Meta has decided to reduce support for digital collectibles, or NFTs (non-fungible tokens), on its platform less than a year after launch, a move that comes amid the currency's downturn in the crypto market.
“We are now shrinking digital assets to focus on other ways to support developers, individuals and businesses,” Stephane Kasrel, director of financial technology at the social media company, wrote on Twitter Monday.
The company launched last year to help creators share NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with the rise of digital assets at the time as some non-fungible tokens such as monkey cartoons sold for several hundred million US dollars.
But Bitcoin and other tokens were hit hard in late 2022 after the cryptocurrency exchange (FTX) suddenly went bankrupt.
The crisis has intensified recently after the collapse of three US banks last week, two of which focused specifically on cryptocurrencies.
"We will continue to invest in the fintech tools that individuals and businesses will need going forward," Castrel said. We've simplified payments with Meta Pay and simplified the process of selling and paying. "
A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company is shifting its investments from (non-fungible tokens) to products such as: (Meta Pay) and features that allow content creators to generate income directly on the Meta platform, such as: for example: (gifts). The company also said it was testing ways for content creators to monetize ads in short video clips (Reels).
Meta is cutting costs throughout the company as it strives to make its dream of intermittent stumbling a reality. Reality Labs, the division responsible for Mita's augmented and virtual reality products, lost more than $13.7 billion last year.
In November, Meta laid off 11,000 employees, about 13% of its global workforce, in the largest layoffs in company history. The hype for the irreplaceable Avatar has largely died down as the Metaverse struggles.
At the time, Meta's interest in non-fungible tokens seemed to overlap with its VR projects in the Metaverse, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying he hoped users could one day transform virtual clothing into non-fungible tokens.