Reddit Launches Digital Collectible Avatars With Polygon, But They’re Not NFTs

Summary:

  • The social network plans to launch its marketplace for blockchain-powered profile photos on Thursday.
  • Over 90 unique designs crafted by individual artists and thousands of digital collectibles will roll out during the sale for a fixed price.
  • Interested buyers can only purchase an avatar with government-issued fiat currencies.
  • Layer 2 scaling protocol Polygon is Reddit’s on-chain partner for the initiative.
  • Reddit previously teased Ethereum-based NFT features earlier in 2022.
  • Other social networks like Twitter and Facebook have integrated digital collectibles on different scales.

Social media platform Reddit is set to unveil blockchain-based digital collectible avatars for users on Thursday powered by a new marketplace in partnership with Polygon, a popular Ethereum-powered layer 2 scaling protocol.

The so-called collectible avatar series will offer limited-edition profile photos featuring some 90 unique iterations designed by independent artists. Also, users get to pick from tens of thousands of collectible avatars made available at launch. 

Reddit said in a blog post the new display photo option would improve on the current avatar builder feature and allow users to “mix-and-match” gears and other accessories available on the social platform.

Although the avatar storefront is in partnership with Polygon, the only available payment options are debit or credit card. Users cannot buy their preferred collectible using crypto. 

Unlike NFTs which are tradable and could sell for different amounts on secondary markets, Reddit’s avatars come with a fixed price. Users can then leverage the platform’s in-house Vault wallet to view purchases.

Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, And Other Social Media Giants Dabble In NFTs

While Reddit did not explicitly classify its latest digital collectibles as NFTs, the platform has reported teased the idea in the past. Earlier in 2022, the social network explored the idea of Ethereum-powered NFT profile photos.

The move came shortly after Twitter announce NFT integration for Blue subscribers. EthereumWorldNews previously reported that Facebook was also testing out NFT features for Instagram and Facebook.