31/10/2022 Reddit Launched Its Own NFT Marketplace in July. It Already Has More Users Than OpenSea and Other Major Platforms
Three million users have created Reddit Vaultsâthe companyâs name for a blockchain walletâsince the service was created a few months ago.
Examples of Reddit Avatars. Courtesy of Reddit.Quietly, and seemingly overnight, Reddit has become one of the biggest crypto-art marketplacesâand it did so by avoiding the acronym NFT.
Earlier this month, Reddit CPOPali Bhat revealedthat 3 million users have created Vaultsâthe siteâs name for a blockchain walletâsince the company launched the product this summer. Of those, an estimated 2.5 million were set up to purchase Redditâs own Avatarsâthe siteâs name for profile picture-style NFTSâhe explained.
That means that Reddit, which just formally entered the crypto-collectible space this summer, already has more users than OpenSea, one of the most established NFT platforms, has active accounts.
Itâs an impressive feat, especially considering the dramatic depreciation of cryptocurrency and blockchain collectibles in 2022. (Last month,Bloomberg reportedthat trading volumes in NFTS have plummeted 97% from a record high in January.) And itâs one that other major social media platforms are surely monitoring with slavering mouths. Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, isconsidering launching its own marketplace, too.
A caveat comes attached to Redditâs achievement, however. In August, the company dumped free Avatars into the vaults of high-profile Redditorsâa not-so-subtle ploy meant to encourage the websiteâs users to open new accounts.
Reddit unveiled its marketplace in July of this year. It was marketed as a kind of populist platform, targeting crypto-curious audiences who otherwise felt a barrier to entry into the world. Instead of NFTs, the company offered Avatars (the original collection was based on variations of Redditâs logo); instead of wallets, Vaults. Collectibles were priced at low, fixed ratesâ$9.99, $24.99, $49.99, etc.âand could be purchased via credit card.
The company established the new service on Polygon, an Ethereum-compatible blockchain chosen for âits low cost transactions and sustainability commitments,â pera recent press release.
To date, cumulative sales of Reddit Avatars have topped $6.5 million, according to information fromDune analytics.
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