STEPN: Everything to Know
By Beluga Research July 26, 2023
Summary
- STEPN is a web3 lifestyle app with social and gamified elements
- Connect with other players globally through blockchain-powered interactions
- Experience seamless gameplay and earn real-world rewards through NFTs
- The game fosters a strong player-driven economy and community engagement
Overview
STEPN is a web3 lifestyle app with social and gamified elements. The social aspect of STEPN allows users to connect with other users and form communities around the game. The gamified part of STEPN encourages users to be active and healthy by rewarding walking, jogging or running outdoors. The tokens can be used to purchase in-game items, such as new sneakers, or exchanged.
A Brief History
The concept of STEPN was born out of the growing need to make fitness activities fun and rewarding. Developers seized the opportunity to merge exercise and cryptocurrencies, crafting a distinctive gaming experience. FindSatoshi Lab, an Australian fintech firm, developed STEPN. The company was founded in 2021 by Jerry Huang and Yawn Rong. The two founders had backgrounds in crypto, gaming, and app development.
STEPN was launched in August 2021 and quickly gained popularity. The game's unique concept and potential to promote a healthier lifestyle attracted many users. STEPN raised $5 million in seed funding from investors like Sequoia Capital India, SkyVision Capital and DeFi Alliance. A beta version of STEPN was released in December 2021 to test core functions. Users could mint NFT sneakers but earning features weren't activated.
STEPN launched its alpha version on the Solana blockchain and opened it for public use. Users could mint sneakers, earn tokens and trade on the marketplace. Within two months, STEPN amassed over 300,000 users as interest surged. Token prices also rose exponentially from $0.28 to as high as $3.8. By May 2022, STEPN's GMT token reached a volume of $3 billion, placing it in the top 50 cryptocurrencies. The app also ranked #1 in health and fitness.
What is STEPN?
STEPN allows users to earn cryptocurrency by walking, jogging or running outdoors. To do this, users need to purchase NFT sneakers, which can be used to generate GST (Green Satoshi Token) and GMT (Green Metaverse Token) tokens. GST tokens can be used to upgrade sneakers, repair sneakers or trade on NFT marketplaces.
GMT tokens can be used to vote on governance proposals or staked to earn rewards. The app is currently available on the Solana blockchain. STEPN has quickly become one of the most popular web3 games, with over 3 million users and a total market capitalization of over $260 million. The game is designed to be both fun and profitable. This makes STEPN a great way to get fit and earn some extra crypto at the same time.
In addition to earning money, STEPN also has several social features. Users can connect with friends and family on the app and compete in challenges to earn rewards. This makes STEPN a great way to stay motivated and active. STEPN has been praised for its innovative use of blockchain technology to gamify physical activity. The app is credited with reducing carbon emissions by encouraging users get outdoors instead of driving. STEPN uses NFT sneakers to track user activity and rewards. The type of sneaker, the quality and the user's fitness level all affect the amount of cryptocurrency that can be earned.
Getting Started
- Download the STEPN app . The app is available for iOS and Android.
- Create an account . Verifying an email address is required.
- Connect the wallet to the app . Users can use a Solana wallet like Phantom or Solflare.
- Purchase a pair of NFT sneakers. Sneakers are used to earn tokens in STEPN. Users can purchase them in the app or on third-party marketplaces like OpenSea.
- Start moving. Once users have a pair of sneakers, they can earn tokens by walking, jogging or running outdoors.
Unique Aspects
- Crypto for movement. STEPN is the first NFT game that rewards users for moving around and doing physical activity.
- Two tokens. STEPN has GST and GMT, with different use cases.
- Social plus crypto. STEPN has social features that allow users to connect and compete for rewards.
- Get fit. The game promotes a healthy lifestyle by incentivizing physical activities.
Advantages
- Encourages physical activity. STEPN encourages players to stay active by rewarding them for physical activities. This could lead to improved health outcomes for players.
- Generates income. Users can earn tokens by walking, running or jogging outdoors. These tokens can then be used to purchase in-game items, upgrade sneakers or exchange for other cryptocurrencies.
- Player Ownership. The blockchain technology underpinning STEPN allows players to own assets, a significant departure from traditional gaming models.
- Built on Solana. STEPN is built on the Solana blockchain, a fast and scalable blockchain. This means that transactions on STEPN are relatively cheap and fast.
- Eco-friendly. STEPN is designed to be eco-friendly. The GST token is burned when used to upgrade or mint new sneakers. This helps to reduce the environmental impact of the game.
Disadvantages
- High entry cost To play STEPN, users must purchase a pair of NFT sneakers. These sneakers' cost depends on the rarity and attributes.
- Dependence on GPS. STEPN requires users to be connected to GPS to track steps and earn rewards. This can be a problem in areas with poor GPS reception or if users are traveling.
- Energy cap. Each day, users are limited to a certain amount of energy to earn rewards. This means users must do more than walk for hours to make money.
- Volatility of cryptocurrency. The rewards that users earn in STEPN are paid in GST, a cryptocurrency. GST prices are volatile, so earnings could go up or down depending on the market.
- Security risks. As a Web3 game, STEPN is subject to the same security risks as any other blockchain-based application. It's important to remember that even though STEPN is a game, it is a cryptocurrency-based one so precautions should be taken to secure passwords and private keys.