instagram

Meta pulling the plug on NFTs across Instagram and Facebook

The short-lived NFT features were first launched in May, but Meta’s financial technology lead said it is “winding down” the tools to focus elsewhere.

Big Tech firm Meta is scrapping its nonfungible token features across its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, around 10 months after they first launched.

Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, tweeted the news on March 13, saying Meta is “winding down” its NFT support to “focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.”

Kasriel added the firm is still prioritizing ways for users to “connect with their fans and monetize” and will focus on tools such as building payment rails on its platform and through its messaging apps, along with monetizing Reels, the short-form videos that feature on Facebook and Instagram.

In particular, Kasriel mentioned a focus on Meta Pay, the firm’s payment platform, which in the future could support cryptocurrency according to trademark filings from May.

NFTs on the platforms were relatively short-lived, as testing began in May with select creators on Instagram before expanding to Facebook in June.

The NFT features expanded again in August as Instagram made NFT tools available to over 100 countries. In November last year, Metlaunched an “end-to-end toolkit” for minting and trading NFTs within Instagram.

The announcement received scathing criticism from the crypto community, with NFT artist Dave Krugman tweeting it was “a short-sighted move” and that Meta “quit before [it] even started.”

“The trust earned over the past year is now squandered,” Krugman added.

Related: Meta working on text-based decentralized social network codenamed P92

Podcaster Marc Colcer said the move “seems short-sighted for a company that’s supposed to be thinking long term” and asked for transparency on Meta’s decision to scrap NFT support.

Allen Hena, the co-founder of Web3 firm Earth Labs, was more severe with his feedback, saying that Meta scrapped the idea as it “realized that using public crypto networks means you can’t exploit creators.”

Meta’s scrapping of its NFT tools aligns with other cost-cutting measures across the company as it directs focus to its expensive metaverse ambitions.

Last year alone, its metaverse-building division Reality Labs recorded its largest-ever yearly losses at $13.7 billion. Meta also undertook in November the first mass layoff in the company’s history, cutting 13% of its workforce, some 11,000 staff.

NFTs have a brighter future on Instagram than on Twitter

While Twitter users may be more crypto-native, that doesn’t mean they’re going to win in the NFT arena.

The nonfungible token (NFT) industry has experienced some market turbulence over the past few months, but this hasn’t stopped both Twitter and Instagram from making moves into an industry that some estimate could be worth $231 billion by 2030. 

This comes off the back of Twitter having recently announced NFT Tweet Tiles and Instagram releasing an array of different NFT-related tools, and many NFT enthusiasts are naturally starting to deliberate which one will come out on top as the go-to social media platform for NFTs.

Going by their unique value proposition and recent events, it is evident that Instagram currently has more in its favor than Twitter when it comes to NFT integration.

The value of integrating on Instagram

One of the key determining factors for upholding Instagram as having more NFT potential than Twitter is its unique value proposition.

When looking at Twitter’s core offering, most would agree that it is a microblogging platform where users can share short messages (tweets) of up to 280 characters and is primarily used for sharing news, opinions and thoughts with a wider audience.

Instagram, on the other hand, can be characterized as a visual social media platform that is mainly used for sharing photos and videos and is more focused on personal expression and creative self-presentation.

Related: Crypto fans should get behind Elon Musk’s subscription model for Twitter

Given how NFTs are highly visual in nature, Instagram’s value offering already makes it much more suitable for NFT integration, as its user experience and interface are much more immersive and slick when it comes to visuals than Twitter, which is primarily designed for rapid information retention instead.

Another important element to consider is the audience base.

Whilst both have strong Millennial and Generation Z user bases, Instagram not only has a much larger user base at 1.3 billion (compared to Twitter’s 365 million), but its engagement rate is much higher than what is seen on Twitter, with Instagram boasting much higher engagement in most areas (including art). As a result, Instagram has a much more established footprint when it comes to brand marketing, and although much of the current NFT focus is on community art and trading, the most compelling (and potentially lucrative) NFT use case is within the fashion and lifestyle industry, which can use Instagram’s gallery-esque user interface and diverse sharing utilities to effectively carry out NFT integration and marketing initiatives.

But this is not to say that Instagram outshines Twitter in all aspects.

What Twitter has going for it is that its user base is more crypto-native and, therefore, more familiar with the technological and financial benefits found within NFTs. This means that there are already enthusiasts on Twitter who are ready to engage with its NFT offerings.

However, given how mass adoption is the end goal for NFTs, it is important to note that a more suitable product for integration is more important for long-term growth than the aforementioned, and thus, what Twitter currently has going for it doesn’t outweigh Instagram’s unique value proposition (UVP), which revolves around photo and video sharing first and foremost.

Twitter’s evolution under Elon Musk

Another strong indicator that NFTs have a brighter future on Instagram is the current trajectory of Twitter’s management and product.

With Twitter having recently come under the ownership and leadership of Elon Musk, there have been worrying developments that may further impact the suitability of the social media platform for being a go-to hub for NFTs.

This stems from Musk having made a cardinal sin by firing close to 50% of its workforce, which, although some might argue may have some merit in certain areas, has also led to some concern with regard to the lack of copyright oversight, questionable accounts being reinstated, and concerns regarding a lack of technical talent for further development growth.

Weekly NFT sales volume from Nov. 2021 through Jan. 2023. Source: Nansen

When it comes to lack of copyright oversight, Twitter has experienced serious copyright breaches as a result of its faulty copyright strike system, resulting in users having the ability to do things such as uploading full-length movies onto the platform. The impact of lax copyright infringement protocols on NFTs needs no explanation.

The recent cuts have also included content moderators whose job it was to curb misinformation, and unsurprisingly, there has since been a noticeable increase of the latter, while highly divisive accounts have also been reinstated en masse. This, in turn, has resulted in many users leaving the platform for alternatives, such as Mastodon, and seeing how NFTs rely upon strong and inclusive communities, Twitter’s new divisive environment does not bode well for its NFT plans.

Related: Facebook is on a quest to destroy the metaverse and web

In terms of concerns regarding Twitter’s tech functionality, while it is true that having fewer engineers may lead to a downturn in many products, due to Twitter not being a mission-critical product, Twitter currently allows for enough uptime, latency and architectural leeway that any faults will not cause it to stop functioning. However, keeping the ship floating is simply not going to cut it when it comes to opening up new markets and new possibilities, and therefore, Twitter’s massive cuts will undoubtedly hinder the execution of technical innovations, including seamless NFT integration.

So, while Twitter is undergoing a lot of chaos, Instagram has released a comprehensive NFT roadmap, which includes rolling out NFT integration in over 100 countries and the launch of an NFT marketplace, which is being trialed in a systematic manner with notable creators, such as Amber Vittoria, Dave Krugman, Refik Anadol and others.

Although it is impossible to know which social media will come out on top for NFT integration, looking at their core value propositions, combined with recent indicators, allows one to have a solid sense of where things are headed.

It is clear that Twitter is not only at a disadvantage from a UVP standpoint but is also suffering from a chaotic transition, which may have severe implications for the future health of the platform as a whole — let alone for the development of NFT utilities.

In other words, Instagram has a lot fewer distractions to deal with, and whilst it, too, will no doubt experience its own shortcomings, the platform’s NFT plans appear to be operating in the same structured and patient manner that allowed Facebook to come out on top over early competitors.

But as is the case in any technological pursuit, things can change in an instant, so it is worth following the development of both closely. But it is Instagram, not Twitter, that currently has more in its favor for NFT integration.

Constantin Kogan is a co-founder of BullPerks and GamesPad, a partner at BitBull Capital, the founder of Adwivo, and a former managing director at Wave Financial. He’s an entrepreneur, meta-connector, influencer, blockchain technology enthusiast, digital asset investor, and a top thought leader in hedge funds, IT startups, venture capital, healthcare, agriculture, real estate and media/entertainment. Constantin holds a Ph.D. in sociology, and a master’s in education and is fluent in five languages.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Come one, come all! Meta to bring NFT minting and trading to Instagram

An “end-to-end toolkit” for creators to make, show, and sell “digital collectibles” is coming to the social media platform Instagram.

Social media platform Instagram is set to introduce a number of nonfungible token (NFT)-related tools that will allow creators to mint, show and sell NFTs.

Instagram parent company Meta said on Nov. 2 during its Creator Week 2022 event that the platform would allow its creators to make “digital collectibles” and sell them “both on and off Instagram.”

Meta says creators will have an “end-to-end toolkit” for creating, showing, then selling NFTs within the platform and has chosen the Polygon blockchain as an initial partner for this functionality.

Concept images of Meta’s NFT interface for Instagram. Image: Meta

It says a “small group” of United States-based creators will be eligible to test the new features and expansion to other countries will follow, but provided no information on when this would take place.

In addition to its current lineup of supported blockchains that include Ethereum, Flow and Polygon, Meta also revealed its support for the Solana blockchain and its popular Phantom wallet.

Support for video NFTs will also be added and metadata such as names and descriptions for select NFT collections will be pulled from NFT marketplace OpenSea.

Meta’s head of commerce and financial technology, Stephane Kasriel, said Meta won’t charge fees to create or sell NFTs until 2024, and blockchain gas fees for buyers will be covered by Meta “at launch” but didn’t clarify how long the launch timeline would be.

Kasriel said NFT transactions would still be subject to “app store fees,” referring to Apple’s 30% commission on NFT sales that has drawn heavy criticism for being more expensive than the average 2.5% commission enforced by NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

Related: Facebook is on a quest to destroy the Metaverse and Web3

With this, buyers seemingly won’t be able to purchase Instagram NFTs using crypto through the Instagram app as both Apple and Google only support in-app purchases using fiat currencies and both forbid buttons, external links, or other actions that give users a way to circumvent their commissions.

Meta has not released how much of a commission it plans to take from NFT sales nor what its creator royalties system will look like, it’s unknown if it will follow the recent pushes from NFT marketplaces to move to opt-in royalty models.

Cointelegraph contacted Meta for clarification on its commission and royalties structure but did not immediately receive a response.

Meta introduces NFT crossposting and sharing on Instagram

Users in 100 countries can now connect their digital wallets, post and share nonfungible tokens.

Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced another development in its digital arts initiative. As of Sept. 29, all users on both platforms can connect wallets and share nonfungible tokens (NFTs) across 100 countries. 

As part of the feature, which has been in testing since May, users will be able to tag creators and collectors, and cross-post digital collectibles between platforms without paying any fees.

In August, Meta started allowing users to post digital collectibles that they own across Facebook and Instagram and announced an international expansion to countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. 

The company also added support with third-party wallets such as Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet and Dapper Wallet, along with support for the Ethereum, Polygon and Flow’ blockchains.

Several Twitter users expressed concern regarding the safety and privacy of the data transmitted by connecting digital wallets to Meta’s platform at that time. In April 2021, sensitive personal information for over half a billion Facebook users was leaked on a well-trafficked hacking forum.

According to Statista figures, Facebook and Instagram have 2.9 billion and 1.4 billion monthly active users respectively.

The Sandbox’s Instagram account compromised, hackers try to rent BAYC NFTs

Hackers redirected The Sandbox followers to a fake raffle giveaway URL and even tried to rent Bored Ape NFTs from Instagram users.

Metaverse platform The Sandbox saw its Instagram profile hacked and used to try and rent out Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible tokens (NFTs) from a number of users on the social media platform.

The voxel-powered NFT platform’s profile was compromised by hackers on Thursday, promoting a fabricated raffle ticket event that touted a season 4 LAND giveaway to unsuspecting users.

The firm indicated that its two-factor authentication and other security measures had been bypassed to promote the fake giveaway. The profile’s website URL was changed, with one user claiming to have lost NFTs after clicking the fake link.

Cointelegraph managed to follow the link to the fake website — which prompts users to connect web-based wallets for a chance to win the fraudulent raffle.

In a bizarre twist, Sandbox co-founder and chief operating officer Sebastien Borget revealed that the hackers then reached out to a number of users on Instagram with Bored Ape Yacht Club profile pictures in an attempt to “rent” out the NFTs — offering 40 Ether (ETH) to use the BAYC NFTs for 24 hours.

According to Borget, The Sandbox managed to recover control of its Instagram account a few hours later, while stories promoting the fake giveaway were still live on the account at the time of publishing (4:00 pm EST).

The NFT-powered Metaverse platform has collaborated with major brands and celebrities since its Alpha launch in November 2021. The likes of Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg have partnered with the platform, while notable clothing retailers like Adidas launched NFTs wearables that are compatible with The Sandbox and other Metaverse platforms.

The Sandbox team told Cointelegraph that it is working with Instagram’s security team to complete a security review and audit of the incident and would not be drawn to comment further until more details are known. 

Users affected by the incident can contact The Sandbox team through its support channel by emailing support@sandbox.game.

UK advertising watchdog cites 2 former reality stars for crypto ads on Instagram stories

The ASA said the Gale twins could not post the crypto ads “in the form complained about” again, but did not bar them from promoting digital assets in future advertisements.

The United Kingdom’s independent advertising regulator has upheld a complaint involving former reality show Love Island contestants Eve and Jessica Gale for “triviali[zing] investment in cryptocurrency.”

In a Wednesday notice, the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority, or ASA, said the reality stars promoted crypto in an Instagram story in June at the request of an influencer named Elizabeth O’Donell and upheld claims the ad was “misleading” and “irresponsible.” According to the regulator, O’Donell was not only providing trading crypto advice — as the Gales’ stories claimed — but promoting investing in cryptocurrencies without illustrating the possible risks.

“We therefore considered the ads were addressed to a general audience who were unlikely to have any specialist knowledge of investing in cryptoassets,” said the ASA. “In the absence of any other information to the contrary, we considered that consumers would interpret the overall impression from the ads to mean that investment in cryptoassets was simple and risk free, even to those consumers who had only limited knowledge of cryptoassets.”

The regulator said because the ads were not “prepared with a sense of responsibility,” they violated the U.K. Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, adding the Gales’ story did not mention the possibility crypto prices “could go down as well as up” as well as their largely unrelated status in the United Kingdom. The ASA also alleged O’Donell and the Gales “took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity” by not including information on capital gains taxes required to be paid on crypto profits.

In its ruling, the ASA said the Gales could not post the crypto ads “in the form complained about” again, but did not bar the twins from promoting digital assets in future advertisements on social media. At the time of publication, Jessica and Eve Gale had a combined following on Instagram of more than 1.7 million accounts.

Source: Eve and Jessica Gales’ Instagram

Related: Almost half of crypto owners turn to celebs like Kim Kardashian for advice: Survey

The advertising authority has investigated and removed many crypto-related advertisements in the United Kingdom since 2021, banning posters for cryptocurrency exchange Luno in the London Underground and on city buses for being misleading, an ad from Coinfloor for allegedly targeting retirees in the Northamptonshire Telegraph newspaper and online campaigns from major firms including Coinbase, Kraken and eToro. On Aug. 1, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority announced new rules aimed at tackling “misleading adverts that encourage investing in high-risk products,” but did not include crypto-related promotions.

Meta announces Facebook and Instagram users can post NFTs from digital wallets

“This will enable people to connect their digital wallets once to either app in order to share their digital collectibles across both,” said Meta.

Facebook and Instagram users can both post nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and digital collectibles to their accounts by linking their wallets.

In a Monday update to a May 10 blog post, Facebook’s parent company Meta said the social media platform’s roughly 2.9 billion users would have the ability to share digital collectibles and NFTs. The announcement followed an Aug. 4 update in which Meta said Instagram users across 100 countries could post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain or from wallets supporting the Ethereum or Polygon blockchains to their accounts, estimated to be between 1 billion and 2 billion users as of the second quarter of 2022.

Source: Meta

“As we continue rolling out digital collectibles on Facebook and Instagram, we’ve started giving people the ability to post digital collectibles that they own across both Facebook and Instagram,” said Meta. “This will enable people to connect their digital wallets once to either app in order to share their digital collectibles across both.”

Connecting digital wallets to either Facebook or Instagram seems to be limited to the apps rather than through third-party browsers. However, expanding the reach of NFTs into each and every smartphone with one of Meta’s apps installed could result in additional earnings or adoption for the social media giant. In May, Meta also filed applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its namesake to be used in a crypto payments platform called Meta Pay.

Related: FTC files lawsuit against Meta over attempted monopolization of metaverse

Though Meta abandoned launching its own stablecoin in February after facing pushback from regulators globally, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there was a “massive opportunity” to make up to trillions of dollars in the digital asset space as it grows. The company reported a 1% drop in revenue year over year in the second quarter of 2022.

NFTs are a ‘natural place’ for digital artists — Gal Yosef

After launching successful nonfungible token collections, the digital artist has set his sights on metaverse NFTs, believing they will become an important market in the future.

The hype surrounding nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, may have died down in recent months due to the crypto bear market, but that hasn’t stopped digital artists from experimenting in the new and exciting space. Gal Yosef, a globally renowned self-taught artist in the field of 3D art and animation, has proven his versatility by launching two successful NFT collections. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Yosef explained why NFTs are a “natural” transition for digital artists and why the industry is poised to grow despite current headwinds.

Yosef, who successfully launched his Meta Eagle Club NFT collection in January, explained to Cointelegraph why nonfungible artwork is so appealing:

“I think that the NFT has given massive exposure to all the digital artists mostly because it’s a very natural place for us.”

Specializing in cartoon-style avatars, Gal Yosef’s digital artwork is known for being extremely detail-oriented and life-like. Source: @galyosef Instagram

Approaching NFT art versus other forms of digital art

NFTs are a natural transition for digital artists because the vertical is “not a category by itself.” Rather, as Yosef explained, NFTs are “exactly the same art for me, exactly like I’m doing all the time and exactly like I always did just listed in other [platforms].” He said the art world is changing along with NFTs and “giving us a new platform to express ourselves.”

Yosef’s foray into the NFT market began in 2021 when he launched the Crypto Bulls Society collection. The collection reportedly generated over $50 million through primary sales and auctions. A one-of-a-kind NFT created in collaboration with American record producer Steve Aoki netted Yosef $214,000 at Sotheby’s auction.

When asked whether there were any learning curves in launching an NFT collection, Yosef said the only unknown was the market dynamics of the new industry. “I wasn’t sure what really [controlled] the outcome, then I realized it’s all based on the community; the art can be as beautiful as possible, but without good community, the artwork will not [succeed].”

Metaverse: The future?

In describing his first few encounters with the NFT world, Yosef said the broader blockchain industry, and specifically metaverse technology, could be “the next big thing.”

“[I am] looking to put my signature on it and make some big things,” he said without elaborating further.

Related: NFT market worth $231B by 2030? Report projects big growth for sector

While the existing metaverse industry has been described as “basic and weird” due to nascent technology and adoption, it’s expected to have a profound impact on gaming, social interaction and art. Some technologists and venture capitalists believe that the marriage between metaverses and NFTs is inevitable — and that metaverse NFTs will power the next growth cycle in digital collectibles.

NFT sales volumes peaked in 2021 during the height of crypto mania, with the likes of Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks generating billions of dollars in lifetime revenue. Although the market is in a cooling phase, rumors of its death have been overstated, according to industry data aggregator DappRadar. NFT sales volumes were a healthy $3.7 billion in May. While activity has continued to fall during the summer, the arrival of major brands such as Tiffany & Co reveals that many companies are strategically pivoting into the NFT market.

Facebook and Twitter will soon be obsolete thanks to blockchain technology

On Web2 — Twitter and Facebook — users do not own their own content or followers. That isn’t the case on Web3, where our corporate overseers will become powerless.

Today’s social media landscape is dominated by Web2 corporations — mostly Meta (Facebook) and Twitter. The companies collect data from billions of users and collect billions of dollars in revenue from user-generated content. While it’s great for the corporations and their shareholders, it comes at a cost for average users and professional content creators.

But in the near future, decentralized social media — or Web3 — is likely to end that old model by giving power back to users.

No more evicting unruly users

Because platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are centralized, users are at the mercy of company bosses, who demand compliance with their platform policies. If users fail to comply, they can lose content and followers they spent years building up in just a matter of seconds.

A famous example is Twitter’s ban on former President Donald Trump. While you may debate Trump’s views, the decision by Twitter management did not include millions of Twitter users who make the platform so valuable. It showed how little control Web2 users hold over Twitter’s decisions related to their content, even though they are the ones creating value for the company.

The beauty of Web3? Corporate bosses will no longer be able to dictate who is allowed to use their platforms.

Another problem with Web2 social networks? Walled gardens

Another problem with Web2 social media is that it has been characterized by “walled gardens.” If you have 1 million followers on Instagram and want to start an account on YouTube, you need to start with zero followers. There is no way to move your audience over because they are connected to the individual platforms, not to you. That applies even to platforms owned by the same company — such as Facebook and Instagram.

Related: Decentralized social media: The next big thing in crypto?

Web3 introduces solutions to reduce the number of intermediaries, create an open ecosystem, enable new forms of monetization, and give individuals more power not only over their content but also over their followers.

New blockchains on the horizon

Multiple platforms have launched what may supplant the social media industry on Web2. They include the Aave team’s Lens Protocol and the Andreessen Horowitz-backed DeSo. Both are built to host decentralized social media apps. They already have numerous live applications, including Lenster, Phaver, Iris (decentralized Twitter) and LensTube (decentralized YouTube).

How do they work? With Lens, for example, users can utilize a nonfungible token (NFT) to link their content and followers directly to a cryptocurrency wallet. That means zero dependencies on the individual platform because they hold cross-platform access to their followers.

If a user posts something, it’s automatically shared across all platforms they use. And because their followers are linked across platforms, they have the same number of followers on every platform. If a new platform emerges, users do not have to build their audience all over again. In Web2 terms, it’s like having an account linked directly to the internet instead of one linked to Facebook’s closed ecosystem.

Direct user monetization instead of advertisements

Another feature of Web3 social media is that rather than generating revenue from advertising, users have the ability to monetize their work directly. The model incentivizes users to publish much better content. It’s simplified by allowing creators to set a fee for “collecting” their posts — or to set a fee for following them. The revenue then flows directly to the creator, not to the platform.

Influencers will accelerate adoption

Some critics argue that Web2 social media has such a head start that it will be impossible for Web3 social to catch up. But the reality is that the benefits of decentralized social media are so substantial that big content creators will transition, bringing their audiences with them.

Related: The metaverse will change the paradigm of content creation

There are already many examples of prominent influencers who have their own social media platforms because the corporate platforms would not allow them to share their content anymore. Web3 offers an obvious solution for the growing number of those who have been banned from Web2.

Providing ownership over their own content and followers? Easy ways to generate revenue from their work? Connecting it all with easy-to-use NFTs? What is there to complain about? Blockchain technology is bringing us a social-media space that rewards users — not platforms — and is better than any we’ve dreamed of in the past.

Darius Moukhtarzadeh is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur focused on decentralized social- media applications. He previously worked as a researcher for Sygnum, the world’s first digital asset bank. He also worked for Ernst & Young in blockchain consultancy and for several startups in the Swiss Crypto Valley.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Insta-rally! FLOW token jumps 50% amid Instagram adoption euphoria

FLOW latest price rally has turned it into an “overbought” asset, which could amount to an imminent correction.

Flow (FLOW) logged its best daily performance on Aug.4 after becoming the latest blockchain to support Instagram’s nonfungible token (NFT) features.

Insta-made FLOW rally

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Aug. 4 that Instagram had expanded its NFT support to 100 more countries in Africa, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas. As a result, more users can post digital collectibles minted on the Flow blockchain on Instagram.

The high-profile integration helped FLOW surge 54% to reach an intraday high of $2.83 a token. Interestingly, the token’s massive upside move accompanied a spike in its daily trading volumes, confirming some weight behind the bullish trend. 

FLOW/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView

Like any blockchain native asset, the ups and downs in FLOW’s demand are tied to the adoption of its parent chain. In general, FLOW serves as a legal tender within the Flow’s proof-of-stake ecosystem for the following purposes:

  • Staking
  • Staking rewards
  • Transaction fees
  • Account storage deposits
  • Collateral for a stablecoin and DeFi products
  • Participation in protocol governance and ecosystem development

That explains the token’s bullish response to Instagram’s adoption.

Another 30% gains ahead?

From a technical perspective, FLOW eyes another 30% rally from its current price levels.

FLOW’s recent price trends appear to have painted a bullish pattern called the “Bump-and-Run-Reversal (BARR) bottom” on its daily chart. Now, the token has entered a breakout stage with its upside target near the level where the BARR bottom’s formation began at around $3.20.

FLOW/USD daily price chart featuring BARR setup. Source: TradingView

According to veteran analyst Tom Bulkowski, BARR patterns are “surprisingly good performers,” with a 76% chance of meeting its profit target. That raises FLOW’s potential to rise another 30% to $3.20, further supported by strong fundamentals.

Related: ‘Metaverse is a change that’s been happening for 20 years’: Q&A with Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneurs and investor in 300+ crypto startups

On the flip side, FLOW’s latest bull run has pushed its daily relative strength index (RSI) above 70, or overbought territory, which suggests heightened sell-off risks.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.