Reddit Airdrops NFTs to Avid Users.
One of the internet's most popular discussion forums, Reddit, has been flirting with crypto for the past two years and recently committed to the technology by announcing the launch of an NFT collection based on its mascot character Snoo. As well as selling tokenized avatars, the platform revealed that it would be airdropping some to some of its most dedicated users.
Just one week ago, a Reddit moderator told its community that the outlet would airdrop free NFT avatars to individuals who had earned a certain amount of karma points- Reddits way for users to reward each other for their community posts. The NFTs will be given out on a user-by-user basis with no being community excluded, per the post.
The Snoo NFTs dubbed “Collectible Avatars” are created on the Polygon blockchain, an Ethereum scaling solution that enables more affordable, faster, and more energy-efficient transactions than on Ethereum’s mainnet. These adorable NFTs will come in four styles Aww Friends, Drip Squad, Meme Team, and The Singularity.
An NFT is a deed of ownership over an item. Often represented in digital forms like paintings, profile pictures, video game items, sports memorabilia, movie, and comic collectibles.
An airdrop is a process in which coins are distributed to specific wallets based on a set of criteria, usually as a reward for owning an NFT, being an early investor in a project, or various other reasons.
Curiously Reddit has refrained from using any “NFT” vocabulary when prompting its Collectible Avatars program, following similar moves brands like esports team 100 Thieves and Coca-Cola. NFTs are controversial to certain consumers and have drawn criticism for their environmental footprint, the scams that plague the space, and their high volatility rate.
This is not Reddit's first experience releasing NFTs, as it released a limited series of Ethereum-based CryptoSnoos NFTs, which did not use any NFT terminology in its marketing. Just four NFTs were put up for auction when the project dropped in June 2021, with a singular edition selling for 175 ETH, worth over $398,000. The NFT was sold for a loss in February of this year for 42 ETH, or $117,000.
The popular online discussion platform has been researching blockchain technology for years. In 2018 the website rolled out a tokenized “Community Points” initiative and had been exploring various scaling platforms to help bring tokenized rewards to its millions of users for the past couple of years.
Reddit eventually chose Arbitrum, an Ethereum scaling network from Off-chain Labs, and just this month released the project on the mainnet via the new Arbitrum Nova chain designed for social and gaming apps.
Though Reddit has chosen not to use NFTs in the marketing of its Collectible Avatars, its tokenized Community Points can potentially be intertwined with other Web3 apps, and the website plans to roll them out to more communities. Currently, only two communities—r/CryptoCurrency and r/FortNiteBR—offer crypto reward tokens called Moons and Bricks.
Reddit's continued interest in blockchain technology does wonders for the space; as one of the more prominent Web2 figures, its knowledge of how to integrate and grow tech through distribution to its community is what we need more of in the crypto.