Reddit is getting rid of its crypto-powered “Community Points” reward tokens. The tokens were first launched three years ago in an effort to reward Reddit users for making high-quality contributions to the social media platform, but the site plans to fully phase them out by November 8, TechCrunch first reported.
Reddit’s Community Points are ERC-20 tokens that were initially minted on the Ethereum network, but later moved to scaling network Arbitrum Nova. The tokens could be redeemed for different perks on Reddit, like badges, emotes, GIFs, and other features.
Holders have been selling off the two tokens—MOON and BRICK—causing prices to nosedive. MOON (from the r/Cryptocurrency subreddit) is down 84% today to a current price of $0.035, while BRICK (from r/FortniteBR) has plunged about 59% over the past 24 hours to a current price of $0.041, per CoinGecko.
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BRICK, the crypto reward token given out in Reddit’s subreddit community around the popular video game Fortnite, saw a significant surge in value Wednesday, rising 131% in price over the course of the day. Per data from CoinGecko, BRICK went from an early-day low of just under $0.075 to a peak of about $0.173 by the end of the day Wednesday, more than doubling in price in less than 24 hours. BRICK buzz has since cooled, with the token currently trading for about $0.125, still representing a 35%...
Why is Reddit, which saw millions of users mint its Collectible Avatar NFTs, suddenly backing away from one of its core crypto integrations?
“The resourcing needed was unfortunately too high to justify,” Reddit Director of Consumer and Products Communications Tim Rathschmidt told TechCrunch.
“The regulatory environment has since added to that effort,” Rathschmidt added, likely referencing unclear crypto guidance in the United States. “Though the moderators and communities that supported Community Points have been incredible partners—as it’s evolved, the product is no longer set up to scale.”
Similar language can also be found on an explanation for sunsetting the program on the FortNiteBR subreddit.
When reached for comment, Rathschmidt told Decrypt that he didn’t have additional details to share about the Community Points program shutting down, but he confirmed that the “Collectible Avatars initiative continues.”
Redditors with plenty of Community Points in their pockets have mixed feelings on the platform’s decision. While many Redditors expressed indifference about the decision, others applauded the choice.
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Online discussion platform Reddit has quickly become one of the biggest brands tied to NFTs, with more than 18 million of its Polygon-based Collectible Avatars minted over the last year—and now it has dropped another huge set of options. Reddit’s Collectible Avatars Gen 4 drop, titled “Retro Reimagined,” launched today, pulling together an array of artistic riffs on the site’s iconic “Snoo” alien mascot from dozens of creators. In addition to artists who were featured in previous drops and other...
“The way people acted on the sub[reddit] changed quite drastically after the points appeared,” wrote one pseudonymous user in the FortNite BR subreddit. “Maybe this change will have a positive impact and users who were here just for the points will slowly leave. I would rather see less users on the sub than thousands who farm.”
“Crypto shills are finally gonna go and maybe some good posts will start to appear,” wrote another in response to the news.
While Reddit is abandoning some of its blockchain plans, it looks like Redditors can be rest assured that at least their NFT avatars will remain on the blockchain—for now.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
