Reddit NFT: What It Is & How to Get One for Free
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) don't always come from places you would expect. One platform that has shown an eagerness to provide its community with easy access to NFTs is Reddit, which is a social news website and forum. In fact, Reddit has been a big supporter of the cryptocurrency industry, demonstrated by its acceptance of cryptocurrency as an alternative payment method for in-app purchases back in 2013.
Over the years, Reddit has introduced many features to its community that indicate the platform will broaden its support for the NFT industry in the years to come. Recently, it has even introduced its own collection of NFTs that are given away for free. Before we start talking about its recent NFT collection, let’s first take a look at what Reddit is and how it works.
What Is Reddit?
Reddit is a popular networking site that allows users to discuss, vote on and share content. Any user who joins Reddit can provide posts with a downvote or upvote, which determines how popular a post is when it comes to search rankings.
Reddit exists as a forum and networking site with more than 430 million active monthly users. These users can search Reddit for entertainment, news, updates, marketing and memes that cover all manner of topics. The website was placed online in 2005 and is likely the most popular discussion website in existence.
How Does Reddit Work?
When a user first joins Reddit, they create a profile and username that represents them when they make posts or comments across the forum. Reddit users are commonly referred to as redditors. Along with being a forum where users can create communities and topics about practically anything, Reddit is a news aggregation site, which means that any important piece of news is posted on Reddit for discussion among members. The various types of content that can be placed on Reddit include text posts, images, audio clips, videos and external links.
If a redditor wants a community where they can host more specific discussions, they can create a subreddit. Once a dedicated subreddit is made, redditors who are interested in the topic of discussion can join the subreddit. Thousands of subreddits cover subjects such as TV shows, movies, politics, stock trading, gaming and cryptocurrency.
As of this writing, it's believed there are more than 140,000 active daily subreddits. When content is shared on a subreddit, the post gains more interest from redditors. The voting system mentioned previously provides redditors with the opportunity to determine which content goes viral. Any negative or uninteresting post will be ignored or downvoted, which means that it won't be spread around.
Subreddits that center around the stock market and the crypto industry are some of the most popular subreddits on the website. In fact, the r/CryptoCurrency subreddit has around 5.3 million members. Recently, r/CryptoCurrency launched the crypto token known as MOON. Another crypto token known as BRICK was recently formed by the r/FortNiteBR subreddit, which is designed specifically for the Fortnite: Battle Royale game by Epic Games.
Features of Reddit
Since its inception in 2005, Reddit has cultivated its community by regularly introducing features that keep members engaged. These features include everything from Reddit karma to Reddit awards.
Reddit Karma
In order to be a top poster on Reddit, you must first build a reputation, which usually results in other members valuing your opinion more than they might have before. Because there are more than 430 million users on Reddit, it's possible for hurtful comments and troll attacks to be posted by some of the users. Reddit created the karma system to make sure that troll attacks and hurtful comments don't remain highly visible for long.
Reddit karma is essentially the score that each redditor receives for their activities on the Reddit platform. When a redditor comments or posts in a subreddit, they can earn comment or post karma. The Reddit platform calculates how much karma a redditor receives based on the number of downvotes and upvotes they’ve obtained for their comments or posts.
If you want to earn karma, you need to comment on posts or share content on a relatively regular basis. An easy way to get other users to interact with your comments is by asking questions. If your posts or comments receive upvotes, your karma count should also increase.
Once your Reddit karma reaches a high enough level, you can earn benefits. For instance, certain communities require redditors to have a specific karma count before they're able to join the community or make a post. Having a high enough karma also grants access to community perks. For example, having 50 karma allows redditors to create a subreddit. Keep in mind, however, that there isn't any monetary value for Reddit karma.
Reddit Coins
Reddit Coins, previously known as Creddits, are a type of virtual currency that redditors can use to purchase certain awards. These coins can be earned or purchased in bundles. If you want to purchase coins, 500 can be bought for $1.99. It's possible to purchase 82,000 coins for $199.99.
Reddit Awards
redditors have the ability to provide awards to other users, based on comments or posts that are at the top of discussion threads. At the moment, there are a total of four distinct Reddit awards that can be given away:
Community awards
Reaction awards
Medals
Premium awards
Community awards are customized by moderators and are used to fund the creation of more exclusive rewards to be used within specific communities. On the other hand, reaction awards indicate how someone has reacted to a comment or post. For instance, a "Rocket Like" award can be given when an upvote isn't enough. Reaction awards provide redditors with another way to express themselves when reacting to content.
Medals are regularly awarded to comments or posts considered to be highly motivational or inspirational. The types of medals that can be awarded include:
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Argentium
Ternion All-Powerful
The Silver medals are the least expensive, while the Ternion All-Powerful medals are the most expensive. As for premium awards, they are exclusive to all Reddit Premium members.
Reddit Community Points
Back in 2013, Reddit began to explore cryptocurrency by formally accepting Bitcoin as an alternative payment method for all in-app purchases on the Reddit platform. However, Reddit stopped accepting Bitcoin for in-app purchases in 2018 as the result of high transaction fees on Coinbase.
Two years later, Reddit launched the Reddit Community Points program. Reddit Community Points are cryptocurrency rewards that exist via the Ethereum blockchain. The purpose of these points is to provide redditors with the opportunity to own a portion of the community they use. Points are awarded based on the contribution a user has made to a specific subreddit. This program is currently in beta testing.
Think of Reddit Community Points as a kind of fungible token that functions like Reddit karma. Community members can decide to distribute points throughout the broader community, and can use total karma points as an indicator of who should receive points. Reddit also plans to allow for digital transactions that turn coins into awards with the Community Points program.
Reddit Vault
In order for Reddit Community Points to be sent to another redditor or stored, a crypto wallet known as Reddit Vault must be used. Along with storing Community Points, Reddit Vault is where the MOON and BRICKS tokens are held.
Reddit Avatars
Reddit provides users with a wide range of different collectible avatars they can pair with their accounts and online personae. These avatars are made by independent artists, and can feature practically any type of image. Collectible avatars are only available for a limited time and are supported with blockchain technology.
In fact, these avatars are stored on Polygon, which is an Ethereum-based blockchain that comes with low transaction fees. The avatars can be used as a type of profile image and are displayed via a glowing effect when shown in a comment section. The artists who create these collectible avatars usually charge anywhere from $10 to $100 per avatar.
What Is a Reddit NFT?
A Reddit NFT is a type of avatar that can be purchased on the Reddit avatar marketplace. This marketplace provides redditors with the opportunity to buy blockchain-based images for a set amount of money.
If you decide to purchase an NFT-based avatar, you can do so with a crypto wallet, credit card, debit card or Reddit's Vault. Reddit has partnered with many independent artists to create over 90 designs, released alongside the marketplace’s launch. However, the total number of NFTs up for sale is in the tens of thousands.
In the event that you buy a limited edition NFT on Reddit, you're given the licensing rights to the token, which means that you have the ability to use the avatar on and off Reddit. In addition, buying one of these avatars allows you to alter its look with different merchandise obtainable within the avatar builder. As mentioned earlier, these avatars come with a glowing effect when you make a comment under a Reddit post.
Types of Reddit NFTs
There are several different types of Reddit NFTs available at this time, which include NFTs made by independent creators, the latest free NFTs — and CryptoSnoos.
CryptoSnoos
Reddit launched CryptoSnoos in 202 as its main and exclusive NFT collection. Every NFT within this collection comes with an image of Reddit's alien mascot, known as Snoo. Since every NFT is unique, these images are available in a wide range of different styles. One NFT may be displayed as a pixelated image, while another could include a disco ball.
Each CryptoSnoos NFT comes in a different stock level, which determines its scarcity. The labels that a CryptoSnoos can be affixed with include Legendary, Epic and Rare. Legendary CryptoSnoos NFTs are one-of-a-kind, which is why they’re priced higher than the rest. Epic versions are considered to be extremely limited editions. On the other hand, Rare NFTs are known to be limited edition versions.
You can buy CryptoSnoos NFTs on OpenSea, as long as you have a MetaMask wallet and make sure to connect your Reddit account to the CryptoSnoos OpenSea page. At this time, a total of four CryptoSnoos have been sold. You can use these NFTs as your avatar on Reddit. All CryptoSnoos avatars have a glowing animation, similar to the animation used for collectible avatars.
Reddit NFTs Made by Independent Creators
As mentioned previously, Reddit NFTs are available as collectible avatars, created directly by independent artists on the Reddit platform. Most of these NFTs can be purchased on Reddit or OpenSea. Since there isn't an auction, every NFT comes with a fixed price. While many redditors use a crypto wallet to purchase Reddit NFTs, you can also buy them with a debit or credit card. When you navigate to the r/CollectibleAvatars subreddit, you can also search for your favorite artists.
Free Reddit NFTs
Reddit is currently distributing batches of airdrops to give away free Reddit NFT avatars to top members of the Reddit community. Although the criteria to qualify for the airdrop are not clearly stated, it’s assumed that these Reddit NFTs are designed solely to be given to top redditors who have garnered high karma points through the Reddit karma program.
When a member is set to receive one of these avatars, they’re shown a banner that will take them to the place where the Reddit NFT can be claimed. There are four separate styles of collectible avatars that members can select from when claiming their free Reddit NFT.
Styles of Free Reddit NFTs
There are four styles of free Reddit NFTs users can claim:
The Singularity — 13,950 minted as of August 20, 2022
Aww Friends — 5,488 minted as of August 20, 2022
Drip Squad — 3,138 minted as of August 20, 2022
Meme Team — 5,460 minted as of August 20, 2022
The Singularity
The Singularity is one style that members can select from when claiming their free Reddit NFTs. It’s known for having robotic and futuristic elements. The floor price when purchasing one of these Reddit NFTs is 0.02 ETH. However, they can cost as much as 100 ETH.
Aww Friends
Aww Friends is a collection of Reddit NFTs by independent artists that's meant to display cute and friendly animals. The floor price for one of these Reddit NFTs is around 0.01 ETH. However, you can pay as much as 100 ETH for an Aww Friends NFT.
Drip Squad
Drip Squad is a collection of stylish NFTs based on the street style scene, which makes these among the most eclectic NFT avatars a redditor can claim. The floor price for a Drip Squad NFT is around 0.03 ETH and the highest listed price is 255 ETH.
Meme Team
Meme Team Reddit NFTs are designed around the idea of what an NFT would be like if the internet could throw up. These NFTs are designed to be beautiful and hideous at the same time. The floor price for a Meme Team NFT is 0.02 ETH. Interestingly, this style is being sold for the highest price out of the four styles, with the highest listing price of 69,420 ETH.
How to Get Your Free Reddit NFT
Claiming a free Reddit NFT is relatively straightforward, but can only be done if you're already a top redditor and have earned a high number of Karma points. It's estimated that the number of Karma points a user must have to receive a free Reddit NFT is 2,500 or higher.
If you qualify for a free Reddit NFT, you can claim one by going to the home page of Reddit on your desktop, which will show you a general feed of articles and threads you can click on. The tab to reach the home page is located in the top left corner of the page.
Scroll down a bit until you see a banner with an image of Reddit avatars that reads You've Earned a Collectible Avatar. This banner will pop up between two Reddit posts or threads.
Below this phrase is a button that says Claim Yours Now. Once you click on the button, you'll be able to choose from several themes before claiming your avatar.
Don’t worry too much if you fail to see this banner despite meeting the criteria. Some redditors have also mentioned that they have yet to see theirs, but since the airdrop is happening in batches, it’s believed that every top redditor will get their chance in due time.
Where to Buy Reddit NFTs
Reddit uses the Ethereum-based blockchain known as Polygon to mint their collectible avatars on-chain. Many of these avatars are designed by independent artists whom Reddit has partnered with. These artists include redditors from other communities like r/AdobeIllustrator and r/Comics.
If you want to obtain a Reddit NFT avatar without being a top Reddit member, it's recommended that you join the r/CollectibleAvatars subreddit, which is an invite-only community. Once you join this community, you can read AMAs by top NFT artists, as well as posts about collectible avatars that are available for purchase.
Unless you decide to purchase CryptoSnoos NFTs on OpenSea, there isn't an auction system for the collectible avatars. Every NFT comes with a fixed price on the official Reddit NFT marketplace, which allows you to purchase one of these NFTs with fiat currency. In order to enter the NFT marketplace, simply click on your profile on the top right, then the Style Avatar button from the drop-down menu, followed by Shop.
The fixed prices for these avatars range from:
$9.99
$24.99
$49.99
$74.99
$99.99
Even if you aren't part of the r/CollectibleAvatars community, you should be able to purchase one of these collectible avatars via the avatar builder page.
If you want to purchase an avatar on OpenSea, your Reddit account must be connected to the OpenSea marketplace. From here, you can search for collectible avatars and choose the Buy Now or Make Offer option.
Are Reddit NFTs Worth Obtaining?
Because of their popularity of the Reddit platform and the unique element of collectible avatars, Reddit NFTs are a good investment for the foreseeable future. If you enjoy making comments and creating posts on Reddit, you can get a lot of use out of Reddit NFTs.
If you were able to obtain a free Reddit NFT from the exclusive NFT airdrop, you can choose to hold on to them and sell them in the future. If you weren’t, you can consider purchasing them instead. While many of these NFTs have a set price, there are a large number of collectible avatar collections on OpenSea that allow you to purchase even more unique and valuable NFTs that you can use as avatars on Reddit.
Closing Thoughts
The NFT scene has become increasingly popular over the past few years. As popularity grows, communities like Reddit are starting to provide members with NFTs, which helps to create a greater sense of community while also allowing members to display their individuality. Now that you know how to obtain a Reddit NFT — either through purchasing one on the NFT marketplace or claiming one from the free NFT airdrop — you should be ready to find the avatar that best suits you.