Pay, which also makes checkout and payouts simpler, we’re investing in streamlining payments across Meta.
Kasriel added that the business would continue to focus on enhancing the platform’s potential for creators. We’re going to concentrate on areas where we can make an impact at scale, like messaging and monetization opps for Reels, he said in his tweet. “Creating chances for artists and businesses to communicate with their followers and monetize is a priority,” he said.