Meta to wind down NFTs on platforms amid crypto bust

(Reuters) -Meta Platforms Inc is cutting off support for digital collectibles or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platforms less than a year after rolling it out, as the crypto market continues to spiral.

“We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses,” the social media firm’s fintech head, Stephane Kasriel, tweeted on Monday.

The company rolled out support for creators to share NFTs on Instagram and Facebook last year, when the speculative crypto asset had exploded in popularity, with sales of cartoon apes to video clips touching billions of dollars.

But bitcoin and other tokens took a beating in late 2022 after major exchange FTX crashed into sudden bankruptcy.

The downfall was worsened by last week’s collapse of three U.S. banks, two of which were crypto-focused.

“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 and payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta,” Kasriel said.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)