The training app “move to earn” has laid off more than 100 contract workers. including community moderators, ambassadors and others, according to reports from South China Morning Post and crypto news writer Colin Wu of Wu Blockchain.
Launched in 2021, STEP is an app where users buy virtual running shoes that NFTs which allows them to earn STEPN’s native token, GMT, by logging steps IRL. The virtual shoes, which degrade over time, were once among the hottest commodities in crypto.
In May and June this year, STEPN saw a massive increase in monthly active users, logging over 700,000 in May and almost 500,000 in June according to data from Dune Analytics.
Monthly active STEPN users. Source: Dune Analytics
But when July rolled around, STEPN saw a huge drop off. It saw 50% fewer monthly active users in July. It had 140,000 in August, and only 99,000 in September. The number of daily active users has also dropped sharply, down from a peak of 58,000 on June 21st to just 5,800 on September 15th.
And per CoinGecko data, GMT is not working well either. The token is down 84% from its all-time high and down 15% in the last month alone.
This exponential decline cannot be good for STEPN. It begs the question: what is the company doing to stay afloat?
STEPN’s co-founder Yawn Rong wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that STEPN is going through a “transition period.“
“We will use all our resources to move on to the next phase of FSL,“ said Rong, referring to Find Satoshi Lab, STEPN’s parent company. “Over the next few weeks, we will shift gears as we develop our vision,” he wrote. “Through this transition period, we will not leave you in the dark.“
3/5 This month we focus on the way forward. We go for it! Our team has to concentrate on ongoing projects full time, so we will not be hosting a town hall in October. In the meantime, we will use all our resources to move on to the next phase of FSL.
According to Wu, this means that STEPN is winding down. Citing community sources, he wrote that the company is reducing investment in STEPN, which is delaying development progress.
“It began to focus on promoting its parent company Find Satoshi Lab, and mainly focused on new projects to be released as the NFT exchange market,” Wu wrote late Tuesday night.
It began to focus on promoting its parent company Find Satoshi Lab, focusing mainly on new projects to be released as the NFT exchange market. In addition, the large amount of GMT’s investor juice will be unlocked in March next year.
Although STEPN may lay off employees, the “Careers” tab on the main website, where candidates can fill out a form expressing interest in working for the company, remains active.
STEPN, which is based in Australia, has yet to respond Decryptits request for comment.
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