Facebook Parent Company Meta Hypes Up Virtual Collectibles Despite Crypto, NFT Crash

Meta Platforms META plans to launch digital collectibles, despite the recent plunge in the cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) market.

The goal, according to Meta head of fintech Stephane Kasriel, is to enable Meta users to monetize their digital content.

"The opportunity Meta sees is for the hundreds of millions or billions of people that are using our apps today to be able to collect digital collectibles, and for the millions of creators out there that could potentially create virtual and digital goods to be able to sell them through our platforms," Kasriel told the Financial Times.

The Menlo Park, California-based tech giant made its first dive into web3 in October 2021 when it changed its name from Facebook to Meta. At the time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the company would be "metaverse-first, not Facebook-first.”

As a result, NFTs will be important for Meta since they essentially allow people to own virtual goods or digital assets, whether it's real estate, cars, boats or artwork. These days, however, the NFT market is reeling along with cryptocurrencies.

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In June, monthly sales volume on NFT marketplace OpenSea dipped to $700 million. That's down from a January high of about $5 billion, according to the New York Post.

In the past week, Meta has been trialing NFTs on Ethereum ETH/USD and Polygon MATIC/USD on sampled Meta users.