Copy paste of the blockchain section if anyone want to avoid reddit trackers:
Community Points exist on the Ethereum blockchain, which uses similar technology to Bitcoin to guarantee that ownership and control rests with you.
Community Points are stored as standard ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, so they’re interoperable with existing blockchain tools.
Ethereum is a public blockchain that Reddit doesn’t control.
Community Points are owned pseudonymously. Nothing on the Ethereum network connects to your real name or real identity.
Why the Ethereum blockchain?
Ethereum is a general-purpose blockchain with smart contracts that enable programmable tokens, like Community Points.
How is this built?
On Ethereum, Community Points are run by a suite of smart contracts that manage balances, distribution/claiming, and purchasing memberships. The smart contracts also leverage existing parts of the Ethereum ecosystem, such as ERC-20 token standards.
The smart contracts have been reviewed and audited by Trail of Bits, an independent blockchain security firm.
What is gas, and who’s paying for it?
Transactions on the Ethereum network cost “gas”, which are micro amounts of Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency (Ether). Since most Redditors do not have Ether already, Reddit will cover their cost of gas for now, through meta-transactions and the Gas Station Network. (This only applies when using Reddit Vault to access Community Points. Using other Ethereum wallets may require users to pay for gas costs themselves). We plan to adopt better scaling and gas solutions in the future as they emerge.
Which Ethereum network is this using?
Community Points are currently on the Rinkeby testnet (through summer 2020), and balances, transactions, and memberships may be reset during that period.
Afterwards, we will be migrating Community Points to the Ethereum mainnet. Points balances will be carried over (though will need to be reclaimed).
Bug Bounty / Whitehat Program
To help identify potential bugs, Reddit is inviting security researchers to assist in finding vulnerabilities in Community Points. Interested developers and security researchers should visit https://www.reddit.com/wiki/whitehat.
Copy paste of the blockchain section if anyone want to avoid reddit trackers:
Community Points exist on the Ethereum blockchain, which uses similar technology to Bitcoin to guarantee that ownership and control rests with you.
Why the Ethereum blockchain?
Ethereum is a general-purpose blockchain with smart contracts that enable programmable tokens, like Community Points.
How is this built?
On Ethereum, Community Points are run by a suite of smart contracts that manage balances, distribution/claiming, and purchasing memberships. The smart contracts also leverage existing parts of the Ethereum ecosystem, such as ERC-20 token standards.
The smart contracts have been reviewed and audited by Trail of Bits, an independent blockchain security firm.
What is gas, and who’s paying for it?
Transactions on the Ethereum network cost “gas”, which are micro amounts of Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency (Ether). Since most Redditors do not have Ether already, Reddit will cover their cost of gas for now, through meta-transactions and the Gas Station Network. (This only applies when using Reddit Vault to access Community Points. Using other Ethereum wallets may require users to pay for gas costs themselves). We plan to adopt better scaling and gas solutions in the future as they emerge.
Which Ethereum network is this using?
Community Points are currently on the Rinkeby testnet (through summer 2020), and balances, transactions, and memberships may be reset during that period.
Afterwards, we will be migrating Community Points to the Ethereum mainnet. Points balances will be carried over (though will need to be reclaimed).
Bug Bounty / Whitehat Program
To help identify potential bugs, Reddit is inviting security researchers to assist in finding vulnerabilities in Community Points. Interested developers and security researchers should visit https://www.reddit.com/wiki/whitehat.
Doesn’t answer the biggest question:
Why was this needed?
It’s not. Just like every other crypto-whatever gimmick.