Blockchain and Fitness—Is Move-to-Earn a Sustainable Model?

The Move-to-Earn dream is long gone. By 2025, all that remains are distant memories and a few NFT sneakers collecting dust in Ethereum’s forgotten corners. But how did these platforms win us over, only to lose their grip? And is there a path to redemption?

Walking on Gold… or Just Pocket Change?

It all started with an idea as effortless as a morning stretch: what if movement had real financial value? Blockchain, the same technology that turned dreamers into crypto millionaires, powered the Move-to-Earn movement. Gone were the days of meaningless fitness badges—here, every step promised real tokens, actual money.

When STEPN launched on Solana in 2021, it introduced the world to a futuristic idea: buy a pair of NFT sneakers (no, they won’t protect you from rain), step outside, and let GPS track your movement while the app rewards you with Green Satoshi Tokens (GST) or Green Metaverse Tokens (GMT).

By 2022, these digital kicks came with a jaw-dropping price tag of $800 to $1,000. Expensive? Absolutely. But they dangled the promise of up to $100 a day in earnings—enough to make a morning run feel like a day at the office.

STEPN wasn’t the only game in town when it came to turning footsteps into fortune.

Sweatcoin had been at it since 2018, rewarding every step with SWEAT tokens. Genopets took a more playful approach, letting users raise digital pets like it was a crypto version of Pokémon Go. Step App upped the ante with augmented reality—and even recruited Usain Bolt, who apparently decided running for tokens was cooler than running for gold.

The pitch was simple: walk, burn calories, lose weight, make money. And for a while, the market was all in.

A Game of Steps and Stakes

Move-to-Earn’s genius was in how it turned the simple act of walking into a full-fledged game of strategy and reward. In STEPN, your NFT sneakers weren’t just an accessory—they were the key to a system where movement translated into income. The better your sneakers—measured in rarity and efficiency—the higher your earnings per step. And just like in an RPG, your tokens could be reinvested to boost your performance or create new sneakers. The twist? Instead of fighting off mythical creatures, you were fighting off the urge to stay on the couch.

During the crypto frenzy of 2022, some enthusiasts spent up to $1,400 on these digital shoes, while Step App’s $600 versions felt almost modest in comparison. Then, with STEPN GO partnering with adidas, a new dynamic entered the game—group runs, social bragging rights, and the chance to be part of a movement that blended fitness with financial opportunity.

Genopets took Move-to-Earn in a whole new direction—forget sneakers, here you were feeding a virtual pet with every step you took. It sounded like an easy win with a free-to-play model, but to make real money, you needed NFTs and a love for in-game leveling mechanics. Steps turned into experience, pets grew stronger, and you could either sell them or send them into battles.

Sweatcoin, on the other hand, played the minimalist card—no NFTs, no complexity, just step outside and start stacking SWEAT tokens. With 120 million users, it became the go-to option for those who wanted rewards without the crypto learning curve.

Step App wasn’t just about running—it was about running in style. Powered by the Avalanche blockchain and fueled by FITFI and KCAL tokens, it threw in augmented reality effects to make your daily jog feel like an adventure straight out of the metaverse.

Curious about how these projects stack up financially? Read our breakdown of the Top 5 Move-to-Earn Projects by StepN Type.

Fallen Rivals of the Move-to-Earn Frenzy

For a moment, STEPN was unstoppable—300,000 new users joining every day, GMT skyrocketing 17x in just a few months. In early 2022, it felt like blockchain fitness was on the verge of global domination.

But competitors weren’t far behind, each carving out its own niche.

Take Sweatcoin—it had already built a massive following long before the crypto hype. When it moved to NEAR Protocol and rolled out its own SWEAT token, it took on the role of the industry’s wise elder. No need for a thousand-dollar buy-in, but also no get-rich-quick promises. Earning a dollar for 10 kilometers? That’s pocket change, not life-changing money. Still, thanks to partnerships with Adidas and Nike, Sweatcoin kept one foot firmly planted in reality—something NFT-driven projects struggled to do. 

Genopets went all in on the gaming angle. Instead of just earning money from walking, users fed a virtual creature with their steps—raising it, battling with it, and maybe even turning a profit if they got deep enough into the mechanics. Built on the Solana blockchain, it was like a Tamagotchi for the Web3 era, designed for those who wanted their fitness routine to come with a side of nostalgia and a splash of crypto.

Step App was basically STEPN’s twin—but with a few extras to make it stand out: Usain Bolt as its ambassador, flashy AR graphics, and a dual-token system where FITFI handled governance and KCAL served as rewards.

Other projects tried to carve out their own niche. Dotmoovs let users earn MOOV tokens by dancing or playing football, skipping NFTs altogether. Calo Run was a near-carbon copy of STEPN, briefly luring runners with payouts of up to $23 a day.

But none of them lasted. By 2024, the Move-to-Earn gold rush was over, leaving most of these projects as little more than footnotes in crypto history.

The Financial Reality of Move-to-Earn

At first glance, the Move-to-Earn model seemed like a perfect blend of motivation and technology. Research from TIME journalist Katy Milkman highlighted the effectiveness of financial incentives in driving physical activity, while real-life success stories—such as Stefan earning $100 per day on STEPN—gave the concept credibility. With added health benefits and a sense of community, the model appeared to have it all.

However, the financial reality was a different story.

The cost of participation was steep. In 2022, STEPN sneakers carried a $1,400 price tag, while Step App’s entry cost was still a hefty $600. Sweatcoin and Genopets lowered the barrier with free onboarding, but in order to generate significant earnings, users still had to invest. The Move-to-Earn revolution wasn’t as financially accessible as it first seemed.

And then, the crash came. GST tanked by 85%, leaving those who had dreamt of passive income from running with little more than coffee money. User retention? A lost cause. The moment tokens stopped raining down like free cash, people vanished—STEPN took the first hit.

By 2025, these once-hyped apps had faded into near-obscurity. A few thousand dedicated runners still grind for $2–$3 a day, Sweatcoin’s payouts are barely enough to notice, and Genopets survives purely on pet resales. Turns out, fitness-for-crypto was only fun while the rewards outweighed the effort.

Is Move-to-Earn Entering a New Phase?

Move-to-Earn wasn’t just another passing trend—it demonstrated how nearly every aspect of life could be tokenized: steps, sleep, even what you had for dinner. Nike has already launched its own NFT sneakers, and insurers could soon start rewarding policyholders for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, Step App, with its AR integration and Adidas partnership, along with projects like OliveX’s Fitness Metaverse, hinted at a future where running feels more like starring in your own movie.

Yet concerns remain. Without continuous onboarding of new participants, some argue that the model lacks sustainability. And for all the value placed on physical activity, the real winners might be data brokers collecting every step you take.

By 2025, the hype had faded, and most users had packed up and left, leaving STEPN and similar apps as digital artifacts of a once-booming trend. Sure, you can still make money running, but forget those early-day riches—now, you’re looking at a humble $5 a day at best.

Step back and think about it, and you’ll realize the real reward isn’t crypto—it’s your health, the one asset that won’t nosedive like a failing token. Move-to-Earn might have lost its golden glow, but the concept remains. Who knows? Maybe one day, a clever marketer with a blockchain-powered vision and a few well-placed fitness puns will revive it all over again.

As long as the sneakers don’t cost more than a small rocket launch, we might just be in.