Is STEPN a Good Investment?

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The crypto industry has had the ambitious goal of redefining how societies operate ever since the launch of Bitcoin. Years later, after blockchain technology came to the forefront, numerous possibilities opened up, each of which shed light on the untapped potential in the crypto sector.

Over the years, crypto has come into contact with countless industries, from supply chains to art, from digital banking to gaming, and much more. However, the following discussion covers a project that strives to positively impact user’s lives more directly, and its name is STEPN.

STEPN is an app designed to reward users for taking steps — walking, jogging and running. STEPN aspires to motivate millions of people to adopt better lifestyles by bringing them into the Web3 space while also helping achieve carbon neutrality.

What Is STEPN?

STEPN is a Web3-enabled move-to-earn fitness app built on the Solana (SOL) blockchain that aims to keep you active. It works by letting users buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that last a certain amount of time. During this time, users can engage in physical activity and earn the platform’s native Green Metaverse token (GMT) as a reward.

It was created by Satoshi Labs, an Australian fintech firm, and co-founded by Yawn Rong and Jerry Huang. The story of STEPN first started when the app claimed a first-place victory in Gaming Track at the Solana IGNITION Hackathon. STEPN was the only mobile game to take home the prize at the Hackathon, and it was praised by judges for its unique game design, straightforward user interface, built-in marketplace and goal of persuading millions of non-crypto users to adopt the app.

STEPN secured a $5 million seed round. Leading investors, including DeFi Alliance, Morningstar Ventures and Solana Capital, invested in STEPN’s vision. The funds will go towards STEPN’s mission of inspiring millions of people to live healthier lives by bringing them into the Web3 space while also helping achieve carbon neutrality. 

How Does STEPN Work?

While fitness enthusiasts believe exercising is a reward in itself, many people struggle to motivate themselves. STEPN encourages people to exercise and rewards them for it with actual money. People can be rewarded with GMT for taking a calm evening walk or going on a light jog with friends and family. Before earning, users need to download the STEPN app and sign up using their email address. After verification, users connect their wallets to explore STEPN cryptocurrency. 

NFTs in the form of sneakers are worn by individuals in STEPN’s GameFi ecosystem. NFT sneakers must be bought or rented using Solana’s native SOL token. The number of minutes a user may exercise with a sneaker NFT is measured in energy; however, energy is not unlimited and must be replenished. 

Efficiency, resilience and comfort are the key elements that users can choose, which contribute to the energy cap of the sneakers. The energy cap is significant in bottlenecking the distribution of rewards. 

STEPN Tokenomics

The STEPN ecosystem offers two tokens — GMT is the governance token, with a maximum supply of 6 billion, and the Green Satoshi token (GST) is the game’s utility token, which has unlimited supply. 

Users can buy, sell, lease or rent NFT sneakers, gems and badges on the marketplace and earn GST by jogging, walking or running outside, which can be used in-game or cashed out for profit. GST doesn't require investments other than time and effort. Alternatively, GMT can be purchased or burned in the STEPN app to access the features that the project supports.  Benefits include upgrading high-quality gems, minting high-value sneakers and earning the right to participate in the project’s governance. You can help determine the project’s future by voting on important proposals and decisions or by submitting your own proposals and having the rest of the community do the voting.

How to Make Money With STEPN

Users can take advantage of three STEPN gameplay features — the solo, marathon and background modes — to earn money and easily participate in the game. While you need NFT sneakers to begin earning, you are not required to have them to begin exercising. New users can use STEPN’s free trial of the app and its features and can purchase STEPN footwear when they are ready to commit.

Solo Mode:

In solo mode, users move around in NFT sneakers to earn GST; however, energy is required to earn these tokens. Five minutes of earned movement is equivalent to one unit of energy, which can be recharged by purchasing an NFT sneaker. You want to get in the habit of checking your Energy before moving; without it, you won’t earn rewards.

Additionally, you must ensure that your GPS signal is not too weak and you are moving organically. In STEPN, GPS signals are categorized as follows:

Source - STEPN

Marathon Mode:

Users can participate in monthly or weekly marathons by registering under the Marathon tab. However, registration must be completed 24 hours before the commencement of a marathon. Users can choose distances from 2.5, 5 or 7.5 kilometers (1.5, 3.1 or 4.7 miles) in weekly marathons; however, they can only participate in one race at a time.

Background Mode:

GST tokens can be earned offline if you have at least one pair of sneakers in inventory. The background mode collects the step count straight from the mobile device’s health data while the STEPN app is turned off. 

GMT Price History

From March 9, 2022 to April 19, 2022, GMT's price skyrocketed 34,000% from $0.01 to $3.45. This meteoric rise was fueled by the hype surrounding decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and tokens that helped people be more active. Currently, GMT is trading below $2 and ranked in the top 75 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization The current circulating supply of GMT is 600 million.

Since then, GMT has struggled to maintain its value, dipping slowly until it closed at $0.6729 on June 12, 2022. Even though the token has lost more than half its value in that time, it hasn’t dipped below a dollar, which gives investors hope that it can recover. Investors may also consider seasonal exercise needs of investors. For example, it’s easy to exercise in the summer, and the token/app may experience less activity and adoption. But, in the fall and winter, the public needs more motivation to remain active.

Moreover, investors should be aware of the fact that the loss of Tether’s $1 peg in May of 2022 sent the entire crypto industry into a tailspin, from which it will take some time to recover.

GMT Competition

While STEPN may be one of the most popular move-to-earn applications, many other similar applications are available. Some of the best STEPN alternatives include:

• Step: a Web3 fitness app that aims to make users walk more and use vehicles less.

• DotMoovs: the first crypto mobile competitive environment. Users can challenge each other and themselves in their favorite sport and earn $MOOV, exclusive NFTs and other rewards.

• Genopets: a move-to-earn NFT game on Solana that rewards users for getting off the couch and going about their day. Genopets are your digital spirit animal encoded with your personality that evolves through daily activity. 

• Dustland Runners: the world’s first move-to-earn audio fitness blockchain game, where your fitness activity helps you get virtual rewards. 

• SweatCoin: a free app that rewards you in-game cryptocurrency with daily steps, which can be spent on cool products, donated to charity or converted into crypto.

How to Buy GMT

GMT can be traded on major exchanges such as Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), Gemini, KuCoin and Kraken. Many of these platforms allow you to purchase cryptocurrency using your credit card, through swapping features or through different trading pairs such as BTC/USDT.  Remember, too, that you may want to start by using the app and storing your tokens in a wallet. You can expand into broader crypto investments in the future when you find a crypto exchange that suits your needs.

No 2 investment portfolios are the same.

Cryptocurrency Market Outlook

The cryptocurrency market is inherently volatile, often fluctuating by large amounts within a short period of time. The extreme volatility results from prices that heavily rely on shared beliefs and market sentiment. Refer to the table below to see the latest prices:

Is STEPN a Good Investment?

Like all altcoins, STEPN is a high-risk investment, primarily driven by speculation. Whether you consider STEPN a good or bad investment will depend largely on how much your goals correlate with the vision of the app and its financial goals. If not, you may want to think twice before committing your hard-earned money to something you don’t believe in. 

Frequently Asked Questions