Facebook-parent Meta Decides to Drop Its NFT Project Very Soon After Launch

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) create massive rage among crypto investors during the bull run of 2021. Over the last year, some of the big tech players like Meta decided to dabble into NFT while offering an integration on its two largest platforms - Facebook and Instagram.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital files having verified identity and ownership. This verification happens using the blockchain technology and creating a ‘smart contract’ for owners of the file.

But is a surprise to many, Meta has decided to drop off its NFT project saying that the company is rather planning to increase its focus on higher priority projects at the moment.  This decision comes within less than a year of rolling out NFT integration on the two most popular social media platforms.

Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, Stephane Kasriel, made the announcement on Monday. Kasriel’s tweet reads that the NFT support will be down “for now”. This means that Meta might reconsider the integration sometime in the future.

The Meta executive also thanked all the partners who joined them in this project and made a valuable contribution. He added that the company will continue to support many NFT creators who have been using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to amplify their work.

Kasriel stated that Meta’s utmost focus is currently on creating opportunities for businesses and creators to connect with their fans and monetize. Furthermore, he added that “we’ll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta”.

Meta’s decision to wind down its NFT project comes when the demand has been dropping and there have been several cracks visible in the crypto markets recently. Furthermore, Meta is going through a pretty rough phase with the tech giant struggling to cut on losses.

Meta has laid off thousands of employees over the last year to streamline operations and reduce costs. Additionally, the company has a very bitter experience dealing with regulators for its Diem stablecoin project.

With regulatory action growing in crypto once again, Meta might not want to entangle themselves in the web once again. Last month, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said that 2023 will be the “year of efficiency” wherein the company will take necessary steps to become “a stronger and more nimble organization”.