Community Points allow members of Reddit communities to own a piece of their community, earn rewards for quality contributions, and unlock special features.
Read all about it at the above link. There's way too much to process here. This is going to be wild.
Haven't community points been a thing for a long time? I recall you used to be able to buy/donate points to your community to open up features (like getting to post emotes in replies, which is just aggravating more than a 'perk', and ensured I never participated).