In a display of solidarity, Reddit communities have rallied together against impending changes to API access, leading numerous subreddits, including prominent crypto communities, to go private or enter read-only modes for 48 hours.
The protests are a response to Reddit’s plans to restrict third-party application usage and promote native moderator tools.
The move comes as Reddit announced modifications to the Reddit Data API, a vital tool that facilitates the creation of moderation utilities and other community-driven functionalities.Â
The proposed changes, aimed at enhancing moderation capabilities, have been met with opposition from subreddits reliant on third-party tools for content curation and interaction management.
Prominent crypto subreddits such as r/Bitcoin, r/CryptoCurrency, and r/cardano are among those participating in the protest, highlighting the significance of these communities in facilitating discussions and knowledge sharing within the global crypto ecosystem.
While approximately 3,500 subreddits were expected to become temporarily inaccessible, the number may rise as more communities join the movement. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman defended the decision, citing the platform’s need to sustain itself as a business entity.
To address the concerns surrounding third-party moderation tools, Reddit has revealed plans to introduce mobile moderator tools for its iOS and Android apps in the near future, aiming to streamline moderation activities within the native platform.
Amidst these protests, Reddit celebrates a significant milestone with its collectible avatars. Within a year of launching Reddit NFTs, the platform has reached an impressive milestone of 10 million avatar holders.
Also Read: Reddit’s NFT Avatars Draw Nearly 10M Users to Crypto
The collectible avatar marketplace, hosted on the Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Polygon since July 2022, enables Redditors and independent artists to design customizable non-fungible token collections, fostering creativity and engagement within the Reddit community.
While the API pricing changes continue to spark debates, Reddit’s achievement in the NFT space reflects its commitment to innovation and community-driven initiatives, serving as a testament to the platform’s evolving ecosystem.
