Topline
YouTube is considering offering nonfungible token features as a new source of revenue for its creators, company CEO Susan Wojcicki said in her annual letter to creators Tuesday, which comes as its rivals such as Twitter and Meta have already tapped into the growing market.
(Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Key Facts
Wojcicki said the company is focused on helping creators “capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs,” and if it materializes, it would mark YouTube’s parent company Alphabet Inc.’s first entry into the market.
She added YouTube has been keeping tabs on Web3, an umbrella term for internet built around cryptocurrency, calling it a “source of inspiration” for innovation.
Last week, Twitter began allowing users to set their NFTs as their profile photos to show their investment in the market, and those who use the feature are given hexagonal-shaped profile pictures rather than the normal circular shape ones.
The Financial Times reported last week teams at Facebook and Instagram are working to add a feature similar to the one Twitter offers, and are working on a separate feature that would let users create and sell NFTs.
Big Number
$24.9 billion. That’s last year’s sales volume of NFTs, according to data collector DappRadar. As a result of the NFT craze, the sales volume jumped significantly from $94.9 million in 2020.
Key Background
NFT are verifiable digital collectibles, or digital assets, often works of art that can be bought and sold on the blockchain. Celebrities, athletes, fashion brands, sports leagues, auction houses and even former first lady Melania Trump have jumped on the trend. Now, social media platforms are 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 membership in identity groups and their place in social hierarchies,” the Washington Post reported. For example, Twitter’s hexagonal form profile picture for users who use NFTs separates them from ordinary users. Tech analyst and investor Eugene Wei told the Post NFT profile pictures also signal people’s allegiance to the cryptocurrency community.
Tangent
While some NFT projects have been successful, that has not been the case for others like a pro wrestler and actor John Cena. He said his attempt to cash in on the market was a “catastrophic failure” after only selling 37 NFTs out of the 500 he had planned.
Further Reading
YouTube’s CEO Says the Company Will Explore NFT Features for Video Creators (Bloomberg)
Facebook owner Meta dives into NFT digital collectibles craze (Financial Times)
