NFTs have rather rapidly crept on us. Whether you are a supporter of the technology or not, by now, almost everyone stumbles onto NFTs on a daily basis, especially when we scroll through our social networks.
Reddit has now become the latest social network to integrate NFTs support into its platform in the form of “blockchain-backed collectible avatars.”
What Are Reddit’s Collectible Avatars?
Following in the footsteps of other major social media platforms, such as Instagram, Reddit is integrating support for NFTs. The company announced the launch of Collectible Avatars in a blog post.
The company describes them as “limited-edition avatars made by independent artists, in partnership with Reddit.” The Collectible Avatars will be uniquely numbered, with several avatars of each design for sale.
Reddit also specified that these Collectible Avatars are backed by blockchain technology and that you can use them on and off Reddit. That means that they are indeed NFTs, although the company avoids using the word in the blog post.
Reddit’s Collectible Avatars are currently stored on Polygon, an Ethereum-based blockchain, which the company says it chose due to its low transaction costs and sustainability commitments. However, Polygon does rely on the less sustainable Ethereum blockchain for security.
Reddit’s Collectible Avatars will come with at least a few perks. For example, owners will be able to customize their Collective Avatars with other Reddit avatar gear and accessories as they see fit. Also, mirroring Twitter’s hexagonal profile pictures, when you have a Collectible Avatar set as your profile image, your avatar will get a glow-like effect when it shows up in the comment sections.
Empowering Artists on Reddit
According to Reddit’s blog post, Collectible Avatars is an effort to empower artists on Reddit by providing them with an easy way to showcase their work and make a profit off it, since the series includes contributions from artists who frequently post on popular subreddits.
In a statement on The Verge, Tim Rathschmidt, Reddit’s spokesperson, said that Reddit’s cut is 5 percent, which goes to minting, blockchain fees, as well as to supporting the creator program. The rest goes to the artists.
This could actually work out well for both artists and Reddit. If you take a quick look around the social network, you’ll notice that the vast majority of users don’t actually use profile pictures of themselves. Instead, they tend to use a customized version of Reddit’s mascot as an avatar.
Considering how popular the avatar customization feature is among Redditors, Collectible Avatars might actually bring many artists’ works to a large audience.
How to Purchase Reddit's Collectible Avatars
General access to Reddit’s Collectible Avatars is live and you can purchase your own where you usually build your avatars on Reddit. The company emphasized in its blog post that the Collectible Avatars will not be put for auction and that each avatar is priced at a fixed amount to be paid with state-issued fiat currency.
Once purchased, Collectible Avatars will be stored in your Vault, a blockchain-powered wallet on Reddit that Redditors have been using to store their Community Points. You will also be able to sell your Collectible Avatars on secondary markets such as OpenSea.
Reddit Jumped Onto the NFT Car Wagon
Whether we support NFTs or not, they have already made their way into several of the major social media platforms, and Reddit is no exception. The Collectible Avatars series does have the potential to bring the work of many talented artists to a much larger audience and help them monetize their hard work.