Minting of Reddit Avatar Tokens Climbed to Record High Over Weekend

Collectible Avatars, a set of art tokens based on the Polygon blockchain by social network Reddit, set a minting record of more than 255,000 unique avatars on Saturday, data queried by Dune Analytics shows.

The figures eclipsed the previous high of 200,000 in August, nearly a month after the collectibles went live. More than 98,000 avatars from “The Singularity” collection were produced, the most on that day, followed by 58,000 avatars from “Aww Friends." The rapid minting followed a spike of interest in the collection last Thursday that gradually tapered off over the following days.

Minting refers to the creation of a new NFT on any blockchain. The Collectible Avatars can be stored and managed on Reddit’s own crypto wallet, Vault, which allows users to earn blockchain-based community points and spend them on in-app features such as badges. They are available to the platform's users based on their activity.

In July, the company said users don't need an existing crypto wallet to purchase the avatars but can use credit or debit cards to buy them. Reddit hasn't identified the avatars as non-fungible tokens but stated at the time that blockchain technology remained part of its long-term plans.

As of Monday, data shows that more than 3.7 million Reddit users are holding a total 4.4 million of the avatars. Some 93,000 holders have sold their avatars in the past few months, making an estimated $11 million, the data shows.

Avatars from the “poieeeyee” and “The Senses” collections have seen the most transactional activity with over $3.2 million in total sales value. The entirety of Reddit avatars saw a single-day trading surge of $6.5 million in late October, as CoinDesk reported.