Move-to-Earn apps pay you in crypto to work out

Ssome of us look at a treadmill, sigh dramatically, and declare, “You couldn’t pay me to go to the gym.” However, others may be bribed to exercise with small amounts of obscure cryptocurrencies.

Those in the latter crowd are the target audience for apps that move to monetize, rewarding users with cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs, which are unique digital tokens), or points (like the kind you earn with a credit card) in exchange against training. On the Sweatcoin app, for example, users earn one cryptocurrency token—or Sweatcoin—for every 1,000 steps they take; these can be saved or redeemed for goods or services. Dozens of similar platforms exist, and the trend seems to be catching on: Olympic athlete Usain Bolt recently announced that he is partnering with a soon-to-be-launched Step App, which will allow users to earn NFTs and cryptocurrency for physical activities like jogging or walking their dog.

The concept gives new meaning to gains at the fitness centre. “It’s a really new way to motivate people to move, and it’s always great to be rewarded for exercise,” says Kevin Harris, a personal trainer based in Redondo Beach, Calif., who has experimented with apps to earn money like Sweatcoin. “Many people would exercise more if they didn’t think they were losing out on something else, like work time or time for rest and relaxation.” Financial incentives make fitness more attractive, he says.

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Stefan Ateljevic, an entrepreneur based in Serbia, spent months using STEPN, which rewards exercise with crypto that can be cashed out or used to upgrade the app experience. During a time earlier this year when crypto demand outweighed supply, “I was making upwards of $100 a day” in cryptocurrency, Ateljevic says. “The idea is brilliant because it forces people to get out of the house, a la Pokémon Go. Nothing is better for geeks, mentally and physically, than a proper workout every day.” In addition to earning a decent amount of cryptocurrency, he says, he lost a few pounds and started enjoying working out.

Move to earn apps that reward users in crypto put a new twist on an old concept. Researchers have long been interested in whether financial incentives for physical activity are effective, since only 23% of American adults perform the federally recommended amount of aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity each week. “We have strong evidence that they work,” says Katherine Milkman, a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in behavioral economics and behavior change.

According to a meta-analysis published in 2013 i American Journal of Preventive Medicine, financial incentives ranging from about $2 to $46 per week increased exercise participation for up to six months and were particularly effective for sedentary adults. Other research has found that consistently making even small amounts — like a thousandth of a cent per step — led to increased physical activity.

A study published in 2021 i Nature found that small monetary rewards – such as those collected via move-to-earn apps – can play an important role in motivating people to exercise. In the study, nearly 62,000 American gym-goers participated in various digital programs that encouraged exercise. Participants can earn small cash rewards, such as $1.75 worth of Amazon points for going to the gym, or 9 cents for returning to the gym after missing a workout. Almost half of these interventions were able to increase weekly gym attendance at a rate ranging from 9% to 27%.

“When you’re already motivated to achieve some kind of goal, gamification seems to add extra motivation,” says Milkman, who co-authored the study. “That’s true even if you’re just earning points and there’s literally no value. Even token rewards work.”

Milkman predicts that we will see more incentives for physical activity in the future, perhaps from health insurance companies. “Offering small rewards for something that’s so good for you and should reduce costs seems like an obvious win,” she says.

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But there is a catch. Some cryptocurrency-based move-to-earn apps require an initial investment: You might have to spend a few hundred dollars for an NFT in the form of a “digital sneaker,” for example. (Ateljevic remembers spending about $900 on STPN.) These purchases are a way to monetize move-to-earn apps; The app creators also typically receive a commission fee on any cryptocurrency earned.

Research shows that putting your own money on the line actually increases engagement. “We know that losses are greater than gains,” says Milkman. “So I think it wouldn’t hurt, and it might even help.”

But crypto’s volatility makes these apps a gamble when it comes to forming a long-term exercise habit. For example, in May demand for cryptocurrencies fell, and Ateljevic sold most of his crypto and stopped using the app. Now he works “here and there” – but “when you get paid in crypto to do it, it’s so much better.” Another downside to these apps is that most assume at least some knowledge of cryptocurrency and technology. Those looking to try out move-to-earn apps will need a smartphone, perhaps a smartwatch, and perhaps even a web3 wallet that allows for storing, sending, and receiving cryptocurrencies. Such obstacles almost ensure that these apps will not be effective in getting a significant portion of the population to move more. “The more barriers you put up in front of someone, the more complicated you make something, the lower the usage and the lower the benefits,” says Milkman. That’s not to say these platforms aren’t beneficial, but rather they may not be universally appealing—or effective.

If you’re interested in giving the concept a try, here’s what you should know about three popular apps for moving to make money:

MetaGym

After spending more than 20 years in the fitness industry, including working as a personal trainer, Eddie Lester decided to merge his passion for helping people get fit with his growing interest in cryptocurrency. The result is MetaGym, a futuristic tool launched in 2021 that rewards fitness, sleep and meditation.

To get started, users are equipped with human-like NFT avatars that cost around $100 to $300 and are called MetaGym Buddies. “It’s almost like your gym membership,” says Lester. “Purchasing NFT gives you access to our platform, which has the earning mechanisms, but also a ton of other benefits.”

After logging into the platform, you connect the app to your smartwatch or other wearable fitness tracker, as well as to a web3 wallet. When the earning mechanism launches in August, users who perform health activities – such as exercising or meditating – will earn cryptocurrency tokens that can be used to buy things like fitness equipment, or transferred for money.

For example, logging one cardio workout will equal approximately 40 “heart rate tokens” or $2-$3, while a resistance training session will yield 20 tokens or $1-$2. Getting a good night’s sleep would add another $1-$2. (Lester points out that since cryptocurrency values ​​fluctuate, these numbers can trend up or down.)

“There’s obviously the benefit of having a financial incentive to perform a health behavior—it’s motivating,” says Lester. “But what I’m most excited about are the communities we build. MetaGym is so heavily focused on social support to help people form healthy behaviors and develop friendships,” including through a Discord server that users regularly use to chat.

Sweatcoin

Anton Derlyatka – co-founder and CEO of Sweatcoin – thinks of his app as the epitome of movement. It’s a free program that uses motion verification technology to track daily steps (which means cheating the system by, say, shaking your phone up and down won’t work).

When he launched Sweatcoin — which Derlyatka says now has more than 100 million registered users — he was determined to build a product that was accessible to people of all fitness levels. His mother, who is 86 and only walks a few hundred steps a day, serves as his litmus test. If she can use the app, he says, anyone can: “The barriers to entry are very low.”

For every 1000 steps, users earn 1 sweatcoin (minus a 5% commission fee that goes to the app). These tokens are like credit card points that can be redeemed for products, services or coupons, or donated to charity. For example, 2 coins can unlock a $5 Amazon coupon; 10 coins gives access to a 20% discount on Garmin smartwatches. On a recent afternoon, a user participating in one of the app’s auctions bid more than 32,000 coins to secure a 65-inch smart TV.

In September, Sweatcoin plans to debut a cryptocurrency called $SWEAT. Users will have the choice of hanging on to their sweatcoins, or converting them to a blockchain-powered cryptocurrency.

“The whole idea is, how do we capture the value of physical activity?” says Derlyatka. “Because once we do it, and we share it back with the user, it becomes a habit.”

Dotmoovs

Pedro Rente Lourenço’s background is in biomedical engineering, and he has long been interested in how to improve sports performance. After studying artificial intelligence, he founded Dotmoovs, a peer-to-peer sports competition app powered by the blockchain. An AI algorithm allows the app to score all the workouts within minutes.

To get started, users download a free app and familiarize themselves with the program by watching videos of others performing challenges. “They will see the analyzed videos with our little dots or stick figures on top of people, and they will see their score and get a sense of what to expect,” says Rente Lourenço. Then you can choose to play freestyle football (soccer for those in the US) or dance, and do a solo challenge up to three times a day.

Using more advanced versions of the app requires either buying or renting an NFT. Once you have one, you can challenge other players (either real-life friends or internet strangers) to soccer or dance competitions recorded on your phone. The winner is awarded a pool of $MOOV tokens, which is a cryptocurrency that can be saved up, cashed out or used to buy more NFTs or other prizes. If you rented the NFT for free, you share a portion of the profit with the person who owns it.

“We didn’t want to make another app just for crypto-savvy people,” says Rente Lourenço. “The idea here is that everyone likes to dance and that everyone wants to play football. And then if you go into crypto, you can earn more tokens and get more rewards, and it’s more exciting – but we don’t want to create that barrier to entry.”

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