05/08/2022 Instagram Adds Flow Blockchain NFTs, FLOW Token Pumps 44%

Instagram’s NFT initiative now includes more than 100 countries, including collectibles from the Flow blockchain.


Over a billion people use Instagram each month. Image: Shutterstock
Over a billion people use Instagram each month. Image: Shutterstock

Instagram is expandingits NFT initiativeinternationally to more than 100 countries, parent company Meta announced today, plus it’s adding support forNFTscreated on theFlowblockchain. Now the FLOW token is pumping as a result.

FLOW is up nearly 44% over the past day, per data fromCoinGecko, with nearly all of that rise coming since Meta’s announcement this morning. As of this writing, FLOW is trading at $2.76 per token, with the latest price action bringing its 30-day rise to nearly 72%.

Instagram’s expanding integration lets collectors showcase their verified Flow NFTs on their account in Meta’s photo-sharing service. The initiative firstlaunched in the U.S.to select users in May, and now has expanded to include countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as well.

The feature lets users connect a supported cryptowalletto prove ownership of NFT collectibles and choose which ones to display, with both the owner and original creator automatically attributed alongside the asset.

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An NFT is a blockchaintokenthat acts like a deed of ownership to an item, including digital goods like profile pictures, artwork, collectibles, and video game items. The NFT market rose to prominence in 2021, generating some$25 billion worthof trading volume. Already in 2022, the market has yieldednorth of $20 billionin sales.

Flow was created by Dapper Labs and is best known for Dapper’s own sports NFT projects, includingNBA Top Shot,NFL All Day, andUFC Strike. However, it’s an open blockchain platform used by an array of other projects, including notable ones like avatar creatorGeniesandkids’ collectibles app, Zigazoo.

Along with news of Flow support, Meta also announced that users can now connect a Dapper Wallet or Coinbase Wallet as part of Instagram’s expanding Web3 support. It appears that Instagram’s NFT initiative is still not fully open to the public, but it is opening up to more people.

In May, Meta announced that Instagram would begin integrating support for NFT collectiblesstarting with Ethereum and Polygon-based assets.Ethereumis the leading blockchain network for NFTs, whilePolygonis an Ethereumsidechainthat enables faster, cheaper, and more energy efficient transactions.

Instagram also plans to add support forSolanaNFTs, as announced in May. In June, Instagram’s sister company Facebook similarlybegan testing supportfor Ethereum and Polygon NFTs on profiles, and likewise revealed plans to add Flow and Solana support down the line.

Meta is pushing hard on the comingmetaverse, as the parent company of Instagram and Facebookchanged its name last fall(from Facebook Inc.) as it revealed its grand vision for a next-generation internet that is navigated with avatars in immersive 3D spaces.

Blockchain networks and NFTs are expected to be a part of an open, interoperable metaverse, and many crypto builders are developing the technology to enable that vision. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberghas hintedthat he’s interested in enabling interoperable assets as part of his platform, but Meta has yet to detail how open its metaverse will truly be.

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https://decrypt.co/106747/instagram-adds-flow-blockchain-nfts-token-pumps