Content aggregation, rating and discussion website Reddit announced a new blockchain-backed avatar system on Thursday. Although no official date has been revealed, the company suggested that the avatars will be available to the general public in the coming weeks. For now, Reddit is providing early access to a limited number of people who join the community; r/CollectibleAvatars.
Collectible avatars are a set of limited edition artwork created by independent artists who are also users of the Reddit website. The new avatars can be purchased with local currencies, although the ad indicates that the artwork is stored on the Polygon (MATIC) network. In addition, the management of collectible avatars is carried out through Vault, Reddit’s blockchain-powered wallet that runs on Ethereum-compatible chains.
This latest move from Reddit aims to empower artists using the website, As stated in Thursday’s announcement on their website:
“From the beginning, our goal has been to empower artists to create and sell their work. Artists will be paid for every collectible avatar sold on Reddit, less commissions, and will also be entitled to royalties from secondary sales.” of their collectible avatars in open markets”.
The new collection will be available in places where Reddit users typically create their avatars on the website. Once a Collectible Avatar has been purchased, it can be used as an avatar on Reddit. Buyers of Collectible Avatars will be able to receive exclusive benefits and the creators of said collectibles will receive a percentage of future secondary sales.
Part of Thursday’s announcement read:
“Collectible avatars are currently stored on Polygon, a general-purpose, Ethereum-compatible blockchain. We chose Polygon for its cheap transactions and commitments to sustainability.”
Reddit said avatars are not non-fungible tokens (NFTs) themselves, and cryptocurrencies are not part of the process of buying or selling them at this time. but noted that, “blockchain-backed Collectible Avatars is one of the first steps we’re taking to test the potential benefits of this concept on Reddit.”
Reddit also mentioned the company’s future visions for features related to the concept:
“Going forward, we see blockchain as a way to bring more power and independence to communities on Reddit. Reddit has always been a model of what online decentralization could be; our communities are self-established and managed, And as part of our mission to better empower our communities, we’re exploring tools to help them become even more self-sufficient and self-governed.”
This is not Reddit’s first foray into the NFT space, the company launched CryptoSnoos in February of this year.
Amid the current cryptocurrency price crash, some companies are choosing to build. Other recent NFT news includes a new report from DappRadar showing there could be NFT platform clashes in the near future, and a Lamborghini-backed GT racing team’s decision to authenticate car parts using NFT. While art-based tokens have been very popular in recent years, some have begun to look to expiring copyrights as the next potential gold rush for NFTs.
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