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Reddit launched an NFT avatar marketplace last week. Redditors can now purchase non-fungible tokens as digital images to use for their profile pictures.
To purchase the avatars, Reddit users do not need a crypto wallet.
How to Purchase a Reddit NFT Avatar
The company is releasing 90 different designs to be purchased as avatars for the social media platform. Furthermore, the company said it will sell tens of thousands of avatars in its early sale.
Purchasers of Reddit’s NFT avatars will have the right to use their avatar on Reddit and other web properties. Users will also be able to “beef up” their avatars with other merchandise they can purchase using Reddit’s avatar builder. The avatar will have “glow-like” properties when used on Reddit’s platform.
Redditors will be able to mint their avatars on the Polygon blockchain, an Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain.
NFT avatars purchased through Reddit can be viewed in Reddit’s wallet, called Vault. Vault is a blockchain-based wallet that users can use to earn community points on Reddit. Community points can be used to purchase badges and animated emojis. First users of Reddit NFT avatars will be members of the r/CollectibleAvatars subreddit, which is invite-only. The community was created on May 18 and currently has 6.5 thousand members.
Reddit NFT avatars will not be sold by auction. Rather, each one has a fixed price starting at $9.99 and going up to $99.99. Reddit will roll out the ability to purchase NFT avatars to everyone on the platform in the next few weeks.
What Is the Value of a Reddit NFT Avatar?
Reddit is not the first social media platform to offer NFT avatars to its members. CryptoPunks launched in 2017 on the Ethereum blockchain. Created by Larva Labs, these were among the first non-fungible tokens ever created and sparked the sensation that would become NFT avatars.
In 2021, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), created by Yuga Labs, launched and has become an international sensation. BAYC avatars serve as memberships in an exclusive club offering members membership-only benefits. Members have used their BAYC avatars as social media profile pictures.
The true value of NFT avatars lies in their utility, scarcity, and exclusivity. For instance, Reddit avatars can be purchased only by Reddit users. While anyone can technically become a Reddit user, the fact that only a small portion of living humanity are currently Reddit users makes Reddit NFT avatars that much more exclusive. Of course, simply owning an NFT avatar does not imply that one own’s a valuable work of art. Supply and demand are also important metrics for determining a token’s value.
Whether Reddit NFT avatars will increase in value remains to be seen. Judging from the number of members in the first class of Redditors to have access, it looks like they’re off to a good start.
