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A layer-1 blockchain designed for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is soaring after being integrated into a major social media platform. In a new announcement, social media giant Meta says that NFTs minted on the Flow (FLOW) blockchain will start posting on Instagram’s new digital collectibles feed. Flow is a decentralized Ethereum (ETH) competitor tailored for gaming, […]
The post Ethereum (ETH) Competitor Pumps Nearly 35% After Announcement of New Instagram NFT Partnership appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
Mark Zuckerberg's company, which posted a sharp loss in its Metaverse division in Q2, unveiled its digital asset expansion strategy on May 10, 2022.
According to a Meta newsroom post updated on Thursday, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company has begun its nonfungible token (NFT) expansion across 100 countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. This includes adding support for wallet connections with Coinbase Wallet and Dapper as well as the ability to post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain. The initial rollout targets the popular social media app Instagram.
One needs to simply connect their digital wallet to Instagram to post an NFT, the company said in its updated post. Third-party wallet integrations with Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet are either complete as of Thursday or are coming soon. Supported blockchains at this time are Ethereum, Polygon and Flow. There are no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on Instagram.
Mark Zuckerberg announced we’re rolling out digital collectibles to 100 more countries. Now, more people, creators and businesses can showcase their #NFTs on @instagram.
— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) August 4, 2022
We're also launching integrations with @CoinbaseWallet @hellodapper and support for @flow_blockchain.
Flow is a layer-1 blockchain with its namesake FLOW token acting as tender for network participation, transactions and governance. Notable ecosystem partners include Warner Music, Ubisoft, National Basketball Association, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Animoca Brands, Circle, Binance, OpenSea and now Meta.
Related: FTC files lawsuit against Meta over attempted monopolization of metaverse
Along with the metaverse, digital assets appear to have become one of Meta’s core components for expansion. During the second quarter of 2022, the company’s revenue fell 1% year over year to $28.8 billion while its operating income decreased by 32% to $8.36 billion in the same period. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was unfazed by the whopping $2.8 billion loss in the company's Metaverse division, and that instead there was an opportunity to make “hundreds of billions,” or even “trillions,” of dollars as the sector matures.
The co-founder of the world’s leading smart contract platform is skeptical that the first wave of the metaverse can succeed. Ethereum (ETH) creator Vitalik Buterin tells his 4.1 million Twitter followers that while the concept of an online virtual world will eventually come to fruition, he thinks that current corporate visions for the metaverse are […]
The post Ethereum (ETH) Creator Vitalik Buterin Predicts Facebook Attempt To Build Metaverse Will Fail appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is filing a lawsuit against social media titan Meta for allegedly monopolizing the metaverse. In a new press release, the regulatory agency says it’s suing the company, along with CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for attempting an illegal acquisition that would greatly expand Meta’s grasp of the virtual reality industry. “The company’s […]
The post FTC Files Lawsuit Against Social Media Giant Meta for Allegedly Violating Antitrust Laws appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The government watchdog previously filed a lawsuit against the social media giant in 2020 for alleged “anticompetitive conduct” in its acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram.
The United States Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has filed a lawsuit against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an attempt to stop the social media giant from “its ultimate goal of owning the entire ‘metaverse’.”
In a complaint filed in the Northern District of California on Wednesday, the FTC alleged Meta’s and Zuckerberg’s potential acquisition of virtual reality firm Within and its fitness app Supernatural was illegal according to U.S. antitrust laws and a way for the social media firm to “buy its way to the top” as opposed to “competing on the merits.” The complaint alleged that under Zuckerberg, Meta was “a potential entrant in the virtual reality dedicated fitness app market” with the resources necessary to develop its own app, but instead chose to own Supernatural by purchasing Within. The move would allegedly hinder “future innovation and competitive rivalry” among companies in the United States.
“As Meta fully recognizes, network effects on a digital platform can cause the platform to become more powerful — and its rivals weaker and less able to seriously compete — as it gains more users, content, and developers,” said the complaint. “The acquisition of new users, content, and developers each feed into one another, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that entrenches the company’s early lead. This market dynamic can spur companies to compete harder in beneficial ways by, for example, adding useful product features or hiring additional employees.”
The FTC said it planned to block Meta’s acquisition of Within in an effort to promote competition and help consumers:
“The mere possibility of Meta’s entry has likely influenced competition in the virtual reality dedicated fitness app market. If Meta is allowed to buy Within, that competitive pressure will slacken.”
FTC seeks to block virtual reality giant Meta’s acquisition of popular app creator Within: https://t.co/b87juAolBw
— FTC (@FTC) July 27, 2022
Meta’s move toward allegedly acquiring any potential threats to its bottom line is nothing new. In 2020, the FTC filed a complaint against Facebook — before the firm rebranded to Meta — for “anticompetitive conduct” for its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014 and $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2012, citing similar concerns around stifling innovation. Both apps, handling messaging services and photo sharing, respectively, were alleged rivals to Facebook’s Messenger app and main platform.
“Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion in April 2012 allegedly both neutralizes the direct threat posed by Instagram and makes it more difficult for another personal social networking competitor to gain scale,” said the FTC at the time. “[Its] acquisition of WhatsApp allegedly both neutralizes the prospect that WhatsApp itself might threaten Facebook’s personal social networking monopoly and ensures that any future threat will have a more difficult time gaining scale in mobile messaging.”
Related: Experts clash on where virtual reality sits in the Metaverse
Since Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021, the social media firm has announced many initiatives focused on expanding into the metaverse, including potentially launching a payments platform with support for cryptocurrency. In May, Meta opened a brick-and-mortar store in the San Francisco Bay Area which sells hardware for the virtual reality space.
Unless the court stops Meta from acquiring Within, the sale would likely go through on Aug. 1 according to the complaint.