Social news site Reddit has long provided support for cryptocurrency as a payment method for in-app purchases. From Karma and trophies to the conception of cryptocurrencies within the many subreddits, experimenting with cryptocurrency and native Reddit NFT assets shows promise for Reddit’s plunge in decentralized finance.
Reddit NFT Crash Course:
What Is Reddit?
Founded in 2005, Reddit is a networking site where users share, discuss, and vote on content. Users can give upvotes or downvotes on posts, which affect the post’s popularity and search ranking within the site.
Source: reddit.com
There are over 430 million active users on Reddit. Reddit users, popularly nicknamed ‘Redditors’, go on Reddit for entertainment (Reddit is known for popularizing memes widely used across the Internet), news and updates, and marketing on just about any topic of interest.
Content on Reddit ranges from text posts, external links, audio clips, images, and videos. To spur discussion among the right audience, Redditors share content on dedicated subreddits.
What Is a Subreddit?
A subreddit is a niche community for Redditors to discuss particular interests like gaming, cryptocurrency, and stock trading. Anyone on Reddit can start a subreddit to find like-minded individuals or subscribe to a subreddit curated for a topic they find interesting.
To date, there are over 130,000 active subreddits. Sharing content on the right subreddit increases traction for the post. The voting system allows Redditors to be in control of which content goes viral, while uninteresting or negatively charged posts get downvoted.
Subreddits are also a venue for opportunity and profitability. On Reddit, you are guaranteed to find an audience for the most niche topic. Discourse on cryptocurrency is among the most popular on the platform, with the subreddit r/CryptoCurrency gathering almost 5 million members. Proclaimed the leading community for cryptocurrency analysis and news, r/CryptoCurrency launched its official crypto token called MOON.
Source: reddit.com
r/FortNiteBR, a subreddit curated for Epic Games’ Fortnite: Battle Royale, also introduced its own crypto token called BRICK. MOONS and BRICKS are distributed to respective subreddit members based on their individual contributions.
Source: reddit.com
Reddit Karma vs. MOONS and BRICKS: An Overview
Reddit Karma
Building a reputation is helpful in gaining trust within Reddit. The staggering number of over 430 million monthly users is prone to troll attacks and other harmful online behavior. To uphold the quality of content and interaction, Reddit introduced a scoring system called Karma.
Reddit Karma is a user’s score from their activities on the platform. Engaging within subreddits earns you either Post or Comment Karma, both making up your total karma count. Reddit makes use of an algorithm to calculate Reddit Karma; upvotes and downvotes on either posts or comments can affect your karma count.
To earn karma, you must dedicate some time to sharing content and commenting on posts. Asking questions is a great way to encourage users to interact with you. Getting upvotes improves ranking within the subreddit or comment thread, which can also increase karma count.
A high Reddit Karma unlocks certain benefits within Reddit. Some communities require a certain Karma count before you can subscribe or share your first post; a high karma count guarantees access to exclusive community perks. At approximately 50 karma, you can also start your own subreddit. Most significant of all is establishing credibility. Redditors with high karma are a testament to how community members value their opinions.
Unfortunately, Reddit Karma does not hold monetary value. It is merely a representation of a Reddit user’s contribution to the platform.
Reddit Awards
Source: reddit.com
To show appreciation on Reddit, Redditors can give away awards. Awarded posts or comments are often at the top of the community’s discussion threads. There are four Reddit awards that Redditors can give away, namely:
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Community Awards
Communities have a custom set of awards designed by moderators. Placing a purchase for Community Awards funds the creation of exclusive awards within the community.
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Reaction Awards
Reaction awards give more context to how you reacted to a post or comment. Express your reactions beyond words with Reaction Awards like the Spit-take Award to show how shell-shocked you are.
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Medals
Medals are commonly awarded to remarkable posts or comments that inspire or motivate readers. Redditors can award Silver, Gold, Platinum, Argentium, and Ternion All-Powerful medals, with the prices only going higher from the least expensive Silver medal.
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Premium
Premium awards are exclusive to Reddit Premium members. You’ll know an award is Premium when it’s outshining the line of regular Reddit awards.
Reddit Coins
Virtual merchandise has long existed before the rise of blockchain technology. Reddit Coins, formerly known as Creddits, are a virtual currency Redditors use to buy awards. Reddit Coins can be bought in different bundles, from 500 Coins priced at $1.99 to 82,000 Coins for $199.99.
Source: reddit.com
MOONS and BRICKS
Reddit Drops Bitcoin, Launches RCPs
In 2013, Reddit’s first venture into cryptocurrency began by accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for in-app purchases. However, things fell through in 2018 due to inflated Bitcoin transaction fees and changes with Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange used for Bitcoin payments.
In 2020, Reddit announced the launching of Reddit Community Points (RCPs). RCPs are a new cryptocurrency reward that will operate on the Ethereum blockchain. According to Reddit, Community Points allow Redditors to “own a piece of their community”. Community Points are rewarded according to a user’s contribution within a subreddit.
Source: reddit.com
In short, Reddit Community Points are the fungible token equivalent of Reddit Karma. Members of a community have autonomy on how to create and distribute Community Points, and they can use karma counts as reference.
Remember Reddit Awards, which Redditors purchase with Reddit Coins? Reddit aims to deliver a purely digital transaction from Coins to Awards with Community Points. Community Points can be rewarded or sent as a tip to notable community members and moderators.
The Vault
Source: reddit.com
To send and store Reddit Community Points, Reddit launched an in-app crypto wallet called The Vault. Aside from Reddit Community Points, The Vault will also be home to Reddit MOONS and BRICKS.
Community Points Rollout: MOONS and BRICKS
As Reddit Community Points are fully customizable for every community, the platform offered select communities to develop and create their own Community Points to tip and reward members. r/CryptoCurrency and r/FortNiteBR launched MOONS and BRICKS respectively, both of which can be earned and awarded according to a member’s contribution to the community. All a member has to do is post content relevant to the community’s topic of focus, engage with other members in the comments, and participate in polls.
Community engagement is central to a subreddit’s growth and, in turn, Reddit’s success. With tokenized Community Points, Redditors are appropriately rewarded for their reputation and activity online. Owning monetary value over their reputation also encourages members to share meaningful content and engage in stirring conversation.
MOONS and BRICKS run on the Ethereum blockchain. These tokens can be stored on The Vault, Reddit’s in-app wallet where users can view their balance and complete transactions.
Reddit reportedly released 50 million MOONS and BRICKS, with a monthly cap. Users with either of the tokens can flaunt their reputation with fellow community members and unlock community perks that come with a Special Membership. These tokens can also be used to purchase Reddit Coins, the in-app currency needed to give awards to remarkable posts and comments.
As of writing, 1 MOON is priced at $0.04773090. On the other hand, 1 BRICK is worth $0.052270.
CryptoSnoos: A Reddit NFT Experiment?
Reddit’s History with Cryptocurrency
For so long, Reddit has explored the potential of cryptocurrency, or as popularly dubbed by r/Bitcoin, ‘Magic Internet Money’. In the hopes of minimizing the hassle with various payment processors, Reddit adopted Bitcoin as a purely digital form of payment. In fact, a single Reddit ad made waves on the Internet and contributed to how Bitcoin reached $1,000.
Source: foundation.app
Bitcoin pioneered the cryptocurrency market and was soon joined by newer digital currencies. Due to multiple issues with payments, Reddit discontinued Bitcoin as a payment option. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency communities continue to grow, engaging in conversation on the latest news, trends, and the future of crypto.
Starting Anew with CryptoSnoos
Fast forward to 2021, in the height of the NFT hype, Reddit announces the launching of its exclusive NFT collection called CryptoSnoos. Each NFT asset features the platform’s iconic alien mascot Snoo, interpreted in various art styles from different periods of history—as a pixelated block image, a disco ball, and a sparkling helium balloon.
Source: nft.reddit.com
Each CryptoSnoo comes in varying stocks. Reddit uses stickers to denote the scarcity of CryptoSnoos out on the market. These stickers include legendary, epic, and rare.
Source: nft.reddit.com
- Legendary – Unique, one of a kind
- Epic – Extremely limited edition
- Rare – Limited edition
Unlike MOONS and BRICKS, which are farmed through community reputation and contribution, CryptoSnoos are up for bidding on OpenSea, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. Redditors will have to set up a MetaMask wallet and connect their Reddit account to join in the auction for CryptoSnoos. To date, four CryptoSnoos have been released and sold.
These digital collectible cards of Snoo can be used as a Reddit avatar to show off to your peers and community. CryptoSnoos avatars stand out from the rest with their signature glow animation. This is similar to the hexagonal images that differentiate NFT profile pictures on Twitter.
Much like any other NFT, CryptoSnoos are unique in that they carry details in their code that are one-of-a-kind. They are not interchangeable, unlike MOONS and BRICKS. CryptoSnoos owners have full authority on what they wish to do with their special edition assets.
How to Purchase CryptoSnoos
To get your hands on a CryptoSnoo NFT, you will have to win the auction held at OpenSea. NFTs are auctioned at marketplaces, and because of the innate scarcity (which, inarguably, is the allure of collecting NFTs), prices tend to skyrocket. The least expensive CryptoSnoo was sold at 70 ETH, which roughly translates to $226,000.
While there haven’t been any active CryptoSnoo sales since 2021, it doesn’t hurt to prepare yourself on bidding for a one-of-a-kind Reddit NFT. Here are the steps to joining in a live auction for Reddit NFTs in the future:
- Connect your MetaMask Wallet to your Reddit account. Set up a MetaMask wallet if you still don’t have one, and connect it to your Reddit account. As of writing, the in-app Vault wallet is not designed to cater to NFT assets.
- Head on to OpenSea where the Reddit NFTs are listed for bidding. Place your bid, and stay tuned for the progress of the bidding.
- Win the auction, and “bring home” your prized NFT. The NFT comes with a receipt of details signifying your sole ownership over it.
- Flaunt it to your friends! These days, crypto art NFTs catch the attention of others as profile pictures. Twitter and Reddit adopted this strategy, with the former receiving less than positive feedback.
What Are CryptoSnoos Used For?
According to Reddit, participating in the live auction for CryptoSnoos is a privilege of joining in a pivotal moment of history with Reddit. Among other things, bidding for Reddit NFTs is solely for entertainment purposes.
So… What’s Next After CryptoSnoos?
Reddit has already amassed over a million dollars with just four CryptoSnoos. Despite mixed perceptions from Redditors, Reddit has successfully marketed NFTs and cryptocurrency to the target audience.
Social media platforms are gradually steering their way to cater to blockchain-based technology. With Facebook acquiring Oculus and rebranding to Meta for its metaverse-related endeavors, it didn’t come as a surprise for Reddit to integrate NFTs. However, the question remains: what’s next after CryptoSnoos?
While the official Reddit NFT website hints at future NFT releases, Reddit has yet to make an announcement. It has only been a while since the general public caught wind of Reddit’s NFT collection. We can assume that Reddit is still experimenting with the proper implementation and integration of NFTs within the app.
Are MOONS and BRICKS Still relevant?
Reddit MOONS and BRICKS are fungible tokens, meaning they are interchangeable. No matter how early you were to farming either token, they carry the same value as those earned or collected much later. NFTs like CryptoSnoos, on the other hand, are prized for their uniqueness and rarity on the market.
Community Points are very much relevant. The launching of MOONS and BRICKS was just the beginning of Reddit’s monetization of community contribution and engagement. The Reddit Community Points Beta Program is open for communities interested in testing out the features.
r/ethtrader is another subreddit to have launched its official token called DONUTS. It follows the same protocol as MOONS and BRICKS; however, these tokens are connected to a MetaMask wallet instead of Reddit’s in-app Vault.
Source: ethtrader.org
Final Thoughts
Firsthand knowledge and years of experience in managing cryptocurrency transactions give social news site Reddit an edge over other social media platforms in integrating blockchain technology. The crypto market is volatile, and Reddit is taking cautious steps in launching Community Points sitewide and dropping a new NFT collection.
The culture of discussion within Reddit is also central to the platform’s success in rolling out tests. For years, subreddits on cryptocurrencies and blockchain started discourse and encouraged open-mindedness for emerging technologies. Marketing to communities that are open to new ideas is beneficial to the success of Reddit NFTs and crypto.
Reddit NFTs are worth anticipating as more Reddit users are seeking ways to stand out from the crowd and entertain themselves. However, it is a challenge not to overlook the environmental impact of minting NFTs. We have yet to hear Reddit’s stance on the effects of blockchain technology on climate change.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Reddit NFT?
CryptoSnoos is an NFT collection launched by social media and community platform Reddit. The four NFT assets depict Reddit alien mascot Snoo in varying art styles. The entire CryptoSnoos collection is already sold out despite the initial mixed reviews.
Where does Reddit host its crypto?
Reddit runs Community Points on the Ethereum blockchain. 50 million Reddit MOONS and BRICKS were released upon the tokens’ official launch on the blockchain.
Are Reddit Coins crypto?
While Reddit Coins are a virtual currency, this in-app merchandise is not cryptocurrency. However, Reddit Community Points can be used to buy awards for Redditors, omitting the need to purchase Coins before purchasing Awards.
Is it worth investing in Reddit NFT?
The speculative potential of NFTs, in general, can be a dealbreaker. Assess your investment portfolio, and determine whether you have the means to invest in Reddit NFTs.
How can I purchase Reddit NFT?
The CryptoSnoos NFT collection was launched at OpenSea. As of present, there are no more CryptoSnoos available on the market. Stay tuned for Reddit’s announcement of its next NFT collection!
