Train and earn money!

What if you could earn money while running, jogging or walking? If earning money while working out sounds appealing, the Web3 earning lifestyle app, STEPN, is just what you need. A popular mobile NFT game in the GameFi space, the app allows holders of STEPN NFT sneakers to earn tokens by walking, running or jogging.

In this guide we will cover what STEPN is, how the app works, how you can make money using the app and more.

What is STEPN?

STEPN is a Solana-based Web3 lifestyle app with built-in GameFi and SocialFi parameters. A move-to-earn app, STEPN launched in December 2021 with a bang. Just like the regular fitness apps on the market, STEPN tracks your daily activity, whether it’s running, jogging or walking. However, STEPN has a big difference – it allows you to earn crypto while staying fit.

The app’s goal is essentially to encourage users to adopt a healthier lifestyle while helping to offset carbon. At the same time, thanks to STEPN’s SocialFi elements, users can also access user-generated Web3 content.

Who made the NFT game?

Australian fintech firm Find Satoshi Lab created the STEPN app. Founded by Jerry Huang and Yawn Rong, STEPN debuted at the Solana hackathon in October 2021. While Huang is a serial entrepreneur, Rong is a blockchain venture capitalist. As soon as the app was officially launched in December, thousands of users started signing up, so much so that the team had to limit the number of daily signups.

“My business partner and I talked about how amazing Axie Infinity is for what they did,” Rong shared NFT night in a recent interview. “But then we realized that there’s still room for improvement and we can take it into an alternative form, or a new genre of play-to-earn. That’s really when we proposed move-to-earn.”

How does STEPN work?

To embark on your earning journey, you must first purchase a digital sneaker on the STEPN app. For every minute of movement, you can earn STEPN’s native in-game currency, the Green Satoshi token (GST). However, the amount you earn depends on a number of factors. First, each NFT sneaker comes with its own activity level. If your speed exceeds or drops below this level, you will not earn tokens.

Now the game offers two modes: Solo and Marathon. In Solo, you can use your digital sneakers to earn for every move. During marathon mode, you can participate in weekly or monthly marathons by registering at least 24 hours before under the “Marathon tab”.

Then your earning time depends on your energy – the number of minutes you can use the app and earn tokens in a single session. The energy, in turn, depends on the number and types of NFT sneakers you own. Furthermore, each energy unit corresponds to five minutes.

To explain, if you are a new user, you will start with Common sneakers, which have 2 Energy. This means that you will only be able to exercise ten minutes per day and have to wait 24 hours for the energy to be replenished. Similarly, the more NFT sneakers you have, the more time you get. For example, three sneakers will give you four Energy.

How much can you earn with STEPN?

As with most games to earn money, the amount you earn in this fitness app largely depends on your sneakers. STEPN NFT sneakers come with four characteristics – resilience, luck, comfort and efficiency. Here’s how each attribute works:

• Efficiency: Sneakers with higher efficiency will give you more tokens per energy used.
• Luck: Luck determines your chances of getting a “Mystery Box”. These boxes come with gems that can add features to your sneakers.
• Resilience: Essentially, Resilience increases the durability of the sneakers by reducing wear and tear. Not repairing your sneakers will reduce their earning potential.
• Comfort: Ultimately, comfort determines the sneaker’s ability to earn GMT, STEPN’s governance token. You can not only use GMT to exercise your voting rights, but also to rename and level up your sneakers, among other things.

So how much can you actually earn with STEPN? At the time of writing, the STEPN token GST was valued at $0.088. On average, a basic sneaker can earn 5 GST per energy. Therefore, firstly, you can earn $0.44 for each movement.

That said, GST is a volatile token, just like other cryptocurrencies. In fact, earlier GST’s value was much higher – around $8.51 in April. To be sure, some users have even reported earning $400 per day.

Nevertheless, if you think you can easily earn by using STEPN (maybe even cheat) and withdraw money, you may be in for some disappointment. Aside from the intricate flow-to-earn mechanics, STEPN has several anti-cheat systems in place. First, the app tracks your movement using GPS. So no – running on treadmills doesn’t count. Likewise, the app has motion sensors to detect your movements. This means that taking the STEPN app with you on a trip outside is not going to work.

How to use the STEPN app?

Here are the steps to start using STEPN:

• Download the STEPN app from the Appstore or Google Playstore.
• Then sign up on the app with your email address.
• Once inside, click the “Wallet” icon on the app and follow the instructions to create a new wallet.
• To start buying STEPN NFTs, you need some SOL. For this, transfer enough amount of SOL required to buy NFTs and cover the gas charges.
• Finally, head over to the STEPN Marketplace to purchase the NFT sneakers of your choice. Once 25% sneaker energy is restored, you can start your journey to earn money!

Is STEPN a good investment?

All in all, STEPN is a unique move-to-earn app that brings together both fitness and Web3 enthusiasts. However, the key is to balance the cost of buying new NFT sneakers and the potential benefits of working out. Also, given the volatility of the STEPN tokens, not to mention their current declining value, there are huge risks involved. Therefore, be sure to do your due diligence before making any investment decisions.