Content aggregation, ranking, and discussion website Reddit announced a new blockchain-backed avatar system on Thursday. Though no official date was revealed, the company suggested that the avatars will be available to the general public in the next few weeks. For now, Reddit is providing first-look early access to a limited number of people who join the r/CollectibleAvatars community.
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, however the announcement stated the artwork is stored on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain. In addition, management of the Collectible Avatars is handled through Vault, Reddit’s blockchain-powered wallet that functions on Ethereum-compatible chains.
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This latest move by Reddit aims to empower artists that use the website, as stated in Thursday’s announcement on their website:
The new collection will be available where Reddit users normally build their avatars on the website. Once a Collectible Avatar has been purchased, it can be used as an avatar on Reddit. Owners of the Collectible Avatars will be eligible to receive unique benefits and Collectible Avatar creators will receive a percentage of future secondary sales.
From Thursday’s announcement, “Collectible Avatars are currently stored on Polygon, a general-purpose, Ethereum-compatible blockchain. We chose Polygon for its low cost transactions and sustainability commitments.”
Reddit said that the avatars aren’t proper NFTs, and cryptocurrencies aren’t part of the process of buying or selling them for now, but indicated that,
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