STEPN – Biggest Move-To-Earn Project

What is Move-To-Earn?

In 2022, the Move-to-Earn (M2E) business model is gaining popularity. The idea of M2E lies in motivating the users to engage in daily physical activity. This motivation is pretty simple – the more you exercise the more tokens you earn.

How does it work?

In order to start moving and earning, the user has to invest in the application. In the case of STEPN, this means buying NFT sneakers, which are similar to in-game items. Once done, the user has to perform certain activities like walking, jogging, running or training. These activities generate tokens, which in turn can be traded on DEXs and CEXs. 

STEPN operates on two blockchain networks – Solana and BSC. Users can switch between networks inside the app.

How to get sneakers

Users can purchase STEPN NFTs in the app, or via the OpenSea and Magic Eden marketplaces. If buying from the app, the user has two options:

• Buy a Shoebox that generates random sneakers. This option is cheaper, yet not very practical – the user doesn’t know the features of the sneakers being minted.
• Buy an already unpacked sneaker. This option allows for reviewing the characteristics of each sneaker and measuring how much profit it may bring. Upacked sneakers are more expensive than Shoeboxes.

Apart from purchasing NFTs, users need a unique code to register in the app. There are two ways to get a code:

• Through STEPN Telegram or Discord communities. Every day at 1 PM UTC 1,000 codes are generated for subscribers. 
• Any user who has spent at least 10 units of energy (every 1 Energy equals 5 minutes of move-and-earn movement) in the app can generate a code and share it. The invitation code is not a referral code and does not provide any benefits.

Types of STEPN sneakers

Each sneaker has its own ‘speed’ category, which determines the desired type of user activity.

• Walker – 1-6 km/h, 4 GST for each energy unit burnt
• Jogger – 4-10 km/h, 5 GST for each energy unit burnt
• Runner – 8-20 km/h, 6 GST for each energy unit burnt
• Trainer – 1-20 km/h, 4- 6.25 GST for each energy unit burnt

After choosing the most suitable speed mode, users have to pay attention to the attributes – Efficiency, Luck, Comfort and Resilience. The latter two are the most important. ‘Comfort’ allows one to earn more, while ‘Resilience’ lessens the cost for sneakers to be repaired. It is recommended that these attributes should be within the 5 – 7 range. To enhance the attributes, Gems and Badges may also be applied.

Tokens

There are two tokens that may be earned in STEPN – Green Satoshi Token (GST) and Green Metaverse Token (GMT).

GST is an in-game token that may be used to repair or upgrade sneakers, or buy additional items at the marketplace. The supply of GST is unlimited, but they are burned when spent by the user.

GMT is a governance token with a total supply of 6,000,000,000 tokens. It can be purchased at crypto exchanges or earned with NFTs at a level higher than 30. Users can level up their Sneakers by burning GST. Each level-up takes a fixed time to complete, which increases along with the amount of GST required according to the Sneaker level. This process can be speed up by using even more GST.

In order to reduce the risks of token devaluation, STEPN’s mechanics involve burning tokens: they are taken out of circulation by repairing and ‘pumping’ NFTs, opening Mystery Boxes, minting sneakers, improving gems and unlocking slots for them.

Ways of earning 

Profits depend on sneakers’ characteristics and levels. However, it is not possible to walk all day long and earn endlessly. One sneaker allows walking and earning for 10 minutes per day. To earn more, users need to buy more sneakers. The app has a handy earn calculator. 

It is also possible to earn when minting (creating a new sneaker out of 2 that user already possess) the sneakers. It becomes possible after reaching 5 level. Though the more you mint, the more expensive this process becomes. 

From level 10 onwards, it becomes possible to ‘lease’ sneakers, which will also be profitable. This feature is still under development and should be fully implemented within this year.

Should I buy NFT sneakers now?

At the moment of writing, the cheapest STEPN NFT costs 13.9 SOL which is equivalent to ~$732. It is worth bearing in mind that the cost of a pair of sneakers can generally be recovered in about 35-50 days.

To form a profitable strategy, you should clearly understand not only your investment vs. the risks, but also your desired result. Everyone sees it differently: some may want to constantly mint sneakers and increase energy on the account, some speculate on the market, and some may have bought only one sneaker yet manage to generate stable income from it.

Each option has its pros and cons. Choose what you like (and only invest what you can afford to lose ;)).

Or, in other words, Do Your Own Research!

This article is a part of our M2E series. Stay tuned to see the next promising project in the space.