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On Oct. 23 and 24, the social media platform saw an explosion of sales, generating more than $2.5 million through 4,700 purchases of its avatars. To date, the highest sold was priced at $40,000. 

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The platform originally started the venture as a way to encourage artists in the Reddit community to create and sell NFT limited-edition artwork, ranging in price from $10 to $100 each. Since its launch in July, the collection’s trading volume has reached $4.1 million, with this recent uptick in October representing more than a third of sales. 

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Reddit is among other social media giants that have integrated NFTs—such as Twitter with NFT Tweet Tiles, to NFT sharing on Instagram and Facebook via Meta.

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As we look to better understand how brands can onboard new users to Web3 and expand NFT reach, we turn to Reddit NFT Avatars as an example of how NFTs can come to be backed by anyone—even to those entirely adverse or skeptical of Web3. How did Reddit do it?

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What are Reddit NFT Avatars?

Reddit’s NFT avatars use a custom avatar builder. When someone buys an avatar, they are buying a collection of characteristics such as clothes and accessories that can be mixed and matched with other NFTs in their collections. Each user can create their own personalized, one-of-a-kind avatar as their profile image on the discussion platform.

Immersing the whole community

What differentiates Reddit’s approach is its focus on giving back to its community members to accelerate adoption. They airdropped—or gave away—NFT avatars to highly active users. For many, this was their first introduction to NFTs. With the artwork based on the platform's mascot, Snoo, the avatars seemed familiar and appealing. Reddit also used the Ethereum-compatible blockchain Polygon, which allows users to make quicker, cheaper transactions, eliminating some known barriers to adoption.

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Reddit has carved an opportunity for users who would have never considered creating an NFT wallet to do so. For many of these new users, the concept of building a unique avatar is simply fun—the potential resale value of their NFTs is a bonus. Throughout the process, the discussion platform has turned away from using Web3 terms, referring to the avatars as “digital collectibles” over NFTs.

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The next dimension of discussion

This notion of community is also being embraced through Reddit’s beta launch of Community Points. It’s taking the familiar Reddit concept of “karma”—a reflection of how much a user’s contributions mean to the community through upvotes and downvotes—and putting it on the blockchain. A custom token can be added to a subreddit where active members can be rewarded points. Points can be used to unlock special features and towards shaping the community.

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As the NFT space continues to become ultra-accessible to the every day social media user, it morphs into an endless portal of opportunity for brands and creators alike. 

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At RareCircles, we offer a cost-effective solution for brands to participate in the NFT movement. Whether you are a creator of digital art or a company interested in leveraging digital assets to build a community, we can help you to take it to the next level. If you need a place to start, sign up for our free NFT Masterclass course.

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