Discord launches a virtual currency
Going on a quest to gather orbs sounds like a magical journey. Images of old-school Sierra adventure games come to mind. Well, bad news. In this case, it's a virtual currency earned by being a captive audience for advertisers on Discord. Welcome to 2025, baby!
Currently in beta, Orbs are Discord's latest addition to its Quests. That's the company's system that lets advertisers launch interactive challenges. These can be things like watching promotional videos or playing games. You aren't watching an ad, silly. You're venturing out on a Video Quest!! Godspeed.
If you choose to be a Quest test subject, you can spend your Orbs in several ways. Discord Nitro credits could be a popular redemption option. You can also trade Orbs for profile cosmetics and first-party shop items. Unfortunately, you can't exchange them for real money. Nor can you spend them anywhere outside of Discord.
Before today, Quest advertisers were limited to offering their own rewards. However, they can still do that. The new virtual currency is merely another option.
Orbs are launching in a limited beta, so you may not have access yet. They're also desktop-only (app and browser), at least for now. You can find Quests by heading to Discover > Quests on Discord. Once you have access to Orbs, you can claim them in the Direct Messages > Shop section.
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