Instagram, the Meta-owned photos and videos sharing platform, is expanding support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to 100 countries, after an initial test launch in the US back in May this year. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news on his Facebook feed, sharing that his old Little League baseball card will be converted into an NFT soon. With the NFT support, Instagram will allow users to share their digital collectibles on the platform, instantly tagging the creator and the collector.
Meta announced via a press release that Instagram will now support NFTs in 100 countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas. Meta also announced that it now supports Coinbase Wallet and Dapper wallets for NFTs. Users will also have the ability to post NFTs minted on the Flow blockchain.
For those unaware, NFT is a one-of-a-kind entity that exists on a blockchain. If you own an NFT, you can rest assured no one else in the world can own an NFT with the exact same attributes as the one you have. A blockchain is a distributed database that is managed and updated by millions of people all around the world.
Commenting on the NFT support, Taaran Chanana, MD and co-founder, MemeChat, a homegrown social media app, said, “We laud the recent initiative of Meta expanding its NFT support on photos and video sharing in over 100 counties. This inventiveness will give creators the upper hand in getting more recognition on a huge platform like Instagram as they will be able to share their digital collectibles across social media and simultaneously connect their digital wallets too.”
ALSO SEE: Should Creators Consider Selling Their Art Online As NFTs?
The story behind Zuckerberg’s baseball card
Announcing the news of expansion on his Facebook feed, Zuckerberg said that his custom-made autographed Little League baseball card will soon be converted into an NFT.
The card has an interesting story behind it. As shared by online collectibles retailer Metropolis Comics & Collectibles, Zuckerberg had this card made back in 1992. He gave it to his “favourite camp counselor” Allie Tarantino, who playfully got it signed by Zuckerberg, just like one gets baseball cards signed by the players featured on them.
“Mark was one of my campers and one day he came in with this card and gave it to me — I was stunned that he was on it! I had never seen a Little League baseball card before, so I asked him to sign it for me. I never could have guessed what amazing things he would do,” Tarantino said.
Metropolis said, “The sale of this card will include documentation from multiple parties, including SGC, that authenticates the card’s manufacturing history, Mark Zuckerberg’s signature, and his attendance at Camp Elmwood. There will be an NFT of the card and all documentation made available as well.”
Instagram’s NFT support follows the footsteps of Twitter, which enabled NFT profile pictures for its premium users. Even Reddit launched an NFT-based avatar marketplace, which allows users to buy NFT profile pictures. YouTube, on the other hand, may soon start supporting NFTs as well to help support creators on its platform.
Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.