This article comes fromMedium, Odaily translator | Moni

, Odaily translator | Moni

Whether you admit it or not, blockchain technology has become mainstream, and Web 3 is revolutionizing the Internet, and at the same time subverting the "rules of the game" in many industries such as gaming, finance, and art. In the field of fitness, the birth of STEPN has injected more innovation into the industry.

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The rise of the "play and earn" P2E model

For the "earn while playing" NFT game market, 2021 is undoubtedly the most important year.

Play-to-earn projects like Axie Infinity and Thetan Arena have attracted millions of players while disrupting the traditional gaming world. With the rise of the pioneering "play and earn" game model, the value of the entire NFT game market has been pushed up to $2.3 billion.

The reason for the explosive growth of "play and earn" games is actually very simple. In the past, players would spend several hours a day in games like Fortnite, but their achievements in the game were difficult to translate into "value targets" in the real world, neither in the virtual world nor in the real world. A connecting bridge. And now, thanks to the interoperability of the blockchain and the emergence of NFT-based earn-by-play games, players can convert the achievements in the game into tangible "real value" in the real world.

Especially in the Southeast Asian market, earning while playing games has begun to change the lives of local people. More and more people are making a living playing games like Axie Infinity in virtual worlds, and are even using their gaming rewards to buy new homes.

Fitness, a New Billion-Dollar Web3 Opportunity

If you want to ask what is the next industry that may be disrupted by Web 3? The $4.7 trillion "fitness" industry is the most likely. As one of the fastest growing industries in the world, the fitness market is growing at an astonishing double-digit rate every year, and Web3 has only touched the tip of the iceberg of the fitness industry so far.

It has to be admitted that the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has accelerated the development of the fitness industry, because people have begun to pay more attention to their own health and maintenance.

But despite this, why not everyone can insist on jogging or walking? Although people know in their hearts that regular exercise can bring many benefits, they just can't insist on exercising outdoors, and many people can't overcome the boredom caused by exercise. After all, in the era of such a developed Internet, sitting indoors and playing with mobile phones It's much easier.

There are serious health problems worldwide due to lack of exercise. Surveys have shown that before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, physical activity activity was declining globally, and the spread of the epidemic has exacerbated such problems. Obesity rates among children and adults are at an all-time high; at the same time, mental health problems are on the rise, with rates of anxiety and depression soaring to unprecedented levels.

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When the "move and earn" model is injected into the fitness industry

The concept of "earn while playing" has made the game a great success. With the experience of pioneers, "earn while playing" applications such as STEPN have gradually turned fitness into gamification. It is hoped that through this Models have inspired millions of people to get active and improve their health.

Taking advantage of the two major industries of fitness and encryption, the field of "earning while moving" is exerting its huge influence-and the forces behind these trends can actually be summarized into four types of feedback loops. Next, let us see how STEPN used these four tricks to achieve success.

1. Motivate users

In order to better motivate users to exercise more, STEPN promises to use encrypted tokens as rewards. Although people know that going for a walk or jogging is good for their health, the inner inertia is hard to overcome. But with the added push of earning tokens, it seems a lot easier for people to get out the door.

2. Gamification of fitness

STEPN gradually gamifies fitness through measures such as in-game rewards, upgrades, customized sneakers, and daily energy subsidies. The gamified approach to fitness is a very good idea. It turns out that this approach can make fitness addictive and urge people to develop healthy habits of sticking to exercise.

Many experts believe that gamification of fitness actually represents the future of the fitness industry if designed properly. In fact, internet fitness is already moving in this direction, with fitness startups like Ergatta, Aviron, Zwift, and Playpulse all attracting VC attention and raising millions of dollars in funding. Additionally, the researchers demonstrated that gamified physical activity induces positive changes in users that can improve their health in the long-term.

3. Signal-as-a-Service comes to fitness in the form of proof-of-workout

The term "signaling-as-a-service" was coined by Linear executive Julian Lehr. Companies in the "signaling-as-a-service" space use a kind of "social capital" and "influence" to influence consumers, and this phenomenon has been powerfully reflected in the recent NFT craze. For example, those who buy the popular NFT are actually to show others that they can afford NFT, or to show that they can use superior network resources to help them understand the project and invest in it.

Now, this phenomenon is also appearing in the fitness field in the form of "proof-of-workout", the most famous example of which is Strava. Strava allows runners and cyclists to post photos of their workouts on the platform, interact with other users, and encourage more people to participate in the sport, rather than just giving simple sports data analysis.

Notably, the blockchain-based “move and earn” game model combines the power of these two budding trends. By offering NFTs and ensuring the tokenomics are designed in a way that enhances long-term value, the STEPN sneakers are becoming a “status signal” in their own right that can prove the status of your workout. It is based on this model that the value of STEPN's virtual sneakers has jumped, and some sneakers have sold for thousands of dollars in the built-in market.

There is also an emotional element behind the STEPN sneakers, and while repairing and upgrading a STEPN sneaker is relatively simple, it is certainly not an easy or quick process, and it can take weeks, or months, for a user to reach a certain level.

So if a user gets a pair of premium sneakers, it doesn't just mean that the user has a good revenue outcome, but also that they've put in the effort, exercised, and put in weeks or months of work to pay off. Although just a snapshot, it speaks volumes about the dedication and sweat the owner had to get his sneakers to that level. What's more, for fitness enthusiasts, their achievements will now be permanently stored on the blockchain and cannot be tampered with.

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STEPN's real-world impact

One of the main reasons why STEPN can shine in Web 3 is their impact on the real world. While using Web 3, it helps people "get out of" Web 3 and enter the real world.

Frankly, there are some voices in the market today that criticize Web 3 projects, claiming that they do not provide real-world utility. Of course, it is not unreasonable to say that, for example, some NFT projects of pictures do not seem to bring much "immediate value" to people.

Unlike other NFT projects, STEPN's value proposition is not limited to the web3 world. In addition to providing earn-as-you-play features and Web 3 experiences, they help everyone become a "better version of themselves": feel better, look better, and develop healthier habits. In the STEPN Discord community, hundreds of success stories and fitness transformation cases have been witnessed. Some users bluntly said that they have not actively exercised in the past ten years, but with the help of STEPN, they have developed a good habit of exercising outdoors every day .

Not only that, STEPN has almost no investment in marketing, but has won the favor of users with its strong network effect, and its influence is also rising. In December 2021, STEPN launched the public beta version. In just half a year since its launch, the number of users of this app has shown exponential growth.