The NFT boom of 2021 put digital art on the radar of big companies everywhere. From Hyundai to video game publisher, Square Enix, everyone seems to be dipping their toes in non-fungible token waters. But, one market that NFTs have yet to (fully) invade is social media platforms. Though, it appears that will change in the near future. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Instagram will allow some creators to share their NFT art. With that said, NFTs and social media have some history. But what is the future of social media and digital art?
Twitter’s history with NFTs
In January of 2022, Twitter launched NFT profile pictures for Twitter Blue subscribers. Though, only NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain are supported at the moment. Users can connect their supported third-party crypto wallet and share their digital art as their profile picture. Only Coinbase Wallet, Argent, Ledger Live, MetaMask, Rainbow, and Trusted Wallet are supported for now.
If Elon Musk takes over Twitter, there could be some changes. The digital asset community seems to hang on his every move. Musk recently changed his profile picture to a collage of Bored Ape NFTs. ApeCoin, the cryptocurrency based on Bored Apes, jumped over two percent after the switch. Even though it seems Musk did it to make fun of NFTs.
Although, Musk’s deal with Twitter has taken a few hits recently. It was put on hold to investigate the volume of bots on the platform. And now it seems he violated an NDA when he revealed their bot check sample size is only 100 accounts.
Instagram and social media’s (possible) NFT future
Twitter might not be the social media platform to champion NFTs in the future. But it isn’t the only game in town. As mentioned earlier, Mark Zuckerberg has high hopes for digital assets. The initial run for the Instagram NFT test will only include a handful of creators. But, at South by Southwest in March of 2022, he announced NFTs will be an integral part of the metaverse. Though there are some kinks to iron out, Instagram could become the premier marketplace for NFTs in the future. And there will probably be further integration with Zuckerberg’s metaverse.
