The US-based social media giant Reddit recently announced that it has partnered with FTX pay allowing users to pay gas fees on transactions via community points. Reddit users will purchase Ethereum directly in the platform's application, courtesy of the giant crypto exchange partnership. This partnership unveiled a product called FTX pay, which permits merchants to accept fiat and cryptocurrency on the application.
Reddit had moved away from BTC payments several years ago, and it seems it's coming back to adopt crypto payments. Sam bank man-Fried, FTX's CEO, said the partnership aims to merge Reddit's community points across Australia, European Union, the US, and other markets. In his press statement, Sam said,
"We're happy to partner with Reddit to continue their work of empowering online communities to tie together blockchain's power. FTX Pay's exchange and payment infrastructure integrate with Reddit Community Points to make the customer experience smoother."
What does this partnership mean to users?
With the integration, Reddit users can buy Ether (ETH) from the supported Reddit applications using FTX Pay. Users can use the crypto to pay network or blockchain gas fees for their on-chain Community Points trades. This process could be complex for the average Reddit user. Still, the FTX partnership has stepped in for the non-crypto-savvy users. They can now purchase the crypto they need directly through the Reddit application using fiat currency.
A software engineer at Reddit, Niraj Sheth, said:
"We are always working to empower communities and introducing new methods to Reddit, and our autonomous and decentralized blockchain technology allows us to achieve that. By partnering with FTX, we can achieve this at scale."
Community Points on Reddit were introduced in 2020, allowing users in two subreddits to earn blockchain rewards for submitting quality comments and posts. Community Points are a unit of ownership that captures some of the value in the community. Users can spend them on premium features, which also measure reputation in the Reddit community.
According to FTX, users can earn community points in the ERC-20 tokens. Through these points, communities can encourage better content and more engagement, reward creators, and unveil their tailored Points token. Reddit users can now use these Points to showcase their influence in the subreddit and take their status to other communities in or outside Reddit. Besides, users can use these points to purchase perks such as special rewards and memberships.
Alex Ohanian, Reddit's co-founder, has been heavily involved in crypto. In 2021, he launched a $100 million Web3 investment fund. With the recent partnership with FTX, the social media giant shows its desire to propel Web3 technology and innovation. Moreover, it unveiled a new marketplace for non-fungible token (NFT) avatars in July 2022. Twitter (TWTR), Reddit's rival, also integrated a new blockchain rewards system that introduced a Bitcoin tipping feature early this year.
It's important to note that only users on two subreddits, r/ForniteBR, and r/Cryptocurrency, can use the Community Points presently. However, the platform plans to expand its use to other communities soon.
Sources
https://twitter.com/amytongwu/status/1556993991329062919
https://cointelegraph.com/news/reddit-partners-with-ftx-to-enable-eth-gas-fees-for-community-points
