Benzinga | Dec 21, 2021 01:55AM EST

Parler Follows Melania Trump In Announcing A NFT Foray, Touts Beating Twitter, Facebook In Rush To Embrace Web 3.0

Social media platform Parler announced Monday it was expanding its portfolio to include non fungible tokens or NFT marketplaces.

What Happened: Parler said it has assembled a team of experienced industry veterans to support the growth of digital assets.

The social media company said that, with its move into NFTs, it had embraced Web 3.0 and "demonstrated its commitment to being a first mover amongst social media companies in this sphere."

Parler, which touts itself as an alternative to Twitter Inc (NASDAQ:TWTR) and Meta Platforms Inc's (NASDAQ:FB) Facebook, took a dig at Big Tech in its announcement.

Parler CEO George Farmer said, "no company has been more punitively damaged than Parler by Big Tech, and we, as a business, are now seeking to be an early-stage investor and operator in the Web 3 movement: user, not owner, operated."

As of Dec. 15, the aggregated sales value of NFT sales over 30 days was nearly $147 million, as per data from Statista, a market and consumer data firm.

See Also: How To Buy Twitter (TWTR) Shares

Why It Matters: Last week, former first lady Melania Trump announced a Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-powered NFT platform.

Parler said in its statement that it has already demonstrated its first steps into NFTs by "assisting comprehensively in the buildout of the NFT platform for Melania Trump."

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) discontinued services to Parler in January after rioters entered the U.S. Capitol ahead of President Joe Biden's inauguration. This led to Parler's disappearance for nearly a month.

The web version of Parler came back online in February. The Parler app returned back to Apple's App Store in April.

Read Next: One-Sided Love? Melania Trump Picks Solana But The Network Wants You To Know, For Sure, It Has Nothing To Do With Her NFT Project