In a letter published on Tuesday, YouTube's CEO Susan Wojcicki suggested the company is considering embracing web3 technologies, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as another source of revenue for content creators.
Although the ambiguous letter didn't specify when would YouTube start testing NFTs on its platform, Wojcicki referred to the innovations happening in the web3 world as a “source of inspiration to continue innovating on YouTube.”
“We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” the letter reads.
Wojcicki’s latest letter was addressed to the YouTube community to outline areas the company plans to invest in, like gaming and shopping, and how it plans to support creators.
Although this is a progressive move from YouTube, it definitely doesn't make it the first in the social media world to enter the NFT world. The micro-blogging site, Twitter, currently provides users who own a special JPEG a way to “show off your prized possessions” via a hexagonal profile picture. And Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is reportedly working on something similar where users can display the NFTs they own. A marketplace for NFTs is also reportedly in the works.
It's worth noting YouTube's content creators didn't wait for YouTube to announce such move, and many of them had already turned their viral videos into NFTs and sold them. For example, the popular YouTube video "Charlie Bit Me" has already been made into an NFT and sold for $761,000.
