Reddit has put its "Reddit Notes" project on hold following some technical difficulties. The Reddit Notes project was developed as a plan for the site investors to share part of a $50 million credit that the website had earned from venture funding. A total of 10 percent of the $50 million was to be given away to users in a lottery. The currency was to be used for on-site trading and donations to other members.
One of the problems with the conversion of actual money into these Reddit Notes was establishing the value of the notes. The notes wouldn't actually be able to be turned in for real cash, so their use for trade on the website for items (both physical and digital) is questionable. As a result, the notes would lack any real value.
Another difficulty is the easy comparison of Reddit Notes meant to be used on the website and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. According to Reddit's Alexis Ohanian, the company is currently unsure about the idea of using a cryptocurrency system. The laws for cryptocurrency are changing rapidly, and as such, have required considerable research into the potential of having Reddit Notes as a cryptocurrency.
Recently, Reddit also underwent a change in leadership, which may be affecting the project. Yishan Wong, Reddits long-standing CEO who oversaw the company during its greatest period of growth, announced on November 13, 2014 that he would be resigning. Before his resignation, Wong started work on the Reddit Notes currency, and it is possible that his successor, Ellen Pao, might not be interested in continuing the project.
As a result of the difficulties of establishing the system, and the change in leadership, it is possible that ultimately the project might be scraped for good. While users of the site who were excited about this project might be disappointed in the cancellation of Reddit Notes, the company isn't under any legal obligation to bring it to fruition.
According to a post in December, the company plans to give them away in the fall of 2015, but this notice came out before the comments of Alexis Ohanian mentioned above, which points to potential problems down the line for the development of Reddit Notes.
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