Joining hands with Adidas, can StepN, which sells NFT shoes, create another craze?

It’s hard for old players in the Web3 world not to know about StepN. Recently, this Web3 application that once introduced the "Move To Earn" gameplay to the world has finally made new moves after two years of silence: April On the 15th, StepN announced that it would cooperate with the well-known sports brand Adidas to launch a gameplay that combines physical objects with NFT, returning to the horizons of NFT users.

In 2022, StepN, which “allowed 3 million people to own the first pair of virtual shoes”, became popular all over the world. Track and field enthusiasts in Japan, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom and even many places in China used to “make money while walking” "I received a pair of "NFT sneakers" from StepN. At this point, the mileage walked or run is no longer just a "competition" in the circle of friends, but can also be monetized through NFT.

Transforming the popular "Play To Earn" model in GameFi, the "Move to Earn" gameplay pioneered by StepN quickly became popular, especially among those friends who are happy to play on WeChat Web2 users who share "daily steps" in circles or sports software.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In May 2022, StepN suddenly announced that it would withdraw users from mainland China. Related crypto assets in the application ecosystem plummeted. The "death spiral" that GameFi projects had experienced long ago came to StepN. Since then, the downhill road has become a journey that the application cannot escape.

The news of cooperation with Adidas has reunited StepN, and the application has begun to empower its governance token GMT again. The development team Find Satoshi Lab launched a chain game Gas Hero last year, and GMT has also increased Another application scenario is game tokens. Two years after its halo has faded, can StepN, which has teamed up with the big IP Adidas, recreate its past myth?

StepN joins hands with Adidas’ big IP to shine again

The NFT sneakers launched by StepN in cooperation with Adidas are called “STEPNxAdidas Genesis Sneakers”. Public information shows that the NFT series of sneakers is built on the Solana chain. , containing a total of 1,000 items, inspired by the silhouette of Adidas’ most iconic running shoes.

<img src="/static/imghw/default1.png" data-src="https://img.php.cn/upload/article/000/465/014/171412224528266.png" class="lazy" alt="Joining hands with Adidas, can StepN, which sells NFT shoes, create another craze?">StepN与Adidas推出的NFT运动鞋已完成铸造

As of now, 1,000 running shoe NFTs from the STEPN x adidas Genesis Sneakers series have been minted (Mint) on the launch market MOOAR, with a successful minting volume of 994 and 629 holder addresses. The token used to consume this series of NFTs is StepN's governance token GMT. Currently, the floor price of this series of NFTs is 20,000 GMT, and the secondary market price of GMT is temporarily quoted at US$0.24. Then the floor price of STEPN x adidas Genesis Sneakers NFT is equivalent to US$4,800.

You should know that on April 17, when the NFT was distributed through a lottery on MOOAR, the unit price was still 10,000 GMT, which was approximately US$2,500 at the time. As of April 25, the floor price of the NFT has doubled in GMT, and the floor price has increased by 92% in USDT (USD stable currency).

The users who hold the NFT and directly obtain the floor price increase mainly come from community members led by Adidas and StepN developer Find Satoshi Lab (FSL). This is a whitelist user of the lottery distribution method. It is reported that, They will also receive exclusive benefits. Previously, StepN also launched an airdrop event worth US$30 million for loyal players and ecological asset holders.

Judging from the above developments, the release of the STEPN x adidas Genesis Sneakers series is more like a sticky event for old users.

Dune data also shows that StepN’s user activity has increased before and after this launch event, but if these curves are compared with data before August 2023 , this rebound in activity is just a "little wave".

The severe damage caused by the "death spiral" has not yet been repaired‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

StepN's highlight moment was suspended in May 2022. The project "corresponds to regulatory policies and stops providing GPS and IP to users in mainland China." The announcement of "Location Service" officially ended its operation in the mainland Chinese market. What followed was the plunge of the tokens GMT and GST in the project ecology and the price of NFT sneakers. It is difficult for the GameFi project to escape the "death" The "spiral" is also beginning to approach it.

<img src="/static/imghw/default1.png" data-src="https://img.php.cn/upload/article/000/465/014/171412224534300.png" class="lazy" alt="Joining hands with Adidas, can StepN, which sells NFT shoes, create another craze?">StepN的GMT在2022年经历短暂高峰后沉寂

Like another phenomenal chain game Axie, the "dual-token" economic model once again failed in StepN. In its economic system, the unlimited supply of GST is a reward generated when users exercise. , the main purpose is to upgrade the game experience, such as generating, repairing and upgrading NFT running shoes, etc.; while GMT, with a total supply of approximately 5.368 billion, is defined as a governance token, mainly used for trading NFT or as collateral for financial scenarios in the game wait.

StepN needs to find ways to keep the output and consumption of tokens in a more balanced state. However, the supply of GST is unlimited, but the scenarios are limited, which means that the output of GST is likely to exceed consumption; while GMT not only has limited scenarios, but its value is also strongly bound to NFT. Once GMT or NFT depreciate rapidly, both may cause The value of the two assets plummeted, forming a vicious cycle.

The "sudden withdrawal" news in May 2022 became a trigger. The asset selling behavior of the users who were withdrawn quickly exposed the flaws of StepN's dual-token model.

Up to now, StepN still maintains the dual-token model. The way it has found for itself is to increase the application scenarios of tokens, especially GMT, which can better represent the market value of the project.

In order to activate the GMT ecosystem, StepN has made a lot of efforts.

First is the "joint strategy". Currently, GMT is the voting token for members of the NFT market MOOAR. Member users of the market can use GMT to vote for pre-release NFTs on the new section "Launchpad" of MOOAR. Users who win the vote have the opportunity to obtain the right to mint new NFTs. This approach adds application scenarios to GMT.

In addition, MOOAR members can also use GMT to trade NFTs or create AIGC NFT collections. This approach is increasing GMT consumption.

In addition to uniting external parties, StepN is also creating new usage scenarios for GMT within the ecosystem. At the end of last year, the development team Find Satoshi Lab launched the blockchain game "Gas Hero". The game did not issue new tokens and directly used GMT as an in-game consumption token, such as strengthening game characters. The development team also spent approximately 2 million GMT to reward game character creators and promised to pay a 2% royalty.

Add scenarios and increase consumption. With the efforts of StepN, GMT gradually rose from the lowest point of US$0.1 to US$0.24. CoinGecko recorded an increase of -26.5% for the token during the year, and in April 2022 On March 28, GMT’s highest point was $4.11.

Scenario empowerment does not seem to bring about essential changes. It is worth noting that after StepN cooperates with Adidas on NFT, both parties will also jointly launch physical products. There have been successful cases of NFT IP taking the physical route. The Pudgy Toys launched by the NFT series Pudgy Penguins were welcomed by ordinary consumers and once promoted the sales of native NFTs.

As a once phenomenal product, StepN has accumulated a user base in the previous cycle. This is its advantage. After joining forces with big IPs like Adidas, it is more important than issuing new shoes NFT to win over old users. The direction is to leverage its strength, get out of the circle again, and turn itself into an IP with broader and more innovative applications. After all, only traffic can bring the amount of funds that promote the value of crypto assets in the ecosystem.

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