YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki revealed in her annual letter to creators on Tuesday that the company is investigating giving nonfungible token NFT features as a new source of money for its creators, which comes as competitors like Twitter and Meta have already stepped into the growing sector.
Wojcicki said the firm is focusing on helping creators “focus entirely on innovative developments, including things like NFTs,” and if it happens, it will be the first for YouTube’s parent company Alphabet Inc.
She went on to say that YouTube has been keeping an eye on Web3, which she describes as a “source of inspiration” for innovation. Web3 is an umbrella name for the internet built around cryptocurrency.
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Last week, Twitter started enabling users to post their NFTs as profile images to highlight their involvement in the market and those who do so get hexagonal-shaped profile pictures instead of the standard circular ones.
Last week, the Financial Times revealed that Instagram and Facebook are working on a feature identical to Twitter’s, as well as a separate function that would allow users to produce and sell NFTs.
$24.9 BILLION. According to data provider DappRadar, it was the volume of NFTs sold last year. The sales volume increased dramatically from $94.9 million in 2020 as a result of the NFT craze.
What is NFT?
NFTs are verified digital collectibles, or digital assets, that can be purchased on the blockchain. They are often works of art. Celebrities, sportsmen, fashion labels, sports leagues, auction houses, and even former First Lady Melania Trump have all jumped on board with the craze. The NFT features are “new digital status symbols” that allow people to “affirm and showcase their membership in identity groups and their place in social hierarchies,” according to the Washington Post. Social media platforms are now entering the market in part to give creators another source of revenue, and in part, because the NFT features are “new digital status symbols” that allow people to “affirm and display their subscription in identity groups and their place in social hierarchies.”
