
The social media giant Instagram has announced the addition of a number of new "end-to-end toolkit" for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) that will allow creators to mint, display and sell NFTs through the platform.
A blockchain token such as the NFT token, which Meta refers to as a "digital collectible", is a unique token that represents ownership of a piece of digital art, essentially an asset.
Initially, a “small group” of creators in the United States will be able to test the new features, but the company didn't give any information on when it would expand to other countries. Meta announced that it would support the Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet in addition to Ethereum, Flow, and Polygon. During the launch, Instagram will issue NFTs through the Polygon blockchain.
Ryan Wyatt, CEO of Polygon Studios, told Decrypt, "Creators on Instagram having the opportunity to engage with fans and monetize through Polygon-powered digital collectables is a watershed moment for both the creator economy and web3."
He adds, "Accessibility is still one of the biggest hurdles to onboarding new users to Web3 and making this process easier, faster, cheaper, and more approachable will have an immense impact."
The head of Meta's commerce and financial technology, Stephane Kasriel, confirmed the NFT fees will not be charged initially, but they can be charged in the future. And the company will cover blockchain gas fees for buyers at launch.
"App store fees" will still apply to NFT transactions, Kasriel said, referring to Apple's 30% commission rate on NFT sales. This commission rate is higher than the average 2.5% charged by NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

Pavan A
CBW - External Analyst
INDIA