TL;DR

• Meta announced it is “winding down” its NFT integrations on Facebook and Instagram.

• We're not too upset (or surprised) that this has happened, because:

• It was a bad deal right out of the gates. Meta eventually planned to take 49% of all NFT sales made on its platforms.

• NFTs don’t play a large role in Zuck’s vision for the metaverse.

• NFTs need their own specific 'discovery engine' anyway, in order to solve a lot of the spaces current problems.

Full Story

If you blinked, you might have missed it: for a hot minute, NFTs were actually available on Facebook and Instagram.

(No, seriously).

Creators could mint new NFTs through their accounts, and users could feature NFTs as their profile pictures.

But soon, that will be no more. Late Monday night, Meta announced it is “winding down” its NFT integrations on Facebook and Instagram.

Here's why we're not too upset (or surprised) that this has happened:

1. It was a bad deal right out of the gates.
   
   Meta integrated NFTs to IG & FB, along with some pretty grim terms and conditions.
   
   At launch, the deal was that Meta would keep 0% of any/all NFT sales made on its platforms.
   
   ...but eventually, that figure was going to be jacked up to be - wait for it - 49% (!). No wonder NFT creators didn't flock to Instagram.
   

2. Zuck seems to be convinced that the metaverse will start in VR, and live on his platform.
   
   While the rest of the industry sees it starting as a 3D version of the internet (viewed on a screen), where users own their digital identities (instead of renting them from tech giants like Meta).
   
   Those digital identities, which we can take from platform to platform, are verified using NFTs.
   
   It's exactly how Ethereum Name Service and Unstoppable Domains work: you buy a domain (e.g. Web3Daily.crypto) → it doubles as your username and identity across platforms.
   
   That ownership & interoperability seems to fly in the face of Meta's vision. So it's no surprise NFTs are getting the axe.
   

3. NFTs need their own specific platform.
   
   Why? For a couple of reasons.
   
   The first being: a lot of folks are still skeptical of NFTs - and rightly so!
   
   There've been a ton of scams, a wash of crappy projects, and much of the infrastructure that promises to make NFTs a centre pin of the new internet, is yet to be built.
   
   Trying to shoehorn NFTs into massive platforms, where the majority of users are apathetic towards, or flat out against the technology isn't a winning strategy.
   
   Secondly: having an NFT specific 'discovery engine' solves a lot of the power struggles we're currently witnessing between trading platforms and creators.
   
   This article is getting a little long in the tooth, so here's a tweet thread from Chevy, explaining it all: