3 Cryptos to Watch as Meta Makes Big NFT Moves

by James · November 14, 2022

There is always an abundance of news in the crypto world. Of late, most of this news has been bearish, linked to systemic concerns and a bearish backdrop for this sector in general. However, there are always cryptos to watch for investors seeking positive price momentum, with a number of exciting positive catalysts worth considering.

It’s a tough time to look at news in a positive light right now. However, investors received the news late last month Meta (NASDAQ:META) has integrated non-fungible token (NFT) sharing on its Instagram platform after months of testing provided an intermittent boon for certain cryptos.

The idea that users can create their own digital collectibles on Instagram, and sell these tokens to fans on and off the platform, is exciting for many bullish on NFTs. In this announcement, Meta highlighted that they will work with various NFT blockchains, such as Polygon (MATIC USD) and Solana (SOL USD), to achieve this (more on these tokens soon).

Currently, the platform has launched this feature in around 100 countries. This in turn has enabled users to display their NFTs and connect to their digital wallets.

With this big move to Meta, it looks like the otherwise slumping crypto market may have a catalyst for a revival. While calls for a bull market may be premature, this is the kind of big news crypto investors will want to keep an eye on.

With that said, here are three cryptos to watch as the Meta enters the crypto world in a big way.

Table of Contents

Polygon (MATIC-USD)

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First on our list of cryptos to watch for this news is Polygon. As mentioned above, Polygon is among the blockchains included in Meta’s announced rollout of its digital collectibles feature. This should come as no surprise, as Polygon is a leading blockchain used for smaller scale transactions, such as those involving NFTs.

An Ethereum (ETH-USD) layer-2 scaling solution, Polygon essentially provides faster and cheaper transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Given Ethereum’s network size, congestion has led to relatively high fees and latency across the network for years. Therefore, those looking to get a transaction done cheaply on Ethereum often look first to Polygon to carry out said transactions.

Polygon’s low transaction fees have made it a go-to platform for NFT trading for avatars on Reddit. It has also been known to evolve Disney‘s (NYSE:HAZE) digital collectibles related to entertainment. This is one of the many bright spots for considering Polygon as a viable investment option now.

Some analysts believe that Meta moving towards Polygon could actually provide support to MATIC tokens during bear markets. Thus, this project is clearly among the cryptos to watch for those who are concerned about the current market dynamics right now.

Solana (SOL-USD)

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Solana is one of the most divisive blockchains out there, and has been hit hard in recent days due to contagion concerns related to the demise of FTX (FTT-USD) (and its holdings of SOL).

That said, the amount of NFT-related activity on the Solana blockchain is remarkable. This is partly due to Solana’s speed and cost advantage over other layer-1 networks.

Now, Solana has had its fair share of problems. Aside from being embroiled in the whole FTX debacle, this is a network that has had a series of declines and outages in recent times. Thus, it is an investment that has a higher risk.

Solana’s ability to handle tens of thousands of transactions per second, while doing so at a fraction of a penny each, makes it an ideal venue for NFT trading. Consequently, it is clear why the network’s launch of the SolSea NFT marketplace has been a relative success of late.

This is certainly one of the best cryptos to watch for investors who are bullish on NFTs for the long term.

Arweave (AR-USD)

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Founded in 2017, Arweave (AR-USD) is a project with a remarkable goal. This network looks to create the “permaweb”, essentially storing user data forever, in a decentralized and secure manner. For those with excess computing power on their hard drives, lending this storage to the network will generate income over time. Thus, it is a kind of “Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) for decentralized storage.” Many in the crypto community have believed that this should be a key vertical at some point.

Like other tokens on the market, Arweave has struggled recently. That said, Meta’s announcement move to integrate NFTs into Instagram caused a massive 75% increase in Arweave’s value.

That’s because Meta announced that Arweave will act as the decentralized storage service to make the entire program run. If successful, Arweave could continue to be a boon as more enterprise and institutional adoption takes place.

Now, it’s fair to say that we’re unclear as to how far this whole NFT integration will ultimately go. But for those optimistic about the future of mainstream NFTs, Arweave is a unique play in this space worth considering.

As of the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Chris MacDonald’s love of investing led him to earn an MBA in finance and take on a number of leadership roles in corporate finance and venture capital over the past 15 years. His recent experience as a financial analyst, combined with his fervor for finding undervalued growth opportunities, contributes to his conservative, long-term investment outlook.