Comprehensively Understand Binance Launchpad's Latest Project STEPN

Source: Rhythm Research Institute

With the popularity of Play to Earn, more and more X to Earn models will gradually become a trend. In the future, people's income will include a series of activities we engage in daily, such as playing games, learning, exercising, etc. "Move to Earn" is a brand new earning model that combines exercise with earning rewards, and some users have even stated that it is particularly suitable for delivery workers.

Unlike the Play to Earn games we have seen, Move to Earn projects create a system that connects the on-chain world with the real world more closely. It is no longer just a simple game overlay for decentralized finance, nor is it merely to incentivize players to earn rewards while monotonously clicking through pages with almost identical mechanism designs. Instead, it fully mobilizes their enthusiasm for exercise, providing passive income while also promoting physical fitness.

Moreover, game developers have long been searching for ways to create engaging gameplay through physical movement (Move). However, even if these games are interesting, the true potential of mobile gaming may not have been fully realized.

Perhaps Move to Earn is the best solution to this problem, as it combines the earlier Move to Play with the currently popular Play to Earn. What could be more exciting than exercising and gaming simultaneously through a mobile phone or wearable device while earning rewards?

What is STEPN?

STEPN is a Move to Earn NFT game on mobile devices where players need to wear "NFT sneakers" to walk, jog, or run outdoors to earn rewards. It combines blockchain gaming with real-life mobile activities, aiming to encourage millions of people to adopt a healthier, low-carbon lifestyle and to bring them into the world of Web 3 while making a positive contribution to carbon neutrality.

STEPN was created by the Find Satoshi Lab team and runs on the Solana network, reconstructing the symbiotic relationship between users' physical activities and blockchain gaming. The project uses players' movement data as a series of gamified inputs, which are then converted into on-chain in-game tokens and NFT rewards. Additionally, STEPN ranked fourth in the GameFi category at the Solana "Ignition Hackathon."

At the same time, STEPN is continuously bridging the gap between crypto and non-crypto gamers, making it accessible to all players, regardless of their past experience with decentralized applications (Dapps) or crypto games, while keeping its gameplay as user-friendly as possible. Therefore, attracting a large number of non-crypto players is key to STEPN's future user growth.

Game NFT Assets: Sneaker, Shoebox, and Gems

1) Sneaker and Shoebox

Sneaker and Shoebox are both NFT assets in STEPN. Players can wear Sneakers to walk, jog, or run outdoors to earn rewards. By opening a Shoebox, players can obtain four different types of Sneakers: Walker, Jogger, Runner, and Trainer. When players wear different types of sneakers and exercise at their respective optimal paces, they earn GST tokens by consuming energy.

Initially, players start with 2 energy points, with a maximum energy limit of 20. However, players can increase their energy by acquiring more sneakers, and the specific increase will depend on the quality of the sneakers.

In the early stages of the project, STEPN officially distributed 10,000 NFT assets, including sneakers or shoeboxes, for free to early players through relevant activities. Currently, the official NFT marketplace has not yet opened, and new players can purchase to start the game through the Magic Eden NFT marketplace on the Solana chain.

As of December 25, according to Magic Eden data, STEPN currently has a floor price of 2 SOL, an average price of 5.29 SOL, and a total trading volume exceeding 2046 SOL.

2) How to Obtain Sneakers

First, players download the STEPN App on their mobile devices via the download button on the STEPN official website; then they join the official Discord community to create an invitation link, inviting three people to obtain an invitation code, and then register and log in to the STEPN App. However, if players purchase STEPN's NFT, they can directly obtain public beta registration qualifications without needing an invitation code by providing feedback to the project’s Discord operations team.

After purchasing Sneakers or Shoeboxes through Magic Eden, players need to export the wallet used when purchasing the NFTs in the STEPN App, at which point the Sneakers/Shoeboxes will appear in the Wallet section of the STEPN App. Next, they need to transfer the Sneakers/Shoeboxes to the Vault using the Transfer button.

If the Transfer is for a Sneaker, it will directly appear in the Shoes section.

If the Transfer is for a Shoebox, it will appear in the Others section, and players will need to manually open the shoebox, which will randomly yield a sneaker.

Next, players can start Move to Earn with the sneakers they own!

3) Gems

Gems are also NFT assets within the game that can be used to enhance the attributes of sneakers. Additionally, gems need to be paired with corresponding gem slots to be used, and higher-quality gem slots will further enhance the attributes of the gems.

There are four types of gems, each color enhancing a specific attribute of the sneakers: blue (enhances Efficiency), yellow (enhances Luck), green (enhances Comfortability), and red (enhances Resilience). The following sections will introduce these four enhanced attributes one by one.

Each sneaker has four different gem slots that match the color indicators of different types of gems, so players can only insert matching gem types into the corresponding slots. Additionally, each sneaker will unlock a gem slot when it reaches levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, and inserting gems into the slots will further enhance the corresponding attributes of the sneakers.

The 10 Attributes of Sneakers

Taking the current floor-priced sneaker Sneaker #3223 as an example, a sneaker includes ten attributes such as type, quality, efficiency, luck, and comfort, greatly enriching the gameplay of the game.

1) Sneaker Type

Divided into Walker, Jogger, Runner, and Trainer (mentioned above, no need to elaborate further).

2) Sneaker Quality

Each type of sneaker is further divided into five qualities: Common (gray), Uncommon (green), Rare (blue), Epic (purple), and Legendary (orange). Additionally, there will be slight differences among sneakers of the same quality, with their quality attributes divided within a range.

3) Optimal Speed

Different types of sneakers will have a reference optimal speed.

4) Shoe-Minting Count

Two sneakers can mint a new sneaker, but each sneaker can be minted a maximum of seven times.

5) Efficiency

In single-player mode, efficiency determines how many additional GST/GMT tokens players can earn on top of the base rewards from their sneakers. The higher the efficiency, the more GST/GMT players can earn each time they consume energy.

In marathon mode, efficiency can help players climb the leaderboard faster; the higher the efficiency, the more points the sneakers will earn.

6) Luck

In single-player mode, luck determines the probability of blind boxes appearing in the players' gem slots, which will contain a random number of GST, GMT, and gems (limited to Lv1 -- Lv4). Additionally, sneaker owners can earn gems by renting their sneakers to other players, making luck a very desirable attribute for players planning to rent out most of their sneakers to the market.

7) Comfortability

In single-player mode, comfortability determines the frequency of short/long-term gains for players. Short-term gains are token income/energy consumption boosts lasting 1-5 minutes, occurring randomly while players are exercising, while long-term gains are token income/energy consumption boosts lasting 24-72 hours. Furthermore, short-term gains can occur on any sneaker between levels 1 and 30 and can stack multiple times.

In marathon mode, only long-term gains can occur, which include not only income boosts but also lower shoe-minting costs, marathon point rewards, and better sneaker rental opportunities. Additionally, any sneaker between levels 20 and 30 can experience long-term gains, but they cannot stack; new long-term gains replace the previous ones.

Comfortability is an attribute that can strategically enhance gameplay, and using it well can help players progress faster than others.

8) Resilience

In single-player mode, the resilience of the sneaker determines its durability; higher resilience means better durability, reducing repair costs. Even if players eventually repair their sneakers, they will pay less in repair fees.

In marathon mode, sneakers with high resilience allow players to run faster and farther without worrying about the durability dropping below 50%, which would incur a "wear" penalty. Therefore, for players participating in marathons, the resilience of sneakers is an ideal attribute for maintaining costs.

9) Durability

The durability of sneakers determines the speed at which they wear down. When durability drops below 50% and 20%, sneakers will incur a "wear" penalty, reducing their efficiency to 90% and 10% of their full value, respectively.

10) Badge

Whether a sneaker has a badge provides additional attributes, such as extra energy for players in single-player mode; increased leaderboard point rewards in marathon mode; and lower costs when minting new sneakers.

Additionally, sneakers need to be upgraded, with the maximum level being Lv30. By continuously upgrading, players can unlock corresponding features.

Players can upgrade their sneakers from Lv1 to Lv28 by burning in-game GST tokens, but the number of tokens required for upgrades increases exponentially with the sneaker's level. Each upgrade also requires a certain amount of time to complete, but players can skip the upgrade time by burning more GST.

However, to upgrade a sneaker from Lv28 to Lv30, players will need to burn GST as well as the game's governance token GMT.

On the other hand, after upgrading, players will receive 4 attribute points for their sneakers and can choose how to allocate them to the sneaker's attributes, thus earning additional rewards.

What Gameplay Options Are Available?

1) Single Player Mode

In single-player mode, players can earn GST by moving; they just need to press the START button and begin moving. Players' income depends on two criteria: their movement data and the attributes of the sneakers they own.

However, players have a limited amount of energy each day, and once it is exhausted, single-player mode will stop earning GST. At this point, players can choose to continue exercising without earning or manually stop single-player mode.

2) Marathon Mode

In marathon mode, players need to register for an online marathon under the marathon tab. Marathons are held weekly and monthly, and participants must sign up 24 hours before the online marathon begins.

For weekly marathons, players can choose to participate in 2 km, 5 km, or 10 km marathons; for monthly marathons, players can choose to participate in 21 km or 42 km marathons. Currently, marathon mode has not officially launched, but players can only participate in one marathon at a time.

3) Background Mode

Even if players only own one sneaker, they can earn GST without opening the STEPN App, as the app will directly retrieve step counts from the health data of the player's mobile device. Additionally, the step counts earned during background mode will not reduce the durability of the sneakers.

Moreover, the income cap in background mode is 3000 steps, and the earnings in background mode are fixed, not affecting sneaker quality or NFT badges.

4) Minting New Sneakers

Minting new sneakers requires two sneakers that are at least L5 level and have not been rented out, both having 100% durability. However, each sneaker can only be used to mint a new sneaker seven times. The process starts with a shoebox, which is then opened to reveal a new sneaker, with the quality of the new sneaker determined by the quality of the shoebox.

Additionally, minting common and rare quality sneakers only requires burning GST, while minting epic and legendary quality sneakers requires burning both GST and GMT. During this process, STEPN will charge a 6% tax that will flow into the game's treasury, and GMT holders will be able to vote on its distribution.

Therefore, players can also choose not to participate in movement and instead upgrade their sneakers to mint new ones, which can then be traded on the NFT marketplace for profit (with a transaction tax rate of 4%), making it more suitable for some gold farming guild strategies.

5) Renting Sneakers

STEPN has implemented an automatic matching system, allowing crypto players with multiple sneakers to rent them out to non-crypto running enthusiasts with a single click to earn income. During the rental process, STEPN will charge an 8% tax, and the income distribution between the renter and the owner is fixed at a ratio of 3/7.

Additionally, each player has a default credit rating of 2 stars upon joining the game. If a renter fails to fulfill the rental agreement, the system will deduct 1 star from their credit rating; if they successfully fulfill the agreement, the system will reward them with 0.1 stars. The maximum credit rating for renters is 5 stars.

Economic Mechanism

STEPN features a dual-token system, with the game token (GST) and the governance token (GMT). GST is used for various in-game activities, such as minting new sneakers, upgrading sneakers, and upgrading gems; GMT is used for profit distribution and high-end in-game activities, such as renaming sneakers and advanced upgrades.

The supply of GST is unlimited, generated when players exercise in single-player or background modes; GMT, however, is limited, with a total supply of 6 billion tokens available to players once their sneakers reach the highest level.

However, the daily earnings of both GST and GMT are capped. Players initially can earn a maximum of 5 GST per day, which can be increased to 150 GST per day by upgrading their sneakers; the daily earning cap for GMT is 5 tokens.

Currently, GST can be traded on Raydium, with 1 GST approximately equal to 1.63 USD, while GMT is not yet tradable.

Additionally, profits in the game are voted on in a DAO manner, with GMT holders deciding how much of the game's profits will be allocated to carbon neutrality as rewards. Players can also gain higher voting power by locking GMT in the profit pool.

Project Progress

Since its establishment in September this year, STEPN has achieved rapid growth in just four months. According to data from its official website, the total distance covered on mobile devices has exceeded 73,000 kilometers, reducing carbon emissions by 19.86 tons. On social media, STEPN has also generated significant buzz, with nearly 30,000 members on Discord and over 14,500 followers on Twitter.

From the current user distribution, STEPN is expanding globally, with a significant number of users from India and Southeast Asia.

In the future, STEPN will also gradually launch collaborations with various sports brands and wearable technology companies.

Conclusion

According to research from PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science journal), by 2015, 15% of the U.S. population was using applications to track their fitness activities. Currently, there are over 400 million fitness enthusiasts using running applications worldwide, and over a billion people use walking, jogging, or running as a form of exercise.

Additionally, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, people's awareness of personal health has increased, leading to a 33% annual growth rate in the online fitness industry in 2021. Therefore, combining exercise with the currently popular Play to Earn model into Move to Earn undoubtedly holds enormous market potential.

Moreover, STEPN's innovative Move to Earn concept, along with its cool NFT assets, is likely to attract players from the crypto space easily. For non-crypto market users, especially those who have used applications to track their activities, encountering the STEPN App will not feel too unfamiliar, making them willing to try and enter the world of Web 3.

Some community users even claim that in the future, whether delivery workers or crypto industry practitioners facing bankruptcy can earn extra income through this app.

More importantly, STEPN has designed multiple attributes for its NFT assets, greatly enriching the gameplay and fun of the game. By balancing the earning effects of different gameplay options, players can explore strategies that suit them, which will also enhance player retention in STEPN.

On the technical side, STEPN also has certain advantages, such as how mobile devices can prove that players have started moving and how far they have moved. It also addresses how to store generated game assets and prevent hacking attacks. Furthermore, STEPN has designed an anti-cheating system that uses GPS tracking, motion sensors, and machine learning for data simulation to prevent players from cheating.

However, the Move to Earn concept is still relatively new and requires market validation. Additionally, there are certain barriers to players' understanding of STEPN and its gameplay, especially against the backdrop of the current cooling interest in GameFi projects. Players still need to be cautious and aware of risks when participating.