I live in a major walking city. Movement is a prerequisite for getting from A to B. What if that activity alone could make me money?
That’s what the Move-to-earn crypto apps aim to do. By integrating with the gyroscope in your wearable or phone, they track your movement which builds points toward rewards in either crypto or partner products.
I downloaded Sweatcoin in 2022 and let it tick away in the background. It was fun to compare steps with my best friend (whom I convinced to try it out with me). But did we find it useful?
I’m going to take a deep dive into the move-to-earn market so you can decide if signing up is worth it. Come along as I explore blockchain fitness in 2025.
Health incentives: a speedy history
Gamifying health isn’t new. Move-to-earn apps are part of a long legacy of programs aimed at incentivizing populations toward healthier and happier lives.
Going back over 100 years ago, the temperance movement generated several predecessors to move-to-earn crypto apps. For example, Scottish Temperance Life Assurance Society was founded in 1883 and provided life insurance solely to those who abstained from alcohol with far lower premiums than conventional counterparts.
The Presidential Fitness Test will sound familiar to U.S. Millennial and GenX readers. Started in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the program set the stage for fitness awareness and milestones across the United States. Today’s employee wellness incentive programs are said to have grown out of this school-based fitness program.
Governments continue to incentivise good health in its citizens. In 2018, the UK incentivised pregnant women to stop smoking with a £400 voucher to local shops. Manchester is offering a similar program this year.
Several states across the USA are also incentivizing health activities and services through various grants and financial rewards. However, the results are mixed — incentives don’t always translate to personal care and habit changes. That begs the question: can wearables and crypto change the equation?
What are move-to-earn apps?
Move-to-earn (or M2E) is a blockchain-incentivized fitness scheme that rewards users with crypto, points, and discounted products. The projects combine traditional fitness incentivisation with decentralized finance (DeFi) and wearables to deliver real-time health results with the intent to ‘gamify’ fitness.
How do they work?
M2E apps are designed to seamlessly integrate with your smart devices to track and reward movement. Depending on the app, your movement will be rewarded with app-native crypto that can be traded for products, other crypto, or cashed out. Some M2E apps also deliver milestone NFTs which are held in their native wallet.
Their Web3 influence includes democratizing health data, tokenizing data, and building a “sporty” NFT portfolio. Move-to-earn apps could add to the Web3 healthcare reform.
Move-to-earn crypto projects: three real world examples
There have been many move-to-earn crypto projects on the market over the past few years. Sadly, some, such as Fitmint and Moow, haven’t passed go. Several, however, have staying power. Let’s have a look at those in it for the marathon.
I personally found the required purchase of a ‘sneaker’ in the StepN app a deterrent to getting started. The idea behind it is like that of a gym — you are more likely to keep up with a goal if you have ‘skin’ in the game. The average user earns out the initial investment in 1-3 months. However, they must reinvest in the ‘upkeep’ of their sneakers, a token mechanism that counteracts inflation.
My favorite concept, your Genopet is healthy when you are. This level of externalization of one’s personal fitness psychologically amplifies the consequences of sedentarianism. Similar to StepN, one must purchase a Habitat for their pet in order to earn; the ‘free to play’ or F2P level does not earn the user KI Tokens.
This is where I have personal experience. Starting was easy — just download the app and create an account. Background app refresh is necessary for counting all steps, but I found that the app can still capture a lot of my movement without it. I also had to opt in to the ad data sharing, something that I find personally alienating (I turned off what I could). Of these three, Seatcoin’s app UX is the most clunky.
Move-to-earn apps: fad or the future?
The move-to-earn market space has experienced the typical ups and downs of an early-stage market. Today, StepN’s GMT coin dominates the space, holding nearly 2/3 of the total market cap. Sweatcoin owns the runner-up slot. That being said, Genopets has performed the best over the past three months. Given that the sector launched in 2021 (though Sweatcoin as a tokenless app launched in 2015), this activity looks normal.
On the human side, the communities surrounding these apps are booming. The subreddit for StepN has over 48k members, and its corresponding Discord server has over 220k members. Sweatcoin’s subreddit involves a modest 20k members while their Discord server boasts over 130k members. Genopets’ subreddit only has 5k members. That contrasts against their Disord server hosts where a healthy 150k members interact and share results. Could the pet be the unique motivator I predicted?
According to the numbers, this industry is healthy and happening. Users are enthusiastic and the communities are a great place to be. I predict this is a great time to get into M2E apps: the market cap is modest but the movement is growing, making it a great investment that will surely age well for your wallet (and body).
If you do, there’s one important factor to keep in mind: make sure to offer real utility and motivation beyond the crypto earnings. Our soon-to-be-published research report on crypto consumer apps explains why and has details.
Joining the race
A final thought regarding this growing sector: DeSoc has been having a growth moment thanks to the uncertainty TikTok faces in the United States. I could easily see move-to-earn apps grabbing some of that space — health networks and communities tend to be resilient and positive.
Our Web3 research report covers the topic of consumer-facing crypto apps and includes a deeper analysis of M2E and similar apps. It guides you as you move into this Web3 app space (pun totally intended). 😉. Read the report Crypto Apps for Consumers Are Here to Stay.