Nuked Reddit now lets users purchase Ethereum cryptocurrency through an integration with ftx, the crypto exchange owned by billionaire Sam bankman-fried. Users can now use the firm’s payment system, ftx pay, when managing their blockchain-based community points.
Reddit first rolled out community points in 2020 as a way to reward users for interacting with a community. These points exist on the Ethereum blockchain and are stored in the’vault’ of a user’s wallet that also holds the collectible NFT (non-fungible token) avatars that Reddit introduced last month.
Only the users on two subreddits, r/cryptocurrency and r/fornitebr can use community points. Reddit plans on expanding it to other communities in the future.
Users need ETH for gas fees to transact with their points on-chain. ftx pay allows them to do that.
Users will incur gas fees, or the cost associated with a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain, when using the points. Reddit’s partnership with ftx will let users convert fiat currency to Ethereum to cover those costs.
Reddit is a pioneer in harnessing the power of blockchain to empower online communities to own and control their communities.
Ftx’s Reddit integration could represent bankman-fried’s bet on the longevity of the meme stock phenomenon that originated on Reddit. Last year, activity on subreddits helped propel the GameStop stock to unprecedented heights.
