You can comprehend the idea of earning money while walking your dog. It has its appeal to have the opportunity to go outside, get some exercise, and get money from something you have to do anyway. This is the concept that Jerry Huang and Yawn Rong had in mind when they co-founded and released StepN, the activity-tracking software that allows users to earn cryptocurrency while exercising, in December 2021.

The application has established a reputation in the Web3 “X-to-earn” gamified arena known as GameFi. One of the first NFT initiatives to employ this paradigm, in which players’ market values rise as they participate more in the blockchain-based game, is Axie Infinity.

Despite a cyberattack in June 2022, StepN’s popularity is growing. The app has between two and three million active users per month, impressive figures for such a new NFT startup. Additionally, the business received an investment of $5 million from Sequoia Capital in November of last year and an unknown sum from Binance’s venture capital division in April.

The native governance and value token (GMT) of StepN has a market valuation of slightly around $690 million as of this writing. Due to the hoopla around the project, we’ve put together a thorough guide on how to make money on StepN to assist you in sifting through the chatter and determining whether you want to invest in it.

What is StepN?

StepN is a fitness software that keeps track of the distance you’ve traveled during a certain workout session, much like other activity-tracking apps like Strava. However, users of StepN may do so while earning cryptocurrency.

The program effectively turns fitness into a game with the potential to earn what, depending on a variety of variables, might amount to a sizable sum of money. StepN cleverly encourages people to start exercising by appealing to an already-existing group of fitness lovers. The StepN whitepaper claims that this also provides a simple entry point for non-Web3 initiators into the complicated and disorganized world of crypto and NFTs.

Even while StepN’s concept is exciting, there are certain hazards involved, which we’ll discuss in more detail later. Let’s first examine how the app functions, how to use it, and why it is so effective in persuading users to not just exercise but also reinvest cryptocurrency into the ecosystem itself.

How does StepN work?

All you need to do to make money on StepN is open it before you go for a walk, jog, or run, just like other fitness applications. Right away, you’ll choose Solo Mode (two other modes are currently in development). Make sure you’re exercising outside because the app can’t be used on ellipticals or treadmills. After all, it uses GPS to detect your activity.

Choose a pair of sneakers

You must first select a pair of digital sneakers that are appropriate for the degree of exercise you anticipate. Last year, ASICS and StepN collaborated to create a limited-edition NFT shoe set that you can purchase on Binance. The designs are quite rad.

You won’t continue to earn tokens if your pace is greater than or less than the activity range of the sneakers you’ve chosen, so pick them wisely. You can jog (4-10 kph), run, or stroll (1-6 kph) (8-20 kph).

Make natural moves

Every minute you move while working out, you’ll earn GST, StepN’s native in-game currency. The software is designed to detect natural movement, so don’t try to cheat on your fitness objectives by jumping on an e-scooter to try to make money (in fact, there are numerous anti-cheating mechanisms in place). Your energy, which controls how long you can use the app and earn GST in a single session, sets a time restriction on how much you may earn. How much (and what sort of) digital footwear you possess is related to how much energy you have.

For instance, if you only have one Common sneaker, you have two energy, which implies that you can only earn for ten minutes at a period (1 Energy = five minutes of earn time). The longer you can move and generate money, the more sneakers you buy and own. Nine sneakers will net you nine energy, which is equivalent to 45 minutes of earn time, whereas three sneakers will net you four energy, or 20 minutes of earn time.

Premium sneakers

You also get more energy by wearing more distinctive, premium sneakers. Shoes that are Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary each increase your earning potential by 1, 2, 3, and 4 Energy, respectively. You will thus have a total of 8 Energy (4 beginning + 4 bonus energy) and be able to earn GST for 40 minutes every session if you have two Rare sneakers and one Common sneaker.

Now that the duration of your earning potential has been addressed, how much money can you truly make using the app? Four shoe characteristics—Efficiency, Luck, Resilience, and Comfort—affect how much money you make.

Efficiency is straightforward: When you move faster in high-efficiency shoes, you get more tokens each second. Luck adds a random element to the earning process. You have a greater chance of receiving a Mystery Box after a run if your shoe has higher Energy and Luck scores. These crates include jewels that give your shoes extra attributes like higher Efficiency. These gems may also be sold on the StepN in-app store.

Don’t forget to fix your sneakers

Your NFT shoes’ resilience influences how rapidly they deteriorate. If you don’t sometimes fix your sneakers with GST, they’ll stop working and finally go out of business. Users are encouraged to move about and earn money, but the more they do, the faster their shoes degrade. This is one of the entertaining ways the game forces you to plan out how to play it.

As of this writing, 1 GST is worth around $0.93, a considerable decrease from a peak of $8.51 reached in late April. In StepN, the most basic pair of NFT sneaker walkers pay out 5 GST for every 1 Energy, so that for every walk or run you perform, you will receive $4.65.

How the game breeds

The game is adept at hooking players into reinvesting their tokens into the system to repair and enhance their shoes for greater earning potential, despite the temptation to make as much GST as possible and cash out. Additionally, two existing sneakers may be used to create a new pair. This is how the game breeds, and it can only be done with footwear that has evolved more (those at Level 5 and above).

The fourth and final quality is comfort, and it is at this point that StepN adds GMT, its governance token, to the equation. Only shoes with a Level 30 and a minimum of 3 Energy can get GMT. You will have the option to either continue earning GST or switch to GMT at that level. You may use GMT to level up your shoes, give them a new name, or redistribute attribute points, among other things.

How to begin to make money on StepN

You may buy a pair of NFT sneakers from the in-app store after installing the StepN app to start earning. They are also on sale on Binance. Although customers have experienced concerns such as shoes not displaying in the app after a purchase, it is advisable to utilize the StepN marketplace to avoid these problems. StepN sneakers can be found on online shops like OpenSea and Magic Eden.

You’ll need some SOL to achieve that because StepN is based on the Solana blockchain. The cheapest shoe will set you back around $500 or 11–12 SOL. That will undoubtedly make the software unusable for some individuals. To combat this, StepN has said that it would roll out a leasing option that will let users rent the sneakers of other users in exchange for cryptocurrency. You’ll have to part ways with some SOL until they do.

Obtain an activation code

The activation code, which you must obtain from an active StepN user, is the other access hurdle. Although they occasionally appear in the StepN Discord, they can be hard to find. It is advised that you follow the rules and request a code from an active member.

You’ll establish your wallet in-app and transfer some SOL into it after receiving an activation code. The in-app alternative is preferable if security is a priority for you, even though you have the option to import an existing wallet. Then, you’ll move your SOL from your wallet to your spending account, where you’ll use it to pay for game-related activities with GST. When you go for a walk, jog, or run, you open the app, select the pair of sneakers that corresponds to the pace you intend to move at, and begin making money.

Workings of StepN tokenomics

In the GameFi industry, play-to-earn ventures frequently raise concerns about sustainability and are even compared to pyramid schemes. The most popular illustration of this is Axie Infinity, whose token (AXS) has been unable to continue its sharp increase in value, falling to $23.48 from a peak of $165.37 in November 2021. StepN has to either make the game so alluring that players would prefer to stay playing it than pay out their token profits to make the app a long-term project and to make money on StepN or attract enough new users to replace those who are leaving.

The creation of a Tokenomics template that is longevity-focused is the other essential challenge. Similar to Axie Infinity, Crypto Raiders, and other play-to-earn games, StepN uses a two-token concept. The first is GMT (Green Metaverse Token), which has some functionality but is more of an investment currency. The second is GST (Green Satoshi Token), the in-game utility token you use to perform things like fixing your sneakers.

Encouraging players

The design of the game encourages players to reinvest GST since doing so will likely result in higher returns than simply earning as much money as you can with a Level 0 shoe and cashing out. In addition to spending a lot of GST on shoe improvements and repairs, you’ll also pay a lot of GST for minting new sneakers, which start at 200 GST and may cost much more. They better preserve their value by removing GST from the system in this manner without increasing the number of shoes in use.

The main issue is that GST’s primary purpose is to openly improve your capacity for earning GST; this might eventually lead to a crash. If StepN wishes to continue operating, it will need to find a means to get past this.

The project’s rival, GMT, is the reason why some people in the NFT sector are still optimistic about it. Beyond offering specific benefits like raising your GST earning ceiling and enabling you to create Rarely, Epic, and Legendary shoes, the token’s distribution illustrates how committed the project’s creators and backers are to making it a long-term endeavor.

More to come

The community, the StepN ecosystem treasury, people in separate public and private sales, StepN team members, and advisers will all receive some of the 6 billion GMT tokens that will be made available. StepN’s litePaper offers a degree of transparency uncommon in the crypto industry, allowing you to easily understand what proportion of tokens will be given to specific parties in the future.

The private-round tokens to make money on StepN won’t even begin to unlock until 2023, and it will take another three years for them to do so entirely. Even if nothing else, StepN’s delayed token emission indicates a clear desire for longevity.

The NFT shoes themselves are the other problem. StepN can’t let its customers mint new sneakers indefinitely without at least part of their worth eroding, even though it’s rather expensive in terms of tokens. Additionally, the app could suffer the same demise as Axie Infinity if there is no method to burn footwear to remove them from the ecosystem.

Conclusion and oversight

StepN seems like a distinctive NFT endeavor, fusing a strange balance of anxiety and optimism into the idea of an app that rewards users for exercising. Given the ongoing drop in the value of both GST and GMT over the past few months, it may wind up being a huge success in the NFT industry if it can figure out a way to overcome the issues that seem to be preventing it even now.

StepN could be right for you if you’re prepared to take some calculated risks to earn cryptocurrency and get some exercise. Always do your homework before investing, choose wisely, and never risk more than you can afford to lose. If all of that appeals to you, good luck with your running, and go make money on StepN.