Reddit has declared the end of its blockchain-based Community Points program, a move reported in an official announcement on r/ethereum on October 17. Community Points, operating on the Ethereum blockchain, was first introduced in May 2020 as a means to reward users for positive participation in select subreddits, aimed at enhancing content quality control. By accumulating tokens, users were encouraged to contribute constructively to these specific subreddits.
Reddit's decision to discontinue the program appears to be related to the complex regulatory landscape involving the SEC, CFTC, and legal courts. However, no specific regulation was cited as the cause for concern.
"Although we saw potential for Community Points in the future, the required resources were unfortunately too extensive to justify," explained Tim Rathschmidt, Reddit's director of consumer and product communications. "The regulatory environment has further compounded these challenges. While the moderators and communities supporting Community Points have been fantastic partners, the product is no longer suitable for scaling."
The Reddit admin pointed out that transitioning Community Points to the updated reddit.com platform would require a significant commitment of resources. The current design of putting all Reddit users on the main Ethereum network was deemed impractical and overly expensive. The Community Points page mentioned ongoing research into decentralized, secure, and highly scalable alternatives.
Some r/CryptoCurrency moderators expressed their disappointment, as they learned about Reddit's decision only one hour after the announcement. Reddit has been working on a "fully P2P Reddit alternative" using Ethereum for community names and usernames for the past two years.
The shutdown of the Community Points program is scheduled for November 8th, with an announcement made on various subreddits, including r/CryptoCurrency, r/FortniteBR, and r/EthTrader. After next month, users will no longer find Community Points in their Reddit app Vaults.
