It seems that Meta is NGMI, as some might put it. Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, Stephane Kasriel, posted on Twitter that the company will be discontinuing its NFT and digital collectibles features on Instagram and Facebook. This short-lived product was only tested last May with select Instagram creators, plus some Facebook users in June. In July, Meta expanded NFT support on Instagram to creators in 100 countries. Less than a year later, Meta is moving away from NFTs. Some product news: Across the company, we’re looking closely at what we’re prioritizing to increase our focus. We’re phasing out Digital Collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023 “We are phasing out digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people and businesses,” Kasriel wrote in a Twitter thread. A spokesperson for Meta told CoinTech it is shifting its investments from NFTs to products like Meta Pay, as well as features that allow creators to earn money directly on Meta platforms, such as the tipping feature called gifts. The company also said it is testing ways for creators to earn ad revenue on Reels. “Let me be clear: creating opportunities for creators and companies to connect with their fans and monetize remains a priority, and we will focus on areas where we can make an impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opportunities for Reels,” Kasriel wrote. Meta has cut costs across the company as it strives to make its metaverse dreams a (virtual) reality. Reality Labs, Meta’s division that works on AR and VR products, lost $13.7 billion last year. In November, Meta laid off 11,000 employees, or about 13% of its global workforce, the largest cuts in company history. And as Meta weathers this storm, the hype surrounding NFTs has subsided significantly. At the time, Meta’s interest in NFTs seemed to intersect with her plans for a virtual reality metaverse — CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said he hoped users could one day create virtual clothes like NFTs, for example. Meta told CoinTech that the company will continue to watch crypto for the long haul.