Reddit May Soon Add NFT-Based Profile Pictures

Mike Dalton

Jan. 27, 2022

The feature would allow Redditors to use non-fungible tokens in their avatars.

Shutterstock photo by Primakov

Key Takeaways

Reddit is reportedly testing a feature that would allow users to set their profile picture to images attached to NFTs.
The feature is currently being tested internally, according to a company spokesperson, though it may already be semi-public.
Twitter also introduced NFT profile pictures last week.

Social media site Reddit is testing NFT profile pictures, according to recent statements from people inside the company.

NFT Profile Pictures Are Being Tested

Reddit’s new feature would reportedly allow users to set their profile picture to any non-fungible token with an attached image.

Reddit representative Tim Rathschmidt provided a statement to the news site TechCrunch today explaining the feature. He stated that the social media company is “testing the ability to use NFTs as profile pictures (avatars) and verify ownership.”

He also called the project “a small, internal test” and said that Reddit has not decided whether to offer it more widely. TechCrunch added that the feature “hasn’t been made available to public users.”

However, Nima Owji, an app developer who is not associated with Reddit, discovered a banner promoting the feature earlier this week, meaning that the feature may already be semi-public.

Incidentally, Twitter added support for NFT profile pictures last week. Much like Reddit, Twitter is testing the feature by limiting its availability to users subscribed to Twitter Blue.

Reddit’s Other Crypto Activities

Reddit previously has undertaken other crypto efforts. In May 2020, the company introduced cryptocurrency tokens for its /r/cryptocurrency and /r/Fortnite communities. Those tokens are called MOONs and BRICKs and are based on Ethereum standards.

In June 2021, Reddit introduced its own line of NFTs called “CryptoSnoos,” which are based on the company’s alien mascot.

Last October, the company published a job posting suggesting that it would hire employees to build a larger NFT platform. In November, various reports suggested the company could convert its “karma” system to a system backed by NFTs.

Reddit has approximately 430 million monthly users, meaning that these features could introduce NFTs to a very wide audience.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and other cryptocurrencies.

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