It's hard to be involved in the cryptocurrency sector for long without hearing it described as a "Wild West," a metaphor used to convey the largely unregulated nature of the space. Welcome to the world of digital assets investing, where scams, rug pulls, and pump 'n dumps abound, along with payola, corporate coins, and cookie-cutter tokens with deep pockets and slick marketing.
Often lost in the shuffle are the community-driven coins conceived by entrepreneurs and digital nerds who love crypto first and foremost for what its founding fathers, Satoshi Nakamoto, and others, created it to be: digital cash.
Redd, founded as ReddCoin to emphasize the ease of using it to send tips between Reddit users, was a pioneer of the social media microtransaction. Bitcoin's rising price (and fees) and its slow 10-minute block time left the door open for faster, cheaper coins to do the everyday heavy lifting of microtransactions. It became apparent that Bitcoin was better suited to serve as the world's reserve cryptocurrency, not its workhorse.
Coins like ReddCoin, Litecoin, and Digibyte became the "everyday dishes and paper plates," while Bitcoin took its place in the "china cabinets" and hardware wallets of the world.
Those everyday coins were born because someone had the vision to create currencies that would fill the voids existing coins weren't. And once people discovered these gems and got on board, they established online communities to help their favorite coins grow.
As smart contracts and NFTs have emerged, cryptocurrency continues to evolve and mature. And more eyes are watching, including traditional finance players, regulators, and casual investors. But the two essential ingredients of a solid coin continue to be currency and community.
Redd has doubled down on this with its recent rebrand, evidenced by its website tagline, "The Social Currency." With transaction speeds ten times those of Bitcoin, a new mobile app on the way, and its development of Redd ID as a more straightforward and safer alternative to lengthy, nonsensical, and unforgiving wallet addresses, ReddCoin could become the crypto to watch over the next couple of years. Its community, affectionately known as "Reddheads," remains its most powerful asset.
Many will miss the opportunity to discover this coin because they're only interested in the newer "flavor of the month" projects that tend to become the darlings of the crypto space. As Redd turns eight this year, some pundits will write it off as a has-been coin.
On the other hand, wiser souls will recognize the value of experience, staying power, and determination in the carnival-like world of digital currency, where the rides and attractions are always subject to being packed up and shipped out of town at a moment's notice.
