Move-to-Earn (M2E) represents an emerging web3 economic model that offers incentives to users for engaging in fitness and sports activities. This innovative approach presents several avenues through which individuals can generate income, including exercising, staking, trading, and minting. By actively participating in physical activities, users can earn rewards within the M2E ecosystem. Additionally, staking assets and engaging in trading activities contribute to potential income generation. Furthermore, users can explore minting options to create unique in-game assets that can be utilized or traded within the M2E space. With these varied earning opportunities, Move-to-Earn provides a new and exciting way for individuals to monetize their fitness and sports involvement.
The Business Model of Move to Earn
Move to earn apps, similar to play to earn, operate with various business models. Some of these apps are free to use, while others require participants to purchase NFTs to begin, such as the case with STEPN, where users need to buy or rent sneakers before engaging in the game. As players engage in physical activities, they can earn cryptocurrencies that can be utilized to acquire or enhance NFTs within blockchain games, aiding their progress. Additionally, there is often a secondary market where players can convert their in-game items into cash by selling their NFTs or cryptocurrency rewards.
Earn via Exercising
Move to earn games leverage the sensors of participants’ mobile devices, such as GPS and step counters, to track their movements and reward them for exercising. This approach forms the foundation of the move to earn model, encouraging activities like running, jogging, and more. Many web3 fitness apps incentivize users with unique in-game currencies or assets, which can be converted to other cryptocurrencies or used for online purchases.
Earn via Trading
Trading is another avenue for earning within the move to earn ecosystem. As in-game cryptocurrency items and NFTs play a central role, there is a thriving market for these assets on secondary platforms like OpenSea and LooksRare.
Earn via Staking
Staking is a feature found in certain move to earn apps, particularly those employing GameFi mechanics. For instance, Step App offers perpetual staking, allowing users to stake their assets and receive ongoing rewards. Similarly, STEPN users can stake their Sneaker NFTs to generate rewards.
Earn via Minting
Minting is another method offered by apps like STEPN and Step App, enabling participants to create special in-game NFTs that can be utilized or traded on secondary markets.
Best M2E (Move to Earn) Games
- 1. StepN
M2E game/appSTEPNBlockchainSolanaTokenGMTPlatformBrowser, mobile
STEPN, also referred to as StepN, is a move-to-earn app that has experienced a significant decline in price since its all-time high. However, it continues to maintain the highest market capitalization among all move-to-earn cryptocurrencies in the market.
As of today, the market cap of the app is $600 million, positioning it within the top 100 cryptocurrencies across various sectors. The native governance token of the StepN platform is called GMT, or Green Metaverse Token. During its previous bullish cycle, GMT reached a peak market cap of $2 billion, with its highest recorded price on Binance being $4.18.
StepN and GMT remain the most widely recognized move-to-earn crypto game and coin, garnering substantial social engagement, popularity in Google trends, and positive attention on platforms like LunarCrush. Major crypto venture capital firms, including Binance Labs and Alameda Research, have invested in StepN, further endorsing its potential.
To participate in the move-to-earn ecosystem of StepN, users typically start by purchasing NFT sneakers. The floor price of these sneakers has recently dropped from 14 SOL to as low as 1.35 SOL on Magic Eden. Consequently, for those who believe in its long-term recovery, the StepN move-to-earn ecosystem may present an attractive investment opportunity due to the current lower prices.
One contributing factor to the decline in value was China’s decision to ban StepN, given that a significant portion of its user base and players of move-to-earn crypto games are located in Asia. Nevertheless, the chief marketing officer of StepN remains optimistic about the success of their move-to-earn (M2E) app, stating that “NFTs are the future of fitness.”
- 2. SweatCoin
At the beginning of this year, the Sweatcoin token experienced a bullish trend, witnessing a 36.7% gain in the first two months. Users can earn one Sweatcoin (SWEAT) for every 1,000 steps they take. These earned tokens can then be exchanged on the platform’s marketplace for a range of items, including high-tech shoes, iPhones, anti-gravity yoga classes, and more.
However, as the move-to-earn game matures, the rewards for steps taken will gradually decrease to preserve the token’s value.
Here are some notable advantages of Sweatcoin:
- Low barrier to entry: Walking is a simple activity that anyone can do, making Sweatcoin accessible to a wide range of users.
- Token burning: The project employs a mechanism to burn SWEAT tokens, which helps maintain their value over time.
- Investment features: The new Sweat Wallet app provides users with various investment options, allowing them to stake their tokens and explore additional opportunities.
- Versatile token usage: SWEAT coins can be used to purchase NFTs and contribute to selected causes through donations.
- Cross-platform availability: Sweatcoin is available for both Android and iOS devices, ensuring widespread accessibility.
- 3. Step App
StepN, a move-to-earn app, faces competition from a similarly named platform called Step App, which has its own native token called FITFI. While GMT, StepN’s token, had the advantage of being an early mover and launched on Binance on March 9th, 2022, FITFI also initially performed well following its launch on Crypto.com on April 27th.
However, FITFI experienced a crash in mid-2022, which coincided with a broader decline in altcoins due to the impact of the LUNA and UST collapse on the crypto market. Additionally, concerns about Celsius, a company facing bankruptcy and potential liquidation with significant BTC and ETH holdings, further contributed to Bitcoin dropping to $17,600 and Ethereum to $880.
Some investors may view the current low price of FITFI as a potential opportunity to buy the dip, especially considering that it may be forming a rounded bottom pattern. However, more conservative investors might prefer to wait for a clearer market structure flip and the emergence of a new bullish uptrend, particularly on the monthly chart.
In late July 2022, Step App made headlines by announcing a partnership with Usain Bolt, the world record-holding athlete known as the fastest man in the world. This partnership could have a positive long-term impact on the FITFI price, as Bolt’s brand recognition and association with the move-to-earn app may help attract a broader user base.
FITFI serves as the governance token, while KCAL acts as the ecosystem token within the platform. Users can earn KCAL by completing fitness challenges or achieving personal milestones. These earned tokens can then be used to mint new sneakers (SNEAK), which are move-to-earn NFTs.