How to Buy STEPN (GMT)

Beginner’s Guide

What Is STEPN (GMT)?

STEPN is a self-styled “Web3 lifestyle app” with GameFi elements on the Solana blockchain. It combines aspects of a play-to-earn game with a fitness app to create a new category coined “move-to-earn.” Users buy NFT sneakers, which they can use to earn in-game currency while walking, running, or jogging.

STEPN aims to revolutionize the market of fitness applications by incentivizing millions of users to follow a healthier lifestyle. The app solves several problems like “proof of movement” – proving that users really exercised – and a functioning GPS system. Moreover, STEPN incentivizes users financially and plans to introduce social rewards elements and successfully contributes to carbon neutrality.

The application is available for Android and iOS and has gone from its inception stage to the open beta version in only five months. After its successful IDO in March 2022, STEPN plans to optimize its in-game features and launch on several other chains in the future.

How to Buy STEPN Summary

Get a STEPN wallet (e.g. Ledger, Trezor , Exodus, Guarda, AtomicWallet)
Find an exchange that sells STEPN (e.g. OKX, Binance , Coinbase , Huobi, Kucoin)
Deposit money and make the trade
Withdraw the STEPN to your wallet

Buying STEPN in 3 Simple Steps

Desctop & Mobile

STEPN Hardware Wallets

STEPN is a hardware wallet designed to securely store and manage cryptocurrencies. The wallet is manufactured by a company called Stepnstone, which is based in Ukraine.

Hardware wallets like STEPn are considered to be one of the most secure ways to store cryptocurrencies. They are designed to keep the private keys associated with your cryptocurrencies offline and away from potential hackers or cybercriminals. By keeping your private keys offline, hardware wallets protect your cryptocurrencies from unauthorized access, theft, and hacking attempts.

STEPN hardware wallets come in a compact and durable design that allows for easy transport and storage. The wallet features a secure chip that stores private keys and a password-protected screen for added security. Users can also set up a PIN code to further protect their wallet.

STEPN supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and many others. It also supports a variety of wallets, including MyEtherWallet, MyCrypto, and Electrum.

To use a STEPn hardware wallet, you’ll need to connect it to a computer or mobile device using a USB cable. You can then use the wallet’s software to manage your cryptocurrencies, view your balance, and make transactions.

Overall, if you’re looking for a secure and reliable way to store your cryptocurrencies, a hardware wallet like STEPn could be a great option. However, it’s important to remember that no storage solution is 100% foolproof, so it’s always a good idea to take additional precautions, such as backing up your private keys in multiple locations.

The best option for storing any cryptocurrency would be to use a hardware wallet. These are pieces of hardware that store the private key to your coins offline.

Today, there are two leading hardware manufacturers to choose from – Ledger and TREZOR. Both companies have different models of hardware wallets that will get the job done.

If you want deeper insights on specific models, you can read my Ledger Nano X review or my TREZOR Model T review.

STEPN Software Wallets

As far as I know, STEPn primarily offers hardware wallets for storing and managing cryptocurrencies. However, there are also software wallets available in the market that support the STEPn wallet infrastructure.

One example of a software wallet that supports STEPn is the Trust Wallet. Trust Wallet is a mobile wallet that supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including those supported by STEPn hardware wallets. The wallet offers a user-friendly interface that allows you to manage your cryptocurrencies, view your balance, and make transactions from your mobile device.

Another example of a software wallet that supports STEPn is the Exodus Wallet. The Exodus Wallet is a desktop wallet that allows you to store and manage multiple cryptocurrencies, including those supported by STEPn hardware wallets. The wallet offers a clean and intuitive interface that makes it easy to manage your digital assets.

It’s important to note that while software wallets like Trust Wallet and Exodus offer convenience and accessibility, they may not be as secure as hardware wallets. Software wallets store your private keys on your device, which makes them vulnerable to hacking attempts, malware, and other security threats. Therefore, it’s always important to take extra precautions when using a software wallet, such as keeping your device updated with the latest security patches and avoiding downloading apps from untrusted sources.

Hardware wallets cost money, so if you’re not sure how serious you are about cryptocurrencies and just want to get a taste of what they feel like, perhaps you would be better off starting with a software wallet.

Payment methods:

Credit/debit card

Buy STEPN through Okex

OKX (Chinese: 欧易), formerly known as OKEx, is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange and derivatives exchange. It was founded by Star Xu (徐明星) in 2017. OKX is owned by Ok Group, which also owns crypto exchange Okcoin. It is not available to US based investors. The company’s CEO is Jay Hao and CMO is Haider Rafique. Initially headquartered in Beijing, China, OKX is now under a blanket ban by Chinese regulators. On October 13, 2021, it issued a “Notice on Regulatory Policy in Mainland China”, announcing that it would continue its policy of “withdrawing from the Chinese mainland market” and would not establish an office or team in the region. However, according to Caixin, although the exchange officially announced that it would no longer set up an office in Mainland China, it still has a large number of R&D staff working in the region, including engineers, who continue to work for OKX in the form of third-party outsourcing companies.

Buy STEPN through Binance

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software.

Buy STEPN through Coinbase

Coinbase is a convenient and cheap way to buy Ethereum and the platform is open to 200+ countries). Coinbase will sell you CRO for a variable fee that depends on your payment method (credit cards have a higher fee than wire transfers), order size and market volatility. Here’s how you buy Ethereum on Coinbase: Open a Coinbase account Add your payment method (Credit card or bank account) Go to “Buy/Sell” and select the amount of Ethereum you desire Click “Buy Cronos”

Buy STEPN through Huobi

Huobi is a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange. Founded in China, the company now has offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and the United States. In August 2018 it became a publicly listed Hong Kong company. Following a 2017 ban on Bitcoin exchanges by the Chinese government, Huobi stopped Bitcoin withdrawals.

Buy STEPN through Kucoin

Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange for numerous digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Launched in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges and already has over 8 million registered users from 700+ countries and regions. According to Alexa traffic ranking, KuCoin’s monthly unique ranking is in the top 5 globally. Known as the “People’s Exchange”, KuCoin operates in Seychelles, providing users with multi-language and 24/7 customer service. Meanwhile, KuCoin has established local communities all over the world in South Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Turkey, Russia, India, and other regions, providing users with the most local services. Currently, 1 out of every 4 crypto holders in the world is with KuCoin.

Step 3 – Withdraw Your STEPN (GMT)

Once you decide on an exchange, open an account and buy your Avalanche. Make sure to withdraw the Avalanche from the exchange to your personal wallet.

Never leave coins on an exchange, as you risk losing them all if that exchange gets hacked or shuts down (which has happened in the past) and always double check address before send coins because you can send the coins to wrong address .

OVERVIEW

Who Are the Founders of STEPN?

STEPN was founded in August 2021 by Australian blockchain entrepreneur Yawn Rong. Mr. Rong has previously founded Crypto SA, an Australian crypto fund and pro-regulation auditor, and has served as an ambassador for Algorand and as an industry representative of the South Australian Blockchain Association. He founded STEPN with his neighbor and partner Jerry Huang, a game developer and former founder of Falafel Games.

STEPN raised a significant $5 million seed round from some of the biggest crypto venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital, Folius Ventures, Solana Capital, Alameda Research, 6th Man Ventures, DeFi Alliance and several others. Several notable angel investors include Santiago R Santos and Asia Partner of Republic Zhen Cao.

What Makes STEPN Unique?

STEPN aspires to disrupt the fitness industry in several ways.

Firstly, it incentivizes users to live a healthier lifestyle through a straightforward token reward mechanism. After downloading the app and creating a wallet, users can buy a pair of NFT sneakers to start earning in the game’s Solo Mode. By running or walking around, they can earn Green Satoshi Tokens (GST). Different types of sneakers return GST at different rates — the higher a sneaker’s efficiency attribute, the more GST per minute the user can earn.

This introduces the second revolutionary element of STEPN: the gamification of fitness. Thanks to the app’s in-game rewards, daily energy allowances, and customized sneakers, STEPN gamifies movement and nudges users towards a healthier lifestyle. In the future, the app plans to add a Marathon Mode, which will have weekly and monthly races between 2.5km and 15km. Marathon participants will be able to earn and compare their achievements on a leaderboard, with extra rewards for the top-ranking runners.

Finally, STEPN allows users to signal in two ways: through living a healthier lifestyle and earning tokens for it and through positively contributing to carbon neutrality. The former gives users an emotional and financial reward. The latter is achieved through STEPN’s contributions to buying Carbon Removal Credits on Solana to combat climate change.

How Many STEPN (GMT) Coins Are There in Circulation?

STEPN follows a dual-token model with a utility token called GST and a governance token called GMT. GST has an unlimited supply and is the app’s currency that is earned for movement. It has several burn mechanisms to disincentivize inflation, such as minting or repairing sneakers, leveling up sneakers, and upgrading gems.

GMT is earned after users have leveled up their sneakers to level 30. GMT has a total supply of 6 billion and is distributed as follows:

Move and Earn: 30%
Ecosystem and treasury: 30%
Private sale: 16.3%
Launchpad sale: 7%
Team :14.2%
Advisors: 2.5%

The total release of GMT is halved every three years, and team and private sale tokens are subject to vesting, which does not start before 2023.

How Is the STEPN Network Secured?

STEPN is built on Solana, a layer-one blockchain with a proof-of-history consensus combined with a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism with partial Byzantine fault tolerance. It has 200 nodes operating worldwide that can, at their peak, process up to 50,000 transactions per second. Solana performs a set of coordinated optimizations to achieve such impressive performance and processes transactions in a multi-threaded way, which sets it apart from slower blockchains.