YouTube wants to bring NFTs to its platform — touts it as a way for creators to make more money

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YouTube wants to bring NFTs to its platform — touts it as a way for creators to make more money
BI India
  • YouTube plans to let users and creators own videos as NFTs, and also use them as collaboration tools.
  • The company hasn’t clarified when such tools will be brought to the platform.
  • Instagram and Twitter have also been exploring NFTs on their platforms.
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Twitter’s in, Instagram is in, and now YouTube has signalled its intention to adopt non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its platform. To be fair, YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki had signalled the company’s intention to include NFTs on its platform last month, but the blog post from last night makes things a tad clearer.

The underlying message seems to be to lure more creators to its platforms as well as hold onto the ones it has got with the promise of participation in the next generation of the internet, web3. The platform isn’t just promising innovation but also new ways to make money.

And across all these formats, you’ll see even more ways to help creators make money and build a business

Excerpt from YouTube’s blog post on its plans for 2022

YouTube’s web3 plans for 2022


In its plans for 2022, YouTube’s chief product officer Neal Mohan, revealed that the company plans to add a host of new features this year, including web3 technologies like NFTs, blockchain and more.

Web3 also opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans.

Excerpt from YouTube’s blog post on its plans for 2022

The post suggests that YouTube is likely to kick things off by allowing users to own videos on the platform, presumably by employing NFTs. “For example, giving a verifiable way for fans to own unique videos, photos, art, and even experiences from their favourite creators could be a compelling prospect for creators and their audiences,” the post said.

All said and done, the company hasn’t pointed to concrete dates for when NFTs and web3 tech will come to YouTube. But the post at least clarifies that such deployments are already in the works, even if YouTube may be far from the final phases of said deployments.
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Competition galore


YouTube’s decision to employ NFTs may come as a shot in the arm for web3 firms, but it may be more of a reaction to competition as well. Current web2 social media firms, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, have already signalled their intention to use web3 technology — at least NFTs — on their platforms.

In December last year, Instagram chief executive Adam Mosseri said that the company is “actively exploring” NFTs on its platform. “Nothing to announce yet but we are definitely actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a wider audience,” Mosseri said via his own Instagram account at the time.

On the other hand, Twitter is a touch ahead of competitors already. The micro-blogging platform already has hexagonal profile pictures for those who want to use NFT artwork as avatars on the platform. Twitter has also said that it will be bringing more NFT authentication features to the platform, along with Bitcoin and other crypto-based payments.

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