Reddit released digital collectible avatars on their website and mobile app. Why does it matter? Because they have ~430 million monthly average users, according to their previous annual review.
When news broke that Reddit had onboarded 2.8M people onto blockchain technology, according to Dune Analytics, the NFT Community on Twitter took notice.
For comparison, OpenSea is the most popular NFT marketplace and has 2.3M users, according to DappRadar.
Reddit Collectible Avatars are limited-edition avatars created by independent artists.
When a user sets their Collectible Avatar as their profile picture on Reddit, they can mix-and-match the avatar’s clothes and accessories, and their profile image in the comments section will have a glowing effect.
Collectible Avatars live on the blockchain. They are created on the Polygon network, an Ethereum-compatible scaling solution, often preferred for its low cost transactions.
Other well-known projects leveraging the Polygon network include Decentraland, as well as Starbucks’ recently announced Odyssey Rewards Membership Program.
Many of the artists who created the first series of Collectible Avatars came from popular Reddit communities and subreddits, like r/Comics.
The goal was to empower artists to create and sell their work, which is why each artist was paid for every Collectible Avatar sold on the Reddit platform.
In addition, artists are entitled to receive royalties from secondary sales on other open marketplaces.
According to RedditFloor.com, a website created by members of the Reddit community, below are the Top 5 Collectible Avatars according to their floor price, as of this writing:
Additional avatar collections are being released on a routine basis.
The r/avartartrading subreddit has over 11K members and is continuing to grow.
The marriage between NFT Reddit and NFT Twitter got off to a rocky start. Notable Ethereum NFT collectors, like Franklin, were banned from the subreddit less than a minute after posting his famous slideshow showcasing his Bored Apes.
Many people are saying Reddit Collectible Avatars could be the Trojan horse that onboards the mainstream to NFTs without them really knowing it.
In fact, Reddit made a conscious decision to omit the phrase “NFT” on their website and communications regarding these Collectible Avatars.
Once popularized in the movie “The Matrix,” the “red pill” represents the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth.
In Web3, the truth is that blockchain and digital assets will power the future of art, culture, entertainment, and beyond.
The red pill can be tough to swallow. So Reddit, along with other companies and platforms in their wake, may opt for a more subtle approach to onboard the masses.
