- Reddit sold the majority of its cryptocurrency portfolio, primarily consisting of Bitcoin and Ethereum, during the third quarter of 2024.
- The sale occurred before the recent “Uptober” rally, meaning Reddit missed out on Bitcoin’s gains as the price approached its all-time high.
- While Reddit has distanced itself from several crypto-related projects, it still holds some Ethereum and Polygon tokens derived from the sale of virtual avatars on the Ethereum scaling network.
Social media giant Reddit once described digital assets as a new frontier – but now has put up a border around them for its balance sheet.
Reddit Sold Majority of Crypto in Q3, Missing ‘Uptober’ Gains
Reddit sold the majority of its cryptocurrency portfolio during the third quarter, offloading Bitcoin and Ethereum once held for treasury purposes, according to a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
While the amount of cryptocurrency sold remains unknown, the timeframe – with the sale taking place during the quarter ending September 30 – means that Reddit missed on the latest gains seen by Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency on the market.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin came 1.75% away from its all-time high price of $73,737 set back in March, reaching a monthly high of $73,562 during a month known by traders as “Uptober” for its historical crypto gains. Between July and September, during which Reddit sold its assets, the price of Bitcoin ranged between approximately $54,000 and $68,000.
Although the company has turned away from Bitcoin and Ethereum for bolstering its balance sheet, Reddit signaled that it still holds some crypto. That includes Ethereum and Polygon derived from the sale of virtual avatars, which exist on the Ethereum scaling network. Reddit said that it holds MATIC, though Polygon recently began the process of migrating its token to a new one called POL.
Reddit’s Early Crypto Experiments
Among social media giants, Reddit was an early pioneer experimenting with digital assets as a way to offer collectibles and reward user engagement. Though the company signaled that its product and engineering teams are still engaged with crypto tech to some degree, it also noted that the future of digital assets is riddled with questions.
“While we believe cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have significant potential, the popularity and prevalence of cryptocurrencies is a relatively recent trend and whether cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology will continue to be adopted by consumers and businesses in the long term is uncertain,” Reddit said.
Conclusion
Reddit stock price was up 4.1% Wednesday, hitting $116 per share as of this writing. Surpassing analysts’ expectations, Reddit turned profitable, reporting $30 million in net income compared to a loss of $74 million for the same quarter a year ago.
When asked about the dollar value of its crypto portfolio or what constitutes an “immaterial amount,” Reddit did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.
The social media company has distanced itself from several of its crypto-related projects after diving headfirst into the space in 2020. Moons, once the crypto token of Reddit’s r/cryptocurrency community, became a community-led project after Reddit officially renounced control of the token’s associated smart contracts last November.
To this day, Reddit’s mobile app features a cryptocurrency wallet dubbed Vault. The company initially described its product as part of a “vision for a new frontier.” Moving forward, however, it appears that Reddit is putting up a border around its balance sheet.
