STEPN Announces Weekly Challenges to Mark Its 1st Anniversary

STEPN is about to turn a year old. The M2E app will celebrate its first anniversary in September and is planning a series of weekly challenges to mark the event. Dubbed the STEPNEMBER challenges, these events will give STEPN users new, exciting, and fresh ways to interact with the web3 app.

This September STEPN turns 1🎂
Where did the year go? Stay tuned for something fresh rolling in and get your sneakers ready for weekly #STEPNEMBER challenges🏃#STEPN #STEPNversary pic.twitter.com/EQ68fpaxwq

— STEPN | Public Beta Phase V (@Stepnofficial) August 29, 2022

STEPNversary Challenge: What We Know

So far, STEPN has not released many specific details about its anniversary challenges. However, there are a few hints we can pick up from the initial announcement on Twitter.

For starters, it seems these challenges will run for all four weeks in September. We also expect the web3 app to launch a series of rewards for each challenge, including shoe box giveaways and much more.

Also, the STEPNEMBER challenge will feature unique STEPN sneaker challenges. More details on the events will come out over the coming days.

STEPN’S Scorecard: Highlights from The First Year

STEPN was launched in August 2021 as a web3 lifestyle app that rewards movement. Built on Solana, the app has grown to become the biggest M2E project in the world. The past 12 months have also seen STEPN achieve critical milestones, all of which have come to define its success to this day.

First, the app continues to see steady user growth. According to Dune Analytics, STEPN has achieved a cumulative active user base of 600,000 people since launching.

Also, STEPN had around 40,000 active daily users during its peak in May. This number has, however, declined over the last few months. As of July, daily active STEPN users stood at less than 10,000. Much of this decline has been attributed to negative sentiment in the broader crypto market.

Profitability and Earnings

STEPN has also seen its overall profits and earnings grow despite significant headwinds in the crypto industry. In fact, Q2 earnings in 2022 showed that STEPN was on the fast lane towards profitability less than 12 months since its inception.

According to the earnings report, the app managed to net in $122 million in Q2. However, the M2E app did not provide additional details on Q3 projections.

However, owing to the declining active daily users, it is likely that Q3 profits will drop. STEPN makes most of its money by charging a transaction fee on NFT sneaker purchases.

Surviving The Bear Market

Perhaps the biggest highlight for STEPN over the last 12 months is how it managed to survive the crypto bear market. 2022 has been a tough year for crypto investors.

All coins have fallen sharply from their 2021 highs. Due to challenging market conditions, we have also had fully fledged crypto firms close shop.

But STEPN, even though it looked vulnerable, has navigated these rough waters with relative ease. The move-to-earn app has managed to keep its community engaged and believes that its unique approach in M2E will be sustainable for a long time to come.

Read More: How STEPN survived the crypto winter.

GMT Hits an All-Time High

The last 12 months were also quite good for the GMT, STEPN’s governance token. During its peak in May, GMT rose to around $4.11. This was an all-time high and came at a time when most coins were plummeting.

However, GMT was not able to maintain these lofty heights. At the time of writing, the token was trading at $0.65. This represents a drop of nearly 85%.

According to data from CoinMarketcap.com, the GMT token now has a market cap of about $400 million. It is unlikely that the coin will reclaim its ATH this year.

Sentiment in the crypto market remains very negative. Many experts also feel that the crypto market is due for another significant crash before it finds its footing. This will place extra pressure on GMT.

Looking Ahead: STEPN’s Upcoming Hurdles

STEPN’s first year anniversary this September will be a moment of pride for the lifestyle app and its team. But it will also be a time of reflection.

Although the app has done relatively well so far, many challenges still lie ahead. First, STEPN faces increasing competition in the M2E space from other new, more exciting apps. But there is more.

Starter Costs

STEPN’s biggest Achilles heel has often been the relatively higher startup costs for new users. In fact, this will become a more significant challenge in the future for two reasons.

First, STEPN’s in-game earnings must increase substantially to make the initial startup investment worthwhile.

Secondly, more and more M2E apps are now offering a free-to-play option where no initial investment is needed. This could eat away at STEPN’s future market unless there are significant changes.

GMT Earnings

For the past 12 months, all in-game earnings in STEPN have been paid out using the Green Satoshi Token (GST), the primary utility token for the STEPN economy.

However, a few weeks ago, the M2E app began offering GMT earnings. This was done to help loyal STEPN users maximize earnings in the long run.

However, the initial GMT earnings plan is very limited. STEPN must find ways to expand it in the future without affecting the balance of its in-game economy. This could be a massive incentive in maintaining active members.

A Shaky Crypto Market

Finally, STEPN will still need to navigate a shaky crypto market to keep its momentum. So far, the M2E app has done well to overcome a significant crypto winter. However, based on current trends, the worse is yet to come.

It will be fascinating to see if the app can maintain some semblance of steady growth before the end of 2022. If this happens, we may pick things up next year with upward momentum in the broader crypto industry. This will be a big plus for STEPN.

The Sustainability Question

Like all web3 apps with an M2E and P2E mechanic, there is always a big question of how sustainable they can be. STEPN, in particular, has seen a massive explosion of growth primarily because of the alluring earning opportunity.

But what happens if earnings plummet? The app must find new ways to incentivize people to use it beyond the GST and GMT earnings. Success for STEPN will come down to user retention.