Community Points allow members of Reddit communities to own a piece of their community, earn rewards for quality contributions, and unlock special features.
Yep, this is what the future of awards on Reddit looks like
Because it's not new. Now how far along is it? IDK. Realistically a large feature like this would probably take a couple years development and a company should be thinking multiple years down the road. It's probable that they were planning a big switch up to reputation and rewards for years.
Spez freaking out and cancelling all 3PAs does feel like a spur of the moment decision though.