On Tuesday, the social news hub Reddit unveiled that it would be drawing the curtains on the Community Points project. This revelation promptly sent two cryptocurrency coins from r/cryptocurrency and r/fortnite spiraling downward, showcasing a notable dip in value following the news. This development also irked a multitude of Redditors, with conversations surrounding the plan to sunset the points spiraling into chaos.
Redditors’ Discontent Simmers as Community Points Project Faces the Axe
While they might not ring a bell, two digital currencies, MOON and BRICK, have witnessed a significant plunge in value over the past 24 hours. This tumble springs from Reddit’s decision to back away from offering Community Points, setting the sun on the project come November 8, 2023. Although Reddit has expunged the Community Points FAQ page, it remains accessible through archived snapshots.
Initially brought to light by Techcrunch, the news garnered further clarity as Reddit’s Director of Consumer and Product Communications, Tim Rathschmidt, explained the rationale behind shelving the venture. “Though we saw some future opportunities for Community Points, the resourcing needed was unfortunately too high to justify,” Rathschmidt told Techcrunch contributor Morgan Sung. The Reddit executive also noted that the regulatory climate has played a part in the reasoning.
Following the dissemination of the news across the crypto community and Reddit, two Community Points tokens, MOON and BRICK, took a nosedive. The r/cryptocurrency coin MOON tumbled 84% while the r/fortnite token shrunk nearly 40% in value. On Reddit, particularly within the subreddit r/cryptocurrency, a plethora of individuals voiced their dissatisfaction with the unfolding events. A moderator remarked:
We are very disappointed in Reddit’s decision today, and want to clarify that we were not made aware of this decision until 1 hour ago.
“Terrible move that will make Reddit very untrustworthy going on, you just ruined a lot of dreams [and] cost people an insane amount of time and money that they invested just so you could say that your trial was cool [and] you got some info from it all?” another person wrote. Within the same thread, a maximalist from r/bitcoin chimed in to offer their perspective.
“MOONS was an ill-fated project based on pump and dump dynamics designed to enrich a few mods of this subreddit,” opined the Redditor Fiach_Dubh. “It is not a decentralized network like Bitcoin. Reddit would do well to adopt Bitcoin as a form of community points via Bitcoin’s second layer, the Lightning Network.” This sentiment, however, didn’t sit well with several individuals.
“I love Bitcoin, but what kind of cynical maxi bullshit is this? F*** off,” one person replied. “[Lightning Network] is its own kind of dogsh**,” another remarked.
Since their inception in 2021, Reddit’s blockchain-fueled Community Points tokens had woven a fabric of expectation among Redditors, many of whom envisioned the project sailing smoothly for several more years. A handful of Redditors have articulated their resolve to uphold these projects independently, without Reddit’s patronage. As of now, the MOON tokens ecosystem has a total of 126,013,438 tokens shared among 211,104 unique holders.
The lion’s share, or 66.72% of the supply, is nestled in the vaults of the top 100 MOON holders. On the flip side, the BRICK tokens realm is populated with approximately 115,217,218 BRICK units, across 156,945 unique addresses. A similar trend of accumulation is evident here too, with the cream of the crop, the top 100 holders, possessing a hefty 70.14% of the BRICK tokens in circulation.
What do you think about Reddit abandoning the Community Points blockchain system? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.