Meta Jumps into NFTs

NFTs getting a further indication of reality.  A deepening of generalized asset fungification?

Meta reportedly plans to bring NFTs into Facebook and Instagram, BY KYT DOTSON  in SliconAngle

Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., is reportedly jumping onto the nonfungible token bandwagon and will allow users of its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram to mint, sell and trade the digital assets.

According to the Financial Times, unnamed sources said that Meta is already working on features that will allow users to display NFTs on social media profiles on Facebook and Instagram. There is also a prototype in the works that will assist users in the minting, or creation, of the tokens.

NFTs are a type of virtual asset secured by peer-to-peer blockchain technology that represents ownership of digital items such as artwork, music, collectibles, videogame items and more. The technology has made it possible for digital items to be collectibles because once minted, an NFT can be traded between parties, and the transaction is recorded.

In 2021 the NFT market reached $41 billion in value, according to a new report from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis Inc. This value rivals the $100 million in digital collectible sales from 2020 tracked by DappRadar.

A large portion of the market surrounds digital art NFTs, including such collections as the CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club. The highest-selling CryptoPunk was CryptoPunk 7523, sold for $11.75 million. Another big example of how NFT digital art made headlines in 2021 was Beeple’s collage “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” which sold for $69 million at a Christie’s auction.

Many of these sales happen on NFT marketplaces, which FT reported that Meta is also working on for its users. Such marketplaces allow users to discover, buy, sell and trade NFTs and are fundamental to the economy that has been built up around digital assets.

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, recently raised $300 million at a $13 billion valuation earlier this month and facilitated more than $10 billion in NFT sales and trading volume by November 2021. Crypto wallet and finance providers Blockchain.com and Coinbase have both signaled plans to open up their own NFT marketplaces as well.  .... '