STEPN - Issue #70
In this newsletter, we are profiling STEPN [GST]. In previous newsletters, we have profiled Bitcoin, Cardano, Stablecoins, Uniswap, and many others. Access all our newsletters in our archives at madcapx.substack.com.
The Short of It
Get your virtual sneakers on and go for a real walk to start earning some crypto tokens. But is STEPN worth the investment?
Profiling
STEPN was started in 2021 by blockchain entrepreneur Yawn Rong of the Australian fintech group called Find Satoshi Lab. It is a Web3 lifestyle app that lets players “move-to-earn.” Their goal is to get people more physically active by walking, jogging, and running while also contributing to carbon neutrality. Two tokens are involved with this ecosystem, namely GST (Green Satoshi Token) and GMT (Green Metaverse Token), both of which can be found on the Binance Smart Chain and Solana blockchains.
GST, their utility token, is used for payments in purchases of NFT sneakers in the smartphone app, as well as for rewards for walking, jogging, or running daily. Players also use GST to buy NFT gem enhancements for their shoe, level up, and mint new shoes. GST has an unlimited supply but is burned when used for shoe maintenance and upgrades. GMT is their governance token and only has a maximum supply of 6 million. Players can only earn GMT after levelling a shoe to level 30. The GMT can be staked, and voting power is determined by how long of a lock-in period it has been staked. Voters get to determine things like the distribution of staking rewards and future developments. The release of GMT halves every three years.
Once you have downloaded the STEPN app, which is available for both Android and iOS devices, you will need to obtain an activation code. Activation codes are generated by players expending energy using the app, which they then provide to others. Currently, it is rather challenging to obtain an activation code and can possibly take you multiple days begging on social media sites. There are also frequent official “code drops,” which are gobbled up very quickly.
After activating the STEPN app, you have to purchase an NFT sneaker. You can go walking/running without a shoe, and it will track and store your movements like usual, but you will not be rewarded. The marketplace has four different kinds of sneakers: walkers, joggers, runners, and trainers. With walkers, you must maintain a walking speed within 1 to 6 km/h. Joggers require a speed of 4 to 10 km/h. Running needs a consistent pace of 8 to 20 km/h. Finally, trainers allow you to do any speed between 1 and 20 km/h. At the starting level of all shoe types, you can only do ten continuous minutes of activity a day. Sneakers come with four main attributes: efficiency (which affects how well GST is earned while moving), luck (which increases your chance of getting loot boxes dropped while moving), comfort (which affects how much GMT is earned after level 30), and resilience (which determines how much wear and tear your shoes have after a movement session). They also come with four gem slots that allow you to boost the four base attributes. As shoes wear down with usage, they will start generating fewer rewards and will need to be repaired (using GST). The reward mechanism depends on “proof-of-movement,” which utilizes the device GPS and motion sensors to ascertain that a player is really walking, jogging, or running rather than riding in a car or on a bike. It also analyzes movement patterns to make sure the device has not been strapped to an animal like a dog running around the yard.
You can purchase multiple sneakers in the app but can only have one applied at a time. Sneakers can be paired with another to mint (paying GST) a new sneaker. Each sneaker can only be used to mint up to seven times, with each subsequent minting costing more to perform. New sneakers can then be used or put on the market. Currently, a base-level sneaker with poor attributes and usually two minting slots already used are going for around 12 SOL. In the fall of this year, rental sneakers will become available. This allows anybody to borrow a sneaker for free and use it to earn 30% of the rewards while the owner gets 70%.
While STEPN is already released and being actively used, there are several other apps utilizing the same method, such as Kalo.run, Step.app, Wirtual, and Genopets. Is the “move-to-earn” system just a fad or something that is here to stay? If you believe in the project and want to earn to get in shape, get in on this today!
Trend Lines
STEPN tokens have minimal trading history on the major exchanges going back only to March 2022. Both tokens are in a bullish trend.
GST/USDT pairing started trading at $2.68 and has yet to go below that opening price. Peaking just a few days ago, April 28, 2022, at $9.45 for a gain of 250%.
The GMT token started trading at $0.01 with a peak of $4.17. Within five days, it gained 367% in late March 2022. Currently, GMT can be traded on more exchanges than GST. For example, Bybit lists GMT on their USDT Perpetual with up to 50x leverage.
Will the bottom of the trend line break and start a trend down? This user is expecting it will go down plenty. Since it is listed on Bybit, you can short it if that is what you are also seeing happen.
The Other Trend Lines
BTC chart from a user on TradingView:
price created pattern falling wedge which can push price to make upward correction impulse. Target can be in first resistance zone 41.000-42.000 Dollars. But I'm not exclude the possibility of another one decline to support level 37.000 Dollars.
ETH chart from user on TradingView:
If price rejects the top of channel and keep falling, then will be looking for short. If price Breaks above the channel, will be looking for a retest of the "Resistance-turned-support" before price goes for a bull run. Depending on the momentum of the initial bull run, we may not be able to get a retest and would have to look for entries on the continuation.
Portfolios
This portfolio section gives you an idea of what sort of return you can get when investing in crypto assets.
BTC/USD FUND is up 258% since October 1st, 2020. Since this is a long-term holding, it is best kept in cold wallet storage or a safe custody solution. We continue to see a long-term hold position as our best stable alternative. This past week bitcoin has been ranging between $37,386 and $40,797 USD in value.
FUND 3 started on November 16, 2020, with $1000 USD in value and was invested into BTC, LTC, ETH, and ADA. The total amount of BTC value from the four coins has had a gain of 61% since the start. The USD fund value is up 272% since the beginning. We will hold these positions to see how well it does against our BTC-only portfolio. LTC is down -39% against BTC. ETH is up 169% against BTC since the start. ADA has a gain of 225% against BTC and 642% to USD.
BLWX Fund started on February 22, 2021. They all are assets we have profiled in the last few months, and we are interested in how they will perform in 2021 against BTC. BAT has gained 50% against BTC since the start; LINK is down -63%, WAVES is up 57%, and XMR is up 19%. Overall, against BTC, the fund is up 16% and down -15% against USD.
Overall, Bitcoin should be your first choice as an investment in crypto, though many digital assets can give you amazing gains if you manage your risk. As a long-term investor, we see it as our largest portfolio investment. If you are a day trader, there are many great assets to put on your watch list. Look through our previous newsletters to find some.
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About
MadCapX research newsletter is written by the Madbyte Team. You can learn more about Madbyte and MadCapX on our websites.
Madbyte does have its own token called MADX on the Fantom and Ethereum networks and under the symbol Madbyte on the Waves network. The tokens are interchangeable on Madcapx.com.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this newsletter is intended to serve as financial advice. Therefore, do your own research and due diligence before applying any of the techniques highlighted in this post. Any risks or trades based on this newsletter are committed at your own risk.