Ornella Hernandez

Instagram has begun testing out its NFT marketplace by offering a select group of US creators on Instagram the opportunity to sell the digital collectibles directly via Meta’s social media platform.



Blockworks spoke to one of those creators, Refik Anadol, whose series of so-called artificial intelligence (AI) data paintings, or software-based artworks, sold out on Monday after only a few minutes.&nbsp;



His collection called Sense of Healing: AI Data Paintings — 20 editions of four collectibles — is one of the first non-fungible tokens to sell on Instagram. In total, the collection raised nearly $80,000 for the Alzheimer’s Foundation.



A Turkish-American Ethereum miner turned NFT artist, Anadol said that <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/meta-pins-web3-hopes-on-instagram-creators-minting-nfts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">listing an NFT on Instagram</a> is “as easy as adding a post.”&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Blockworks: Tell us about how the partnership with Meta started and about your new collection.&nbsp;



Refik: I coined the term data painting in 2008, and I’ve been working as an AI artist since 2016 trying to create a social impact as much as possible. When the Meta team and Instagram said, ‘hey, we are doing this new creator economy move,’ of course I said yes to the experiment.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="294" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-39886" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=262 262w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=266 266w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=223 223w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Instagram-nft-300.jpg?w=50 50w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Refik Anadol &#8220;data painting&#8221;</figcaption></figure></div>


We trained more than one hundred AI models for this project. We worked in collaboration with an amazing neuroscience company called MindMaze to create a dataset representing how the human mind heals. So these are very positive representations of how the human mind becomes better.



This summer, I took this data and created one piece, which was auctioned at UNICEF for 1.7 million euros. For Instagram, I took four still AI data paintings from this unique series using the same technology — <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FMRI</a>, DTI and EEG data sets transformed into an AI data painting.



Blockworks: If your collection is resold on a secondary marketplace, 10% of the resale value will go to you. Are you choosing to collect royalties? And what is your take on marketplaces that have gone royalty-optional?



Refik: This drop is completely donated to the Alzheimer&#8217;s Foundation. So I&#8217;m not getting any personal benefit from this. It’s more about transforming this amazing moment to something more powerful than just personal income.



[Meta] allows a creator to select ​their royalties starting from the minimum five percent, which is amazing because the secondary market is another powerful economy. It’s very important for the creators because it&#8217;s where the wider economy shares more directly.&nbsp;



Why do we need this? Because in the last centuries, the entire art market was not based on royalties. The whole movement started because of this powerful chance of getting this income. So it&#8217;ll be very sad to go back to the last century.



Blockworks: Given the current market conditions, what kind of utility are people now expecting from NFT projects?



Refik: When the artist has a journey, his or her life is a utility. For example, when my works are collected by my collectors, I invite them to special openings and special previews — the utility is being special, being a part of the artist’s journey. I think that’s enough as a means of utility. Our idea is to bring more technology and innovation into the metaverse as an experiential world and let our collectors become a part of a new universe that they have invested in.



Blockworks: Do you think that Meta and Instagram are the right platforms to work with in order to accomplish that?



Refik: Meta has this clear vision that they fully believe in the metaverse and that they are creating the metaverse. So I think it&#8217;s a perfect partner for unfolding this narrative to a larger audience. Instagram is a public space. Instagram is truly accessible to the world. I think it&#8217;s a very great time to create these mainstream connections and make people aware of this new movement.&nbsp;



Blockworks: What is your opinion on the future of NFT technology and any benefits it adds to an artist?



Refik: It&#8217;s an incredible technology that will bring a lot of inclusive — hopefully — discussions. First of all, I think NFTs are just a technology, a tool. But I think what we do with that, what we create, instills the value of the art itself. But the technology is incredibly open and very welcoming for anyone, technically, in the world. And that openness, egalitarian side of things is incredibly exciting. There&#8217;s no door or a gate to push open — it&#8217;s just there.&nbsp;



Now it&#8217;s time to dive deep into the art context. It&#8217;s an intellectual time. The question now is —&nbsp;



What else can we do with [the technology]? I&#8217;ve very much been focusing on giving back to charities. We donated more than $5 million in the last two years to charities. But we also do public art free that is open to everyone.



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Q&A: Artist Refik Anadol on AI-based NFTs for Instagram

Bessie Liu

FTX’s disaster has caused the market to be filled with fear of uncertainty and doubt (FUD), and major cryptocurrencies related to Sam Bankman-Fried have suffered as a result, but Polygon (MATIC) and tokens backed by gold, have outperformed.



The price of Polygon’s MATIC token has gone up by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/prices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6%</a> over the past week. By comparison, it’s competitor, Solana has seen the price of its token SOL dip by <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/prices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">46 %</a>.



In addition to stablecoins, traders looking for a safe haven have turned to PAX Gold (PAXG) issued by Paxos, which has seen an <a href="https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/pax-gold" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">8.2%</a> price increase.



Chris Kline, chief revenue officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA told Blockworks that MATIC is more hyper-focused and specialized than other cryptocurrencies, which may have allowed it to protect itself during market fluctuations.



“Polygon&#8217;s MATIC token is used to pay transaction fees and participate on the network,” Kline said. &#8220;Although MATIC, like all other cryptocurrencies, is 60%+ lower than its all-time highs of 2021.



MATIC’s price has likely outperformed thanks to the announcement of Polygon’s partnership with Instagram last Thursday, where creators will be able to make their own digital collectables and sell them on the platform.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">🚨 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT🚨 💻Earlier this year, we announced a display partnership with <a href="https://twitter.com/Meta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meta</a>. ⛓️Now, <a href="https://twitter.com/Meta?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meta</a> has selected <a href="https://twitter.com/0xPolygon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@0xPolygon</a> for MINTING digital collectibles! For the first time ever, creators will be able to mint &amp; sell Polygon-powered digital collectibles on <a href="https://twitter.com/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@instagram</a>! <a href="https://t.co/bU0NorU7pe">pic.twitter.com/bU0NorU7pe</a>&mdash; Ryan Wyatt (@Fwiz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fwiz/status/1587930023884791808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



As drama unfolds with FTX and other crypto communities, Polygon developers have been actively working on building products to integrate Blockchain technology with Web2.&nbsp;



In fact, yesterday, Polygon revealed that it was working with Disney to develop a proof of concept for exclusive digital collectables.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">The MAGIC continues! 🪄✨ Polygon is working w/ <a href="https://twitter.com/WaltDisneyCo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WaltDisneyCo</a> after participating in <a href="https://twitter.com/DisneyAccel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DisneyAccel</a> 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼 For starters, we’re developing a proof of concept for EXCLUSIVE digital collectibles to recognize Disney employees during special occasions ✨&mdash; Polygon &#8211; MATIC 💜 (@0xPolygon) <a href="https://twitter.com/0xPolygon/status/1590861662235811840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Tapping into the creator economy space may have been the reason that the Polygon token has held up during the cryptocurrency meltdown.



&#8220;The value added to the creator economy is unmatchable and championing verifiable digital ownership on a platform with such reach will help us further our goal of onboarding the next billion users to Web3,&#8221; Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon <a href="https://twitter.com/0xPolygon/status/1587933034665287682" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> in a tweet.&nbsp;



This sentiment is shared by Harsh Rajat, CEO at Push Protocol who told Blockworks “the reason the price of MATIC has been trending upwards and will likely continue to do so is because the number of wallet addresses continues to do so as well.”



Adding that, “the number of unique wallet addresses is the simplest indicator in the health and growth of a network, and it’s clearly thriving on Polygon as more addresses are being added every day despite a downturn in the market.”



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Gold-linked Tokens and Polygon Buck Crypto Downtrend

Meta’s latest blockchain offering will let a select group of US creators on Instagram mint NFTs and sell the digital assets directly via the social media platform.



The company <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/11/new-creators-tools-facebook-and-instagram/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it won’t charge any service fees until 2024 and will cover any gas costs incurred by both creators and collectors for the time being. However, any in-app purchases of NFTs are still subject to applicable Android and iOS app store fees.



With this move, Instagram has essentially become an NFT marketplace, comparable to crypto-native platforms such as <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/opensea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a>, Rarible or <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/tag/magic-eden" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Magic Eden</a>. Those marketplaces, however, do charge service fees.



OpenSea, for example, takes a 2.5% cut of the sale price. Creating or listing an item is free of charge. Rarible, on the other hand, takes 1% on the buyer side and 1% on the seller side from every sale. And Magic Eden takes 2% on all transactions.



Meta has not yet announced an <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-royalties-top-1-8-billion-galaxy-digital/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFT royalty scheme</a> for secondary sales, but given the recent <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/web3-watch-sec-probes-yuga-labs-degods-eliminates-nft-royalties/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wave of marketplaces going royalty-optional</a>, including Magic Eden, SudoSwap and LooksRare, it may choose to jump on the bandwagon.



Going fee free is not the usual style of tech giants, especially for Meta. Its <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/metas-metaverse-play-ridiculed-online/">Horizon Worlds</a> virtual reality (VR) video game will reportedly charge users a fee of 47.5% built in to the cost of Meta Quest Store apps and games. This figure includes a hardware platform fee of 30% for Meta’s VR Meta Quest.



Meta’s Reality Labs division in charge of producing metaverse-related technology keeps seeing heavy losses. The latest figure was a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/metas-metaverse-division-loses-nearly-3-7b-in-q3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$3.7 billion loss during the third quarter</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Meta wants creators to make a living (and help solve its financial woes)</h3>



With Meta taking <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/metas-metaverse-division-loses-nearly-3-7b-in-q3/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heavy losses on its metaverse division</a>, CEO Mark Zuckerberg seems eager to attract more users to the creator economy via NFTs.&nbsp;



According to Zuckerberg, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/pfbid02SBYQLYYj4cuvvcqmfMjmXMfSuyng4Efp7VgwSnU7M99bVgdJyVnVX1hKwkxfZRCDl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plan</a> is to “help creators build for the metaverse,” and the roadmap includes blockchain-powered digital collectibles. To celebrate, Meta invited both Instagram and Facebook creators from around the world to “Creator Week” events during the first week of November in Los Angeles, London, Bali and Sao Paulo.



Echoing Web3’s promise to tear down walled gardens,&nbsp;Instagram’s new feature allows users to take any photos or video collectibles they create on Instagram off of the platform and share them to their preferred NFT wallets or marketplaces.



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/meta-to-expand-nft-feature-to-select-facebook-instagram-users-this-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meta recently launched its digital collectibles feature in 100 countries</a>, enabling users to connect their digital wallets. But the feature only allows for Polygon, Ethereum and Flow NFTs.&nbsp;



The latest update will add support for two new wallets — the Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet — in addition to existing options Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet.&nbsp;



Influencers and creators traditionally monetize their work via social media through a combination of brand partnerships, revenue sharing programs from various platforms, and even direct payments from fans and followers.



Meta’s Web3 strategy about helping creators make a living, Stephane Kasriel, head of commerce and fintech at Meta, <a href="https://medium.com/@skasriel/how-blockchain-can-unlock-a-better-creator-economy-32ee37ab054e" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> in a Medium post.&nbsp;



“Imagine if, as a creator, you use Instagram to sell a ticket (in the form of an NFT) to an event or experience that includes access to an exclusive meet and greet with you on video or unlocks access to other content,” Kasriel said. “Where there was once a single way to monetize that ticket, there could soon be multiple ways.”



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Meta Pins Web3 Hopes on Instagram Creators Minting NFTs

<div id="highlights-block_633760ed1f628" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Digital collectibles can be posted on both Instagram and Facebook feeds</li>
 <li>“At the end of the day, NFTs are about clout and signaling,” says Space Doodles developer</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Meta first enabled select creators and NFT collectors to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/meta-to-expand-nft-feature-to-select-facebook-instagram-users-this-week/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post their NFTs on Facebook and Instagram</a> at the end of August.



Now, the digital collectibles feature is available to all Facebook and Instagram users in the US and 100 international countries where the Instagram roll out initially took place.



Users can unlock the feature by connecting a supported digital asset wallet to their social media accounts, including Rainbow, Trust Wallet, Dapper, Coinbase Wallet and MetaMask wallets.&nbsp;



The main perk is getting to share NFTs to Instagram or Facebook feeds, and cross-post any digital collectibles across both platforms for zero fees. Credit can be given to the artists behind an NFT by tagging them in the post.&nbsp;



Some of the creators chosen to test out the feature during the August roll out included <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChnnZeyvaJH/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Steve Aoki</a> and emerging digital artists such as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jessesmithtattoo/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jesse Smith Art</a>.



“You could own lots of NFTs but the question is — how could I showcase it? At the end of the day, NFTs are about clout and signaling,” Varoun Hanooman, the developer behind the Space Doodles collection, told Blockworks.



The value of that is two-fold, added Hanooman: “It lets others know that you’re in a very exclusive community and that there&#8217;s a price associated with that.”



Twitter already lets users display PFP NFTs as their profile pictures, and blue chip NFTs are slowly becoming the new blue check mark or a new form of verification – proof of participation in the Web3 community.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Meta’s own initiative comes amid <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/09/21/meta-facebook-not-so-big-tech-antitrust" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slow revenue growth and hiring freezes</a>, and the company is betting big on metaverse technology to reach new users.



However, its release of Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality online metaverse game, did not receive the warmest reception with <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/metas-metaverse-play-ridiculed-online/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">European users mocking its graphics</a> last month. Meta’s metaverse division, Reality Labs, is reportedly losing billions of dollars a year.



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Instagram and Facebook Users Can Now Share and Crosspost NFTs

Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_631effca203df" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders call Meta “breeding ground” for crypto fraud</li>
 <li>Social media users can accidentally end up downloading harmful bots via malicious links</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Facebook parent Meta isn’t doing enough to get rid of crypto-related scammers on its platforms, according to several US Democrats.



They questioned CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week over its efforts to fight related scams on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.&nbsp;



Sens. Robert Menendez, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, among others, wrote in a <a href="https://www.menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_meta_on_cryptocurrency_scams.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a> on Sept. 8 that they were concerned the Facebook parent is a “breeding ground” for crypto fraud that results in significant harm to consumers.



Data from the Federal Trade Commission shows over 46,000 people collectively <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/frauds-and-scams-top-1b-since-2021-ftc-says/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost more than $1 billion</a> in crypto-related scams between 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. That figure includes scams where the crypto connection consists of its use as a payment method.



Non-crypto-related scams accounted for about $4.16 billion, or <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2022/06/reports-show-scammers-cashing-crypto-craze#crypto2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">76% of losses</a>, the FTC said.



The report states that, among customers who were scammed, roughly half were perpetrated via social media, leading to consumer losses worth $417 million: 32% reported being conned on Instagram, 26% on Facebook, 9% on WhatsApp and 7% on Telegram.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="491" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png" alt="" class="wp-image-30807" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=1536 1536w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=428 428w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=470 470w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=389 389w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-09-12-FTC-1024x491.png?w=1980 1980w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Figures based on fraud reports to the FTC&#8217;s Consumer Sentinel network indicating cryptocurrency as the payment method. The investment related fraud category includes the following fraud subcategories: art, gems and rare coin investments, investment seminars and advice, stocks and commodity futures trading, and miscellaneous investments. Reports provided by Sentinel data contributors are excluded; Source: FTC</figcaption></figure></div>


The senators have now asked Meta to respond to questions including detailed current policies and practices to remove crypto scammers and steps to assist victims. A deadline for responses has been set for Oct. 24.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Social networking service (SNS) hacks or scams can occur via fake administrator accounts or administrator accounts that are infected with malicious bots, explained Jasper Lee, audit head at smart contract auditing firm <a href="http://sooho.io" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sooho.io</a>.



Harmful bots can be installed if users click on a specific link attached via a direct message. This way, attackers then install malicious bots with administrative authority on the account and lure investors to a fraudulent minting site.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“There are an increasing number of fake sites disguised as official NFT minting sites and impersonating SNS accounts, even with the same photos and descriptions of official accounts used for real announcements,” Lee told Blockworks.</blockquote>



Meta didn’t respond to Blockworks’ request for comment by press time. According to its website, the company’s current <a href="https://www.facebook.com/business/help/438252513416690?id=595195347635322" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto ads policy</a> states that most products require to be licensed or registered with a recognized regulator.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What Meta could do to tackle scammers</h3>



In April 2022, Meta launched a <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/04/helping-to-stop-online-scams/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">campaign</a> on Facebook and Instagram featuring educational videos to help people spot and avoid scams online. It included prevalent methods, including romance, investment, cash flipping, money mule, and friend-in-need scams. 



It also partnered with a banking and online industry network called Stop Scams UK in 2022 to proactively help stop scams.



But Aarti Dhapte, senior research analyst at Market Research Future, said Meta must indulge in an increasing number of campaigns in every country.&nbsp;



“These campaigns should be customized per the prevalent crypto scams/frauds in that country/area,” she told Blockworks.



Meta should also use its recently launched Next-Gen AI supercomputers to prevent fraudsters from registering under fake, offline identities, she added.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Sued by Australian watchdog for fake endorsements</h3>



Earlier this year, Meta was sued by Australia’s competition watchdog for allegedly promoting fake ads that endorsed crypto investments. The lawsuit claimed Meta “aided and abetted or was knowingly concerned in false or misleading conduct and representations by the advertisers.”



One individual lost more than A$650,000 ($443,992) through such a scam, the <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-takes-action-over-alleged-misleading-conduct-by-meta-for-publishing-scam-celebrity-crypto-ads-on-facebook" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">complaint</a> said.



The watchdog said Facebook’s ads would likely mislead customers into believing they were associated with prominent personalities, when in fact they weren’t. The people featured had never approved them.



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Scammers Use of Meta Platforms Draws US Political Ire

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_630ceff0cce7e" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Meta to bring NFT feature to both Instagram and Facebook starting this week</li>
 <li>Meta stock is trading 53% lower, year to date </li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Less than a month after debuting its digital wallet integration, Meta will allow select creators and NFT collectors to post their digital property on both Facebook and Instagram.&nbsp;



Meta posted the <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/05/introducing-digital-collectibles-to-showcase-nfts-instagram/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">update</a> Monday, announcing that selected US-based users will be able to connect their digital wallets and share NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on the company’s two main social media platforms starting this week. 



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/instagram-expands-nft-feature-to-creators-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earlier this month</a>, Meta said creators and businesses in some 100 countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and the Americas would be able to share their NFTs on Instagram. 



At the time of that announcement, Meta supported connections with several third-party wallets, including MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet. The tech giant also said that it supports three blockchains: Polygon, Ethereum and Flow.&nbsp;



Meta first revealed its plans to expand into the NFT space in May 2022. The technology company said that it will use public blockchain data to verify which collectables owners and creators hold.&nbsp;



“It’s critical that our early efforts in this space empower diverse voices and that underrepresented groups have access to emerging digital assets like NFTs,” the company said in the announcement. “By building support for NFTs, we aim to improve accessibility, lower barriers to entry, and help make the NFT space more inclusive to all communities.”



The update comes one month after Meta revealed that it has <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/meta-metaverse-unit-has-lost-5-7b-this-year/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lost $5.7 billion</a> building out its metaverse unit so far in 2022. In the second quarter of the year, the company posted its first ever revenue decline, missing analysts’ expectations. 



“This is obviously a very expensive undertaking over the next several years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in June during the company’s <a href="https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2022/07/27/meta-platforms-inc-meta-q2-2022-earnings-call-tran/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earnings call</a>. “But as the metaverse becomes more important in every part of how we live from our social platforms and entertainment to work and education and commerce, I’m confident that we’re going to be glad that we played an important role in building this.”



Meta shares were trading down 0.6% Monday following the announcement. Year to date, the stock has lost 53%. Analysts surveyed by <a href="https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/META/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MarketBeat</a> assigned Meta a “moderate buy” rating Monday with a forecasted upside of 56.9%.





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Meta To Expand NFT Feature to Select Facebook, Instagram Users This Week

<div id="highlights-block_62ebee17bf6b7" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Select creators only need to connect a digital wallet to Instagram in order to post an NFT</li>
 <li>There are no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on Instagram</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Meta is introducing NFTs to a fresh cohort of Instagram users worldwide.&nbsp;



The tech giant and Instagram parent company said Thursday its digital collectibles push — <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/meta-trials-nft-display-feature-for-instagram-creators-and-collectors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rolled out</a> to US users in May — is going global.



Creators and businesses in some 100 countries across Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and the Americas will now be able to share their NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on Instagram. A spokesperson declined to comment on whether Europe is included. 



This feature allows users to connect a digital wallet, share NFTs and automatically tag both a creator and collector for attribution.&nbsp;



Zuckerberg posted a “soon-to-be NFT” of his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg1wA01l3NX/?igshid=NDBlY2NjN2I%3D" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Little League baseball card</a> to Instagram “in honor” of the expansion.



Instagram is also set to support Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet connections in addition to the standing integrations of Rainbow, MetaMask and Trust Wallet. Creators may also post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain, as well as Ethereum and Polygon.



“This milestone reflects Meta’s continued work to expand access to web3 technology through NFTs, and support creators who want to monetize their work and build community with their fans and collectors,” the company said in a statement.&nbsp;



Meta recently <a href="https://www.facebook.com/creators/expanding-ways-creators-earn-money-on-facebook-and-instagram" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlined</a> how the company is focusing on “rolling out more ways for creators to make money on Facebook and Instagram,” Zuckerberg wrote in a June Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/pfbid0NduDRNvNDU3UZwq6m2tCg6dsiFQ8Ch44FNngdhabK34FFwh8aRg9RoyHSyjiZnmpl" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>.



On Instagram, the aim is to facilitate branded content partnerships between creators and brands, according to the company. The platform plans to begin testing in-app payments, so brands could pay creators for branded content via the social media platform.



Users can also display and share digital collectibles as augmented reality stickers in Instagram stories. Snapchat has let its users create and share similar in-app effects for a couple of years.&nbsp;



On Facebook, creators can give paying subscribers on other platforms access to subscriber-only Facebook groups. And those fans can show love to their favorite creators by sending stars — a digital good fans can buy.



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Instagram Expands NFT Feature to Creators Worldwide

<div id="highlights-block_627a80a0602db" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Select Instagram users and influencers in the US will test the NFT sharing feature</li>
 <li>Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg first revealed at South by Southwest in March that the company was working on bringing NFTs to Instagram</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



A limited number of users in the US can now share digital collectibles and NFTs via Instagram, Adam Mosseri, head of the social media platform, revealed in a video posted to Twitter on Monday. Initially only NFTs (non-fungible tokens) minted on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains will be shareable on Instagram feeds, stories and via direct messages.



Mosseri said that this new functionality is an opportunity to “support creators to make a living doing what they love” while also “making Web3 technologies accessible to a much broader range of people.” He added that the company intends to learn from the community in order “to embrace those tenets of distributed trust and power” central to Web3.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">NFTs on Instagram 🎉 This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG. See you next week! ✌🏼 <a href="https://t.co/VuJbMVSBDr">pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr</a>&mdash; Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) <a href="https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1523655590672695296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



He also specified that there will be no fees associated with posting or sharing an NFT, in comparison to Twitter, which only allows Twitter Blue subscribers in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to set their NFTs as their profile pictures (PFP), for a fee of $2.99 a month.&nbsp;



As seen in the video, NFTs displayed on Instagram contain a “digital collectible” tag, which includes a description of the digital asset and details about the artist and the owner.



Among the first batch of NFT collections included in the trial are those from Boss Beauties, actor Jayden Smith, and chair of VaynerX Gary Vaynerchuck, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/09/instagram-testing-nfts-select-creators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to TechCrunch</a>.



Similar functionality will soon be enabled on Facebook and other Meta apps, CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zuck/videos/734113884613230" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed</a> in a Facebook post. Meta <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2022/04/testing-creator-monetization-horizon-worlds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently announced</a> plans to charge 47.5% on each item sold on its new Meta Quest app store, and include NFTs as part of its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds.



While Zuckerberg previewed the news that Instagram would support NFTs “in the near term,” during a virtual appearance at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas in March, he hinted that users could also soon mint their own NFTs. But for now, NFT support on Instagram is limited to sharing.



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Meta Trials NFT Display Feature for Instagram Creators and Collectors

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_6266de2cacb8f" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The stolen NFTs are estimated to be worth upwards of $10 million, based on the floor price of the hacked digital collectibles </li>
 <li>BAYC&#8217;s co-founder &#8220;Garga.eth&#8221; said four Bored Apes, six Mutant Apes, three Kennels and other &#8220;assorted valuable NFTs&#8221; were transferred to the hacker&#8217;s address</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The Instagram account belonging to NFT project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) was compromised Monday, paving the way for the theft of more than a dozen individuals&#8217; digital valuables.



In a <a href="https://twitter.com/BoredApeYC/status/1518637579633053701?s=20&amp;t=fikY8R6xjB2uBnpIjzM00g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>, BAYC said a hacker posted a fake link to a copycat website, along with a false airdrop. The airdrop prompted users to sign a so-called &#8220;safeTransferFrom&#8221; transaction, which transferred the NFTs to the hacker&#8217;s wallet.



A safeTransferFrom transaction is a function within Ethereum designed to check for the eligible ERC-721 token standard transfer of an NFT (non-fungible token) from the owner to the recipient.



&#8220;Immediately upon discovering the hack, we alerted our community, removed links to the compromised IG account from our platforms and attempted to recover the account,&#8221; BAYC tweeted.



The account was hacked despite BAYC employing two-factor authentication and following security best practices, it said in a follow-up tweet. BAYC has launched an investigation in an attempt to discover how the hacker gained access.



According to BAYC&#8217;s co-founder &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoGarga/status/1518613901117689857?s=20&amp;t=fikY8R6xjB2uBnpIjzM00g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Garga.eth</a>,&#8221; four Bored Apes, six Mutant Apes, three Kennels and other &#8220;assorted valuable NFTs&#8221; were transferred to the hacker. Based on the marketplace&#8217;s floor price, it is estimated the value of the hack is upwards of $10 million.



According to the project&#8217;s <a href="https://opensea.io/collection/boredapeyachtclub?tab=activity&amp;search[isSingleCollection]=true&amp;search[eventTypes][0]=ASSET_TRANSFER" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenSea</a> account, around nine Bored Ape NFTs have been flagged for suspicious activity. Mutant Apes and Kennels have yet to be flagged. 



&#8220;We will be in contact with the users affected and will post a full post-mortem on the attack when we can,&#8221; Garga said. &#8220;For now I would like to stress that 2FA was enabled on the account.&#8221;



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Dozens of Pricey NFTs Stolen After BAYC Instagram Hack

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_6241e5748becc" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>NFTs have an estimated total addressable market (TAM) of over $1 trillion, according to Deutsche Bank</li>
 <li>Earlier this month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company was “working” on bringing NFTs to Instagram “in the near term”</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



From <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/twitter-integrates-nfts-with-new-profile-picture-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter’s move</a> to verify NFTs on user profiles, to <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/youtube-doubles-down-on-nft-integration-exec-says/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube execs&#8217; mentions</a> of integration of cryptoassets on its platform — companies have made advances to push the blockchain-based collectibles into the limelight the past year.



Instagram, however, may finally take non-fungible tokens (NFT) mainstream with its forthcoming integration, Deutsche Bank said in a research report published Sunday, <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/28/nfts-could-go-mainstream-with-instagrams-planned-support-deutsche-bank-says/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cited by Coindesk</a>.



Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of parent company Meta, earlier this month <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/15/instagram-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> the company was “working” on bringing NFTs to Instagram “in the near term.”



Per a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/report-meta-will-incorporate-nfts-into-ambitious-metaverse-plans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> from the Financial Times, which cited sources familiar with the matter, the tech giant will launch an NFT marketplace. Instagram and Facebook will reportedly develop a feature to allow users to showcase NFTs on their profiles.



Instagram could lower barriers in the nascent space, the bank said, and simplify the purchase and selling process of NFTs. The NFT market is in “hyper growth mode” and garnered roughly $25 billion in transaction volume last year.&nbsp;



Additionally, Instagram’s brand recognition will “legitimize NFTs, which could serve to erode buying hesitancy across the company’s broader audience,” Deutsche Bank said.&nbsp;



Per the bank’s note, NFTs have an estimated total addressable market (TAM) of over $1 trillion. This figure is led by use cases such as art, gambling and collectibles.&nbsp;



Colin Fitzpatrick, founder of NFT startup Animal Concerts, previously told Blockworks that the chance of the company getting into NFTs is “highly likely,” but holders should be careful.&nbsp;



“The responsibility will fall on the NFT community’s shoulders to make sure Meta behaves fairly and doesn’t try to monopolize profits and what is supposed to be a democratic industry,” Fitzpatrick said.



The bank’s report follows on the heels of Morgan Stanley’s related <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/morgan-stanley-sees-8-trillion-metaverse-market-eventually/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">note</a> to clients last month, in which analysts predict the metaverse’s initial TAM in China will be roughly $4 trillion, as it replaces the mobile internet with a more “immersive experience.”



“We expect the metaverse TAM to be expansive and go beyond the current online consumption market, which is mainly dominated by e-commerce and online entertainment spending,” the note said.



Shares of Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) are down 0.69% at $220.28 at time of publication.



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