Today, Instagram has officially dropped support for NFTs on its platform. What does this mean for those that posted, and why didn’t this feature work out?

How Did Instagram NFT Postings Work

Non-fungible tokens are a form of art or collectibles (among other things) that exist on the blockchain. Instagram added the ability for owners of NFTs to post the images associated with the NFTs they owned to their own timelines back in May 2022. Instagram choosing to refer to this feature specifically as “Digital Collectibles.”

Posting an NFT to instagram worked similar to how a user would post a photo, but instead of leveraging the camera on your phone or gallery of photos, you would connect with your supported wallet application, and be able to post any NFT you own.

In the feeds of other users, this would show as simply the image, but have badge noting that it is in fact an NFT. Clicking the badge would display meta information about that NFT from the blockchain it was stored on.

How Dropping NFTs Affects Users

So what happens to your NFTs that you posted to Instagram?

Its a good question, but no one ever put their NFTs on Instagram to begin with. What was actually being posted was the image from the NFT and a link back to its location on the blockchain.

With instagram dropping support, anything you posted will revert to simply working like any post, the “Digital Collectible” badge will disappear, and thats it.

Instagram’s Missed Opportunity

When Instagram originally announced it would start supporting NFTs, many in the industry were intrigued and even concerned by the potential implications of such a large brand entering the NFT space. There were many speculations about how this would shape the market and what competitors might need to do in response. However, Instagram's actual approach to NFT integration fell short of its potential.

The psychology of collectors appears to have been overlooked in the development process. It is not common for individuals to post perfectly cropped images of their wall art on social media. Instead, people tend to showcase their collectibles in context and often with themselves, as a collection is a point of pride and part of one's identity.

Instagram's approach of simply allowing users to post images of their NFTs to their feed, without any additional features or presentation, might have been sufficient for dedicated artists. However, it did not cater to the needs and desires of buyers or collectors. Had Instagram considered how users store, keep, and cherish their purchases in the development of their NFT feature, the outcome might have been different.

One can envision an alternate scenario where Instagram functioned as a wallet for NFTs and also had its own marketplace. In this scenario, visiting someone's profile would reveal not only their posts but also the NFTs they owned and collected. This approach would have aligned well with Instagram's existing strategy of promoting lifestyle and identity building.

Sadly, we don’t live in that alternate world, so now we bid NFTs on Instagram adieu, unsure if they will be missed or remembered.