Reddit Removed Thousands of Additional Polygon NFTs from Over a Hundred Artists.
Today, Reddit debuted its third-generation (Gen 3) NFT collection, which expands its roster of artists and focuses on the realities of the future.
Reddit’s NFT program
In June 2022, Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network, published Snoo’s previous collections. Reddit’s launch of Halloween-themed avatars and Super Bowl tie-ins resulted in the creation of over 7.3 million wallets.
The Gen 3 release features over 100 artists, up from 32 in the first two drops, in an effort to attract more collectors.
Before today’s release, three Gen3 artists, one new and two returning talked about their participation in the internet giant’s NFT program and what inspired their avatars.
Australian visual artist and children’s book creator Alicia Freeman said that Reddit first approached her for last year’s collection. She was unaware of how far Reddit’s direct messages would travel.
She said, “I didn’t even realize I’d be getting paid for my work. I was obviously happily surprised at how big the project became.”
Freeman illustrates bizarre creatures. She created three aesthetically organic avatars using Gen 3’s concept of future realities and the assumption that her fellow artists would prefer a sci-fi, artificial appearance.
She stated, “I decided to create avatars reflecting the rising ocean levels, the struggling bee populations, and the inevitable future of us all—returning to our original stardust form.”
Freeman pointed out that Reddit gave artists complete license of expression so long as their work adhered to the Snoo character design.
Laura Dumitriu, a digital illustrator from Romania, said that she used the template “to create a new world with colorful and adorable characters” — her signature social media aesthetic.
Reddit’s artist-centric NFT transition has been praised for attracting new Web3 users over the past year. Given Reddit’s millions of free avatars, this is a potential entry point for populace groups unfamiliar with NFTs.
After one month, all of Gen 1’s premium avatars were sold out. Due to rumors and conjecture, the Gen 2 launch sold out of paid NFTs within 24 hours.
The public blockchain data of Dune reveals a market value of $74.5 million for 10.6 million Reddit avatars.
Reddit removed the term “NFT” from its marketing campaigns and streamlined its platform in order to attract native consumers unfamiliar with blockchain technology.
All Gen 3 artists executed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) promising not to reveal the drop prior to its release. Despite this, images of art have been released online.
With more artists, the supply mechanics of Generation 3 will employ a popularity-based tiered system. Chris Torres, the creator of the Nyan Cat meme, disclosed to Decrypt that he created a single avatar type using 1,000 NFTs, while other artists created up to three characters using 75 or 100 NFTs.
“You can’t look at it and think, ‘There’s 97 artists, here’s the floor for all of them,’” Torres said. “Each artist has their own lore and their own communities behind them, so each piece will go differently depending on who it is.”
Some NFT members are concerned that Reddit’s decision to add artists will oversaturate the market and devalue the collection.
Freeman and Torres shared the optimism, advocating for art accessibility and distribution over supply dynamics and speculative influence.
“No one really knows what to expect,” said Freeman. “There’s speculation on either end of the spectrum ranging from ‘too many artists’ to ‘the more the merrier,’ and I can understand both sides of the argument.”
Icons join Torres’ Gen 3 Since April 2011, Reddit Collectible Avatars has featured Nyan Cat, a YouTube meme with over 205 million views. His NFT collection has exchanged roughly 2,000 ETH.
Torres wished for his Reddit avatar to resemble the original Nyan Cat and allude to his 2011 character, the Nyan Balloon, which was recently re-imagined as an NFT collection.
Reddit has awarded bitcoin subreddit medals with Nyan Cat designs. The NFT avatars represent their most recent collaboration, with Torres praising the platform’s ability to attract more Web3 users.
He stated, “I am always hesitant to join new collaborations, but I’ve been on Reddit for 12 years and trust the system. It’s really cool seeing them create a whole new audience for NFTs and crypto.”
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