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What Is Reddcoin?

Reddcoin is a decentralized, blockchain-based cryptocurrency used to tip or send payments for social content. Unlike competitor Steem (and legacy platforms like Snapcash), the Reddcoin API supports all social platforms, from Reddit to Twitter and Twitch. RDD, the native cryptocurrency coin of Reddcoin, is mined by the ReddID wallet through a Proof-of-Stake-Velocity (PoSV) algorithm, which increases your odds of mining a valid block through your RDD balance.

Social media is a big business – according to Pew Research, over 68 percent of American adults use Facebook alone. In fact, the social giant has over 2.27 billion monthly active users as of September 30, 2018. The rise of social media led to a rise in influencer marketing, with major social influencers generating millions of dollars in revenue.

Now everybody wants to be a social media influencer, and with brands pushing toward microinfluencers, socialcoins like RDD, SBD, and STEEM are well-positioned to bridge the gap. Everyone should get paid for making social platforms like Facebook popular, not just C-suite executives like Zuckerberg.

The idea of tipping content creators already created a rift that let social funding platforms like Patreon to create a new lane and flourish. If there’s money to be made in this lane, it’s going to be found, and Reddcoin isn’t the only one looking. Even Dogecoin is popularly used for tipping online.

Will social currency and Internet tipping become widespread enough to sustain an entire market?

Let’s begin answering that question with a breakdown of the RDD cryptocurrency and its market performance so far.

RDD Cryptocurrency Summary

The original hard cap of 109,000,000,000 RDD was removed during the transition to PoSV, and there is no longer a supply cap. The peak price so far was $0.028770 on January 7, 2018.

The Reddcoin public ICO token sale ended January 20, 2014 and raised over $100,000 worth of BTC in anticipation of the platform’s February 2, 2014 release. Over 5.45 billion REDD was minted in this initial batch.

RDD was initially mined through PoW like BTC, but it was transitioned to PoSV mining in August 2014. The total supply of RDD increases approximately five percent on an annual basis.

PoSV still requires processing algorithms, but because RDD balances increase success probability, PCs, tablets, laptops, and smartphones can compete with ASIC mining rigs.

Reddcoin critics argue it can’t sustain value because of its divisibility and uncapped supply. Supporters argue a price over $0.01 already makes it difficult to support microtransactions online. Spending a penny is more emotional than spending one tenth of a penny, and on ad platforms used by most websites, approximately $0.01 is paid out for every 1000 views. This puts a hefty limit on social media, as nearly 80 percent of Facebook users (and 100% of real people) have 500 or fewer friends.

Over $200,000 worth of RDD is traded on a daily basis. Cryptocurrency exchanges that support RDD include Bittrex, Upbit, Litebit.eu, and Cryptopia. Reddcoin trading pairs include BTC, DOGE, and fiat currencies like EUR.

The official Reddcoin cryptocurrency wallet is available for desktop platforms and mines RDD. Also, ReddID runs as a browser extension that lets you easily tip people on any website or forum you visit within the browser. Think of it as a phonebook for Reddcoin addresses and usernames so you can locate wallet addresses for the creators you’re viewing.

Other third-party wallets have been created, including Reddcoin-Qt and reddcoind, however only ReddID has been confirmed for staking and earning RDD interest.

Socializing With Online Networks

When cryptocurrency started gaining mainstream attention in 2011, journalists, influencers, bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and other content creators started posting their public keys online. Over the past decade, we all just kinda got used to seeing them on social media profiles and author bios.

Meanwhile in 2015, Facebook joined the ranks of messaging platforms to allow friend-to-friend payments. Microtransactions and social payments seem like the wave of the future, and several cryptocurrencies, like DOGE, have risen through the ranks as generally acceptable forms of payments to tip people online.

This forced platforms to push for proprietary currencies to tokenize transactions on their platforms, whether blockchain-based or not. Amazon-owned video game streaming service Twitch, for example, created its proprietary Bits currency in late 2017 it quickly integrated the service with PayPal for convenience.

Twitch has over 140 million monthly active users watching over 2.2 million monthly livestreams. Amazon spent $970 million to buy the company in 2014, and its top 10 streamers earn over $23 million a year in combined revenue.

But earning a living on these platforms isn’t as easy as it looks – top earners have professional teams helping with production, social media, merch sales, and other revenue streams.

The average person is lucky to make $10-$100 a year through all the content he or she creates online. And that’s assuming anyone paying attention cares enough to tip – nearly 80 percent of Facebook Messenger users have never used Facebook Payments.

While services like YouTube are raising the bar for monetization, Reddcoin is going the other direction by enabling social media micropayments. Think of it as a monetized “like” button for all social media platforms.

How does it accomplish this?

Dissecting the Reddcoin Ecosystem

Reddcoin has several APIs and UIs to make tipping on social media easier. When you create an account on the Reddcoin wallet, you’re able to link your Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit accounts. You can then download the ReddID browser extension. When you enjoy content on these platforms, you can “like” it by entering the username and sending a micropayment.

REDD can be used to purchase Bits on Twitch, Reddit Gold on Reddit, etc. It can also be used as payment at some minor retailers, or it can be traded P2P or on the cryptocurrency exchanges mentioned above.

Reddcoin also created Reddcoin Broadcast in 2014, which works like Hootsuite or Buffer for broadcasting messages across social media platforms. Unlike Hootsuite and Buffer, Reddcoin Broadcast is a free tool meant to spread awareness and usage of REDD.

Users with the Reddcoin Wallet installed act as nodes to process blocks every 60 seconds in exchange for blockchain rewards. The APR of this system is approximately 5 percent, which means you’ll receive more by holding more, but you still need to mine.

Reddcoin has everything in place – it just needs to keep people using it.

Reddcoin Summary

Reddcoin, like Reddit, is a project built for the people. Social media is a big business, and the general public is creating free content for these companies like modern-day slave labor. If, like me, you can’t pay your rent with likes and followers, REDD may be the solution. The success of the Reddcoin project hinges on these key factors.

Reddcoin was developed in 2014 with a focus on integrating with social media platforms to enable tipping. So far, Reddcoin is integrated into Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit.

REDD, the proprietary cryptocurrency of Reddcoin, can be exchanged for currencies on the above-mentioned social platforms. It can also be traded on crypto markets.

Reddcoin has no supply cap and is mined using Proof-of-Stake-Velocity, which is a hybrid of Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake.

With these pieces in place, Reddcoin has a shot at sustaining value over the years. It may never be number one, but it’s sure to have a cult following.

One can only wonder if it can coexist with DOGE or how those common-man cryptos will hold up against professional creator-focused cryptos like STEEM and SBD. With that said, it doesn’t appear that Reddcoin has just laid off 70% of its workforce…