Reddit, the colossal name in social media circles, has been quietly funneling its extra dough into Bitcoin and Ethereum, eyeing the crypto industry’s “significant potential.” Yeah, you heard that right. Reddit’s betting on the crypto train, but don’t get too excited— We hear that they’re calling the cash they’ve thrown in “immaterial.”
They’ve been dabbling in blockchain, getting their hands on Ethereum and Polygon’s MATIC to settle up sales of some digital goodies. Though, much like their crypto stash, the sums we’re talking about here wouldn’t break the bank. They’ve been playing around with this setup through 2022 and 2023, hinting they might keep this payment method on the table moving forward.
But that’s not all. Reddit’s also got its product and engineering squads sitting on a stash of crypto for “specific uses.” They’re keeping mum on the details, though. And in the midst of all this crypto chat, the company had to deal with a major hiccup—a six-hour site crash. Talk about bad timing.
Despite these ventures, Reddit’s playing it cool, acknowledging the crypto craze but also nodding to the uncertainty of it all. They’re into blockchain, sure, but they’re also scratching their heads, wondering if it’s all just a flash in the pan or something that’ll stick around for the long haul.
On the financial front, Reddit’s been riding a rollercoaster. They posted a $90.8 million loss in 2023 but saw their revenue jump up 20.6% to a not-too-shabby $804 million. Back in 2021, folks were valuing Reddit at a whopping $10 billion, but now, whispers are that they might have to settle for half that.
And then there’s the whole blockchain-based rewards service, “Community Points,” that Reddit decided to pull the plug on last October. They were doling out points for users getting busy in certain subreddits, but apparently, the system just couldn’t scale up.
Switching gears, Reddit’s also been cozying up to Google, striking a deal to let the tech giant use its content to train AI models. This tie-up is reportedly padding Reddit’s pockets by about $60 million a year. Not too shabby, especially when you consider the fierce battle for ad dollars against giants like TikTok and Facebook. This move into AI, disclosed by folks not keen on being named, marks Reddit’s first big dance with an AI heavyweight.
