Days after Twitter launched its new NFT profile picture verification feature, social news aggregation and discussion platform Reddit revealed similar features that it is now working on.
Details of the internal tests for NFT profile pictures on Reddit were first disclosed in an interview with Techcrunch, in which Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt shared how their platform, which has some 430 million active users on a monthly basis, is working on NFT profile picture implementation for users.
The feature will allow users to attach images based on non-fungible tokens that have been verified as purchased or owned by the user.
“We’re always exploring ways to provide value for users and communities on Reddit. At the moment we’re testing the ability to use NFTs as profile pictures (avatars) and verify ownership,” Rathschmidt said. “It’s a small, internal test and no decisions have been made about expanding or rolling out the capability,” the spokesperson adds.
This recent interview which revealed the work-in-progress NFT features may be seen as a response to earlier leaks of the integration efforts. An app developer leaked the following banner which was purportedly made by Reddit to promote the new feature:
#Reddit is working on #NFT profile pics as well! pic.twitter.com/l2cqfSuIbK
— Nima Owji (@nima_owji) January 21, 2022
Reddit has been a hotbed of sorts for crypto and NFTs, with dedicated pages such as nft.reddit.com and highly active subreddits focused on crypto topics such as r/dogecoin, r/superstonk, r/cryptocurrency, r/amcstock, and r/bitcoin. In 2021, Reddit filed for an initial public offering (IPO), a move that fueled speculation on whether Reddit itself would be moving towards more integration with the crypto space, if not altogether going forward to launch its own native token.
Notably, Reddit’s most recent investment round prior to the IPO filing was led by Fidelity Investments, a leading financial services firm with strong positions in crypto investments through Fidelity Digital Assets, its institutional crypto asset custody and cryptocurrency trading platform.
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