Reddit just sold off a big chunk of its crypto holdings, and as a result, the platform turned profitable for the first time in its nearly two-decade history. The company made $6.87 million from the sale of mostly Bitcoin and Ethereum. But here's the kicker: it also revealed that it had no plans to invest in cryptocurrencies again unless those assets were deemed non-securities by concerned authorities.
Reddit was one of the earliest adopters of crypto culture, accepting premium memberships via cryptocurrency back in 2013 and launching its own community tokens—MOON and BRICK—on Ethereum and Polygon. It even built a wallet called "Vault" for users to manage these digital assets. But now, it seems like the platform is scaling back on all things blockchain, citing "scalability issues" with its Community Points system.
I can't help but feel that this divestment came right before Bitcoin's recent surge, which makes me wonder if there's more to this story.
Reddit's decision seems more aligned with its internal financial strategies than a public stance against cryptocurrencies. Other social media platforms will likely continue their engagement with digital assets since each platform has its own goals and risk assessments.
Despite Reddit's exit, there’s still a ton of interest in cryptocurrencies from various sectors—including institutional players. So yeah, I don’t think one platform’s moves are going to dictate the fate of an entire industry.
As we move forward into an era where regulatory frameworks are becoming clearer (and stricter), companies might want to take some notes from Reddit’s playbook about compliance. After all, better safe than sorry!
