Stepn (GMT)

Overview

STEPN is a mobile fitness app that connects outdoor exercise with digital collectibles and cryptocurrency. Players equip a virtual sneaker, then walk, jog, or run outdoors to take part in the game. Its token, GMT, stands for Green Metaverse Token. GMT is used for parts of the app’s economy, including sneaker upgrades, marketplace purchases, and governance activities. (stepn.com)

The idea is often called move-to-earn: physical movement is the activity at the center of the game. STEPN adds familiar game features, such as levels and collectible items, to a walking or running routine. It uses two main tokens with different jobs. GST, or Green Satoshi Token, supports many everyday game actions. GMT has a fixed maximum supply and a broader role across products made by STEPN’s creator, Find Satoshi Lab. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

History & Team

From a Solana project to a wider ecosystem

STEPN was co-founded by Jerry Huang and Yawn Rong. Huang brought experience in game development, while Rong had worked with startups and crypto projects. Their team entered the Solana Ignition hackathon in 2021, where STEPN placed fourth in the gaming category. Its early design centered on using digital rewards to make regular exercise more engaging. (binance.com)

In early 2022, STEPN announced a seed round backed by investors including Sequoia Capital, Folius Ventures, Solana Capital, and 6th Man Ventures. GMT was launched through a Binance Launchpad sale in March 2022. STEPN later expanded beyond its original Solana setting, adding other blockchain networks and related products. Those additions gave GMT uses beyond the first fitness app. (stepnofficial.medium.com)

Find Satoshi Lab has continued to develop the original app alongside STEPN GO, a separate movement-based app with more social features. The two share GMT, but their day-to-day game tokens differ. Understanding that distinction helps explain why a GMT holder may encounter several products without finding the same rules in each one. (go-whitepaper.stepn.com)

Technology & How It Works

Sneakers, movement, and energy

A STEPN sneaker is a non-fungible token, or NFT. An NFT is a digital item recorded on a blockchain, with its own identity and game properties. Sneakers come in different types and qualities. Their attributes help shape how they work in the app, while their type affects the walking or running speed that best fits them. (binance.com)

To begin a movement session, a player equips a sneaker and uses the app outdoors. STEPN measures the session through the phone and applies an energy system. Energy limits the time during which a player can earn tokens. Once it is used up, the player can keep moving, but that session stops producing movement rewards. The number and quality of a player’s sneakers can affect the amount of energy available. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

A newer player generally earns GST with a classic sneaker. At sneaker level 30, a player can switch between GST and GMT earning. GMT earnings depend partly on the sneaker’s Comfort attribute, its movement speed, and the number of other players earning GMT at the same time. STEPN also uses an anti-cheating system called SMAC to assess movement patterns, including activity that appears to involve vehicles, multiple devices, or simulated movement. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

Blockchain networks and realms

STEPN began on Solana and also supports BNB Chain and Polygon realms. A realm is the part of the game tied to a particular network. Each uses its own network version of GMT for its marketplace. For example, a player using the Solana realm needs the Solana version of GMT for purchases there. Blockchain transaction fees are paid in the network’s own asset, such as SOL on Solana. (support.stepn.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

A fixed GMT supply and two-token design

STEPN created six billion GMT at its token generation event on March 9, 2022. Its original allocation assigned 30% to move-to-earn rewards, 30% to the ecosystem and treasury, 16.3% to private-sale participants, 14.2% to the team, 7% to the Binance Launchpad sale, and 2.5% to advisers. The planned allocations describe where tokens were set aside; the release of allocated tokens follows separate schedules. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

GMT and GST serve different purposes. GST has an unlimited supply and is earned during movement with classic sneakers. Players spend it on actions such as repairs, leveling, and opening mystery boxes; GST spent in the app is burned. GMT can also be burned for particular actions, including sneaker minting, selected level milestones, higher-level gem upgrades, and changes to sneaker attributes. Burning means removing tokens from use rather than passing them to another player. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

GMT is also used to buy items in the STEPN marketplace and take part in governance activities. A scheduled reduction in GMT movement emissions began on January 1, 2026. Together, reward releases and in-app burns form the token’s supply model: players can earn GMT through eligible activity while other game actions remove some tokens from use. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Beyond the original fitness app

The original STEPN app brings together exercise, sneaker collecting, upgrades, and a marketplace. Players can choose how to use their sneakers: one may focus on regular GST sessions, while another may develop a higher-level sneaker for GMT earning. Gems, attributes, and other upgrades add choices that make the app feel more like a game than a simple step counter. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

STEPN GO builds on the outdoor movement idea but has its own game token, GGT. Its documented features include a system called The Haus, which lets players lend eligible sneakers or share energy with guests. GMT remains part of STEPN GO for activities such as certain upgrades. This gives the shared token a role across two apps while leaving their everyday reward systems distinct. (go-whitepaper.stepn.com)

Find Satoshi Lab also describes GMT uses in MOOAR, its NFT-related product, and other parts of its ecosystem. These connections give GMT more than one setting in which to be spent or used. They also make the token’s role easier to understand as an ecosystem tool: it links game features, digital items, and participation across related products. (go-whitepaper.stepn.com)

Advantages & Challenges

STEPN’s main strength is the clear link between a familiar activity and its game design. Walking and running give players a reason to open the app, while sneakers, levels, and attributes provide goals within it. The separation between GST and GMT also gives ordinary game spending and the limited-supply governance token different roles. Features such as The Haus add ways for people to take part together. (stepn.com)

The same design creates practical challenges. Playing with an NFT sneaker requires learning about digital items, wallets, networks, and game rules. A player’s earning time depends on energy, and GMT earning with a classic sneaker requires reaching level 30. Rewards also change with sneaker attributes and the number of people earning at once, so movement alone does not determine the result. (support.stepn.com)

A lasting task for the project is to keep exercise and gameplay useful together. Sneakers must remain interesting to use, game spending must have a purpose, and rewards must fit the activity players actually enjoy. That balance matters because GMT’s most developed uses sit inside the apps and products built around it. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

GMT is available on Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. The exchanges offer different purchase and withdrawal options by location. STEPN also has a built-in wallet that players can use to hold tokens for the app. (coinbase.com)

The network version matters when moving GMT into STEPN. The Solana realm uses sGMT, the BNB Chain realm uses bGMT, and the Polygon realm uses pGMT. A player chooses the version that matches the realm where the tokens will be used. Transfers between a wallet and STEPN’s spending account also use the relevant network asset to pay transaction fees. (support.stepn.com)

Regulatory & Compliance

GMT’s legal treatment depends on the activity and jurisdiction involved. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission explains that an offer or sale of a crypto asset can fall under securities laws when the arrangement meets the test for an investment contract. U.S. tax guidance treats digital assets as property and addresses the reporting of rewards, sales, and other transactions. In the European Union, MiCA sets authorization rules for businesses providing covered crypto-asset services. These are different questions from how STEPN’s movement game operates. (sec.gov)

Shariah compliance calls for a separate assessment of the token and the ways it is used. The exercise at the heart of STEPN is one part of that picture. A review would also examine sneaker purchases, upgrades, NFT trading, and game features involving chance. Malaysia’s Securities Commission recognizes that digital assets can qualify as assets under Shariah principles and sets conditions for permissible trading on registered exchanges. A GMT-specific halal conclusion requires a review of GMT’s own activities and structure rather than a conclusion based on exercise alone. (sc.com.my)

Future Outlook

STEPN’s development now spans the original app, STEPN GO, and related Find Satoshi Lab products. Its published materials describe continued work on movement rewards, social play, sneaker features, and shared uses for GMT. The original app’s Polygon realm and STEPN GO’s lending features show two ways the team has widened participation: by adding a network choice and by letting guests use shared game resources. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

For GMT, the central question is how those features work together over time. A connected ecosystem can give the token more useful jobs, while each app still needs a clear reason for people to take part. STEPN’s long-term place in crypto will depend in part on whether its combination of outdoor activity, game design, and digital ownership remains engaging for players. (whitepaper.stepn.com)

Summary

STEPN brought outdoor movement into a blockchain-based game built around collectible sneakers. GMT is its limited-supply governance and ecosystem token, used for marketplace activity, selected upgrades, and features across related products. GST and GGT handle many everyday actions in STEPN and STEPN GO, respectively. Together, these parts make STEPN a clear example of how a crypto project can connect digital ownership with an activity people already do. (whitepaper.stepn.com)