Reddit Goes Public on NYSE, Seeks to Balance User base and Wall Street as Online Forum Enters New Chapter

Reddit began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the ticker symbol RDDT, opening 38% above its IPO price of $34 per share

Reddit is valued around $8 billion but saw its valuation decline from $10 billion last year amid economic uncertainty

Founded in 2005 by Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman as an online forum, Reddit now has 76 million daily active users

Ahead of the IPO, Reddit set aside 8% of its shares for top contributors to the site based on their "karma" scores

Reddit's CEO said going public will benefit the community but many longtime users bristle at the corporate changes, longing for Reddit's early renegade days