Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly preparing to allow the posting of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its social networks and the creation and trading of digital assets via a new marketplace. 

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The news comes from aFinancial Timesarticle citing anonymous sources with inside knowledge of the company's preliminary plans. According to "several people familiar with the matter," Facebook intends to begin allowing users to post NFTs as their profile images and to upload or "mint" their own NFTs via a prototype system that will generate the required tokens needed to turn a simple image file into this new form of digital asset. 

Two of those same sources also claim Meta is planning its own marketplace for buying, selling, and trading NFTs. If true, this would place the company in direct competition with existing NFT trading outlets like OpenSea, which, as FT noted, just completed a$300 million investment round at a$13 billion valuation. 

This news follows earlier public comments from Instagram lead Adam Mosseri in which he hinted that his company was exploring the idea of integrating NFTs into its platform as well. FT's sources said internal testing on the photo-focused social network's NFT plans has already begun as well. 

Assuming FT's sources provided accurate information and Meta's plans come to fruition, a deep dive into NFTs is a logical next step for a company that intends to build its own digital universe. The type of unique digital ownership that non-fungible tokens can provide could be integral to supporting the creation of the many digital assets Meta is likely to sell or support the creation of within its planned metaverse. NFTs could wind up being the digital wall art on many a virtual abode within Mark Zuckerberg's planned universe. 

The anonymous sources did not mention any timeframe for when Facebook or Instagram might launch their respective NFT services. 

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