Stepn is a token of the Web3 app of the same name and actually has everything that is important for the success of a cryptocurrency: a sophisticated business model, a large fan base, and a lot of hype on social media. One of the most exciting features of Stepn is the form of mining, for which no complex hardware or high electricity costs are incurred here: Users generate their coins step by step – literally.
What is Stepn and who can participate?
Stepn is a move-to-earn application that rewards physical activity with crypto tokens. With the help of an app, coins (based on the cryptocurrency Solana/Binance Coin) are generated while walking, jogging, or running and credited to users. But if you want to take part, you first have to buy a pair of virtual running shoes – and they sometimes cost a lot of money: The cheapest NFT sneakers are between around 200 and 1,000 US dollars, depending on your fitness level. Getting started can therefore be a real investment. But a lot is also promised: Active users should be able to earn double-digit daily Solana. The profit is limited by the energy level of the digital shoes. Once the energy has been used up, it first has to regenerate slowly.
Basically, Stepn is a kind of fitness tracker that logs sports activities and generates crypto coins for it. Anyone who downloads the free app can afford the NFT sneakers and can get hold of an activation code can take part. These codes are regularly made available by the providers on their social media channels, but can also be generated by users while running.
How exactly does mining work?
It’s actually quite simple: Users register via the app and buy digital NFT shoes there. They are paid for with the cryptocurrency Solana or Binance Coin, which you first have to pay into the wallet of the app. The selection of shoes is then quite large, all shoes have different properties and individual energy levels. Users can then convert this energy into crypto coins on a daily basis using the move-to-earn principle.
With the help of GPS, the app measures how fast and how far users move and credits tokens accordingly. Participants then receive Green Satoshi Tokens (GST) per minute of walking, which in turn can be exchanged for USDC. USDC is a stablecoin that is backed by US dollars and is therefore relatively stable in price.
But before Stepn’s own cash register rings, the business model strikes. Because like normal sports shoes, the NFT sneakers also wear out over time. If you want to continue to “wear” them without restrictions, you have to repair them regularly. This – you might have guessed it – costs GST every time.
Upgrades for virtual sneakers are also available. They increase the energy level or make mining easier. If you want, you can also buy several shoes and thus increase your overall energy level or sell sneakers to other users for a fee. In addition to mining, Stepn offers playful elements. This includes collecting rare mystery boxes and various upgrade mechanisms.
So can you really make money with Stepn?
Users can definitely make money with Stepn, although hardly every participant is likely to create great wealth. First of all, there are higher investment costs, which every user must first compensate for. A few kilometers have to be conquered before you can break out of your deficit. In addition, there is the general unreliability of the crypto market: if the value of GST falls, sporting activities automatically become less lucrative. Only at the end of May did the GMT/GST rate fall by around 50 percent. The reason: China wants to stop operating Stepn from July.
In this country, you can also try as an investor to earn money with Stepn. This is also possible without using the app or the expensive sneakers. You can buy the coins used by Stepn on common crypto exchanges and hope for rising prices.
Set up Stepn – that’s how it works
Would you like to try out Stepn, be “paid” for your daily exercise in the fresh air, and don’t shy away from the investment costs? Then participation is easy. Here we explain how it works and how to get the coveted activation codes.
First of all, we have to download the app from one of the stores, it’s available for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. We then have the providers send us a verification code via e-mail via the app, which means that the setup is almost complete – only an activation code is missing. With this code, the developers want to regulate the access of new participants, because the demand is currently still very high. As described above, users can generate codes themselves, but they are also provided by the providers. New keys are regularly available both in the Telegram group and on the Stepn Discord server. But you have to be quick at the moment: Only those who enter a code first can actually use it.
In order to use the Stepn App or buy the Stepn NFT Shoes, you have to buy BNB token on Binance. You can buy BNB token with your credit or debit card.
Once we’ve got hold of an activation code, select the blockchain relevant to you, which is either Solana or BNB Smart Chain (Binance). Depending on the blockchain, we find three types of coins in our wallet: GST, GMT, and Solana (SOL) or GST, GMT, and BNB (Binance Coin). To start mining, we first need to fund our account from an external source with Solana/BNB to buy the mandatory NFT sneakers. We can purchase Solana/BNB directly via the linked Binance exchange or send it to our Stepn wallet via a link. We then have to transfer this credit to a second “spending wallet” via the app. This may take a few minutes.
As soon as the transfer has arrived, we go shopping: In the virtual sneaker store, we look for the right shoe for our needs. You can choose from models such as “Walker”, “Jogger”, “Runner” or “Trainer”. The shoes are each designed for different running speeds. Tip: With the Stepn app we can also measure our personal running speed before we buy it.
When choosing shoes afterward, you should take your time and look closely at the models. Because even within the categories there are big differences in terms of quality and energy level. We can later improve all sneakers with so-called “gems”. This reduces repair costs, for example, or improves mining efficiency. Note: If you own several shoes, you can also use more energy to generate GST.
With the purchase of the right shoes, we are ready to go and start mining. It is advisable to only start Stepn when you actually start running and to log all breaks – otherwise, we lose valuable energy that we would rather use for mining. After running, it makes sense to repair the NFT sneakers immediately, because worn shoes generate less GST over time.
Who is behind Stepn?
Stepn was launched in 2021 by an Australian fintech company called Find Satoshi Labs. As you can hear, after the terrible bush fires in Australia in 2020, the two founders Yawn Rong and Jerry Huang were motivated to also campaign for climate neutrality themselves. With Stepn you wanted to create a monetary incentive to walk, promote your own health and reduce global CO₂ emissions.
This criticism is given to Stepn
One of the biggest criticisms of Stepn relates to the business model itself because it bears similarities to a Ponzi scheme. The focus is particularly on handling the NFT sneakers, which every user absolutely needs for mining their coins. The digital shoes can also be created by users themselves and then sold. Of course, this is only attractive as long as demand can keep up with supply. If at some point too few new users stream into the network, the resulting oversupply of sneakers could lead to a rapid drop in prices. This is one of the reasons why the developers are currently trying to curb the growth of new users with limited activation codes. Should that at some point no longer be enough, the providers could also raise the prices for shoes, charge higher fees when selling them, or do throttle mining. All of this would make Stepn less attractive to users.
In addition, there is the ailing crypto market, which recently caused a stir with collapsing prices and large losses in value. When prices fall, so do the rewards for running and the whole system loses its appeal.
Conclusion
Protect the climate, be sporty and earn money at the same time? Stepn’s business model almost sounds too good to be true. However, like so many phenomena from the crypto world, the Move-to-Earn app is surrounded by a veil of unpredictability. Because in order to keep the ecosystem running, a constant increase in participants is necessary. The hype surrounding the app must therefore be kept alive. In addition, there are chronic price fluctuations in the crypto market, which can quickly put profits at Stepn into perspective. As exciting and lucrative as the new Web3 app is, every participant should be aware that the costly entry into Stepn represents a speculative investment.