Reddit is actively dismantling its remaining Web3 infrastructure, issuing a final warning to users to export their private keys before the in-app “Vault” wallet permanently shuts down on January 1, 2026. The move effectively ends the platform’s three-year experiment with blockchain-based digital ownership.
According to an official support update, the social media giant will disable all Vault functionality in less than two weeks. Users who fail to secure their 12-word recovery phrase and import it into a third-party wallet (like MetaMask or Phantom) risk permanently losing access to their paid avatar collections.
The Collectible Avatars shop is shutting down and in the process we are removing Vault. You have until January 1, 2026. If not, you’ll be unable to transfer or sell your Collectible Avatars off-platform.
The Sunset Timeline
The shutdown has been rolling out in phases since late 2025:
- November 11, 2025: The Avatar Shop was closed, halting primary sales.
- December 2025: Collection displays were removed from user profiles.
- January 1, 2026: The Vault interface vanishes. On-chain access remains possible only via external wallets.
While users can still technically “wear” their purchased avatars as profile pictures, the transactional layer, trading, minting, and displaying collections, is being excised from the Reddit app entirely.
Institutional Pivot
This infrastructure purge follows the platform’s October 2023 decision to sunset “Community Points” (MOON and BRICK), citing regulatory uncertainty and scalability costs. Since its March 2024 IPO, Reddit has systematically reduced its exposure to speculative crypto assets, pivoting instead toward AI licensing and traditional ad revenue models.
The “Digital Collectibles” program, launched on Polygon in 2022, was initially hailed as a “Trojan Horse” for mass adoption, successfully onboarding millions of non-crypto natives by rebranding NFTs as “collectibles” and subsidizing gas fees. That era is now officially over.
