Author: Jiaran Source: X, @_wangjiaran
In the crypto market, crossing the bull and bear markets is the biggest test for a project and its team. Recently, #STEPNGO has once again ignited the enthusiasm of the community - since the beta test was opened on September 5, the token has performed well (up 752% in 7 days), and the community has responded enthusiastically. What makes this "second-generation running shoe" project so attractive? Can it reproduce the phenomenal success of STEPN in 2022? Faced with new market opportunities, is there still room for ordinary investors to participate? Can the drastic fluctuations and challenges that #STEPN has experienced be avoided?
If you are interested in these questions, please continue reading. This should be the most detailed first-hand Chinese investment research material on STEPN GO on the entire network, specially prepared for everyone who wants to find opportunities in this new craze.
A few days ago, I talked with @PaoKaDAO partner @bitwater3 about my investment experience in the past year. Brother Shui mentioned that his most important alpha income mainly came from the BTC ecosystem and the FSL ecosystem. As an OG in the cryptocurrency circle who has long been free, Brother Shui has experienced many bull and bear markets. His investment philosophy and mentality training have always had a profound impact on me.
Invest in a product and look at the team first. In the cryptocurrency circle, it is especially easy to have "soft rugs on the project side", and the reliability of the team is crucial when choosing a project. The co-founders of the FSL @fslweb3 team, @yawn_rong and @Jerry10240, have spent more than 3 years proving that they are one of the few reliable teams in the cryptocurrency circle. Whether in a bull market or a bear market, they always focus on product polishing, constantly bringing surprises and value returns to the community. Such continuous investment and firm execution are one of the important reasons why FSL can stand firm in the crypto market.
After spending hundreds of millions of real money and learning from the gains and losses of multiple product design and operation experiences, FSL has made comprehensive and targeted optimizations on STEPN GO from economic models, market operation strategies to user experience:
Chain game projects generally face the dilemma of a "death spiral" - old users earn money from new users by mining, withdrawing and selling. Once old users no longer reinvest and the growth of new users slows down, the entire project will fall into a "death spiral". The traditional blockchain game economic model is difficult to fundamentally solve this problem. Common means such as staking, points, multiple asset nesting dolls, and pie-in-the-sky PUA methods are all aimed at extending expectations as much as possible, allowing old players to reinvest, and delaying the selling pressure of digging, withdrawing, and selling. This can only delay the occurrence of the problem.
STEPN GO attempts to build a more flexible and sustainable economic ecology to solve this dilemma by completely reconstructing the energy system, diversifying the game mechanism, and introducing and restricting large-scale farmer behavior.
1. Energy system reconstruction
In the old version of STEPN, the energy system caused serious inflation problems. Users continued to produce tokens by purchasing shoe NFTs, and the stability of the economy depended entirely on reinvestment and the entry of new users. When supply and demand are unbalanced, a large number of low-priced NFTs are accumulated, causing prices to fall, and the entire economic system enters a vicious cycle. Although the HP system was added later to increase the cost of NFT maintenance and the five-in-one synthesis mechanism was used to increase the consumption of low-priced NFTs, these measures did not fundamentally solve the problem.
In STEPN GO, the economic model has been boldly reconstructed, removing the traditional model of "holding shoe NFTs to gain energy and recovering by time", and instead adopting a new design of "burning shoe NFTs to gain energy and daily energy limit". This design requires users to obtain energy by destroying NFTs, ensuring the continuous demand for low-priced NFTs and effectively avoiding the problem of floor NFT backlogs.
It is easier to understand if it is compared to a game mode:
In the old STEPN model, users only need to hold shoes to continuously produce tokens, which is similar to a "time-free game" and users do not need to pay extra costs.
STEPN GO is more like a "time-paying game". Users burn shoes to get point cards (energy), and the use of point cards can be flexibly adjusted. This mechanism not only eliminates users' anxiety, but also allows them to control costs according to actual needs, thereby reducing the burden on the system.
In order to further optimize the user's revenue model, STEPN GO introduced a multiple mining pool mechanism. In the early stage, only the "efficiency mining pool" was opened, and users could obtain $GGT by consuming energy. In the subsequent update plan of the project, STEPN GO will gradually open three other mining pools for users to choose from:
Charm mining pool: produces clothing fragments, which users can use to customize personalized outfits, and promote consumption to luxury goods and non-productive assets;
Karma mining pool: provides PvP gameplay, and users can obtain GMT income by competing with other players;
Luck mining pool: users have the opportunity to obtain mysterious treasure chests and random rough stones through exercise, which increases the fun of the game and the uncertainty of rewards.
Each time they exercise, users can only choose one mining pool to obtain income. Through this design, STEPN GO realizes the diversified diversion of user needs and avoids the inflationary pressure caused by the overproduction of a single token. Users can also flexibly switch mining pools according to market demand and personal strategies, ensuring the dynamic adjustment ability of the entire economic model.
More importantly, this multi-pool design increases the game mechanism between users. Different players need to choose the best strategy according to market changes and personal needs. The user's behavior pattern is more decentralized, avoiding over-reliance on the output model of a single token, thus achieving a balance between supply and demand and reducing dependence on new users' funds.
One of the highlights of STEPN GO is its HAUS system, which closely combines the economic model with the user's social interaction through the invitation mechanism and social relationships.
Want to join? Even spending money to buy shoes is not enough. You must generate an "invitation code" through old players to join. The basic threshold for old users to generate invitation codes to open Haus requires "consuming 10 energy + burning at least 2 shoes" to activate and become the owner. After that, the owner can generate 1 invitation code for every 10 energy points + non-soul-bound shoes consumed. According to the current shoe price of 5400 u, it is equivalent to someone spending at least 6000 u to send out 1 shoe rental invitation code, and at least 11400 u to send out a buddy activation code - behind each invitation code, it means that existing players have invested a lot in the project.
When invitation codes are so precious, if you are a player who has already made a profit in the field, would you tend to give it to a stranger or a familiar relative or friend? Or the girl you like and want to show your kindness? This mechanism prompts old players to be more inclined to invite relatives, friends or people with social connections they trust, rather than randomly giving it to strangers. This not only enhances the stability of the community, but also enhances the players' sense of identity with the game and the community. Through this invitation system based on real social relationships, STEPN GO will be able to build a highly interactive and stable community ecology, reduce the influx of random users, and avoid the risks brought by irresponsible invitations.
In the future, with the addition of luxury consumption and conspicuous items (such as rare suits), STEPN GO will no longer rely solely on users' "digging, withdrawing and selling" behavior, but will gradually guide players to develop in a more personalized and socialized consumption direction. The community built through the invitation system is an important guarantee for achieving this goal - the transformation from "digging, withdrawing and selling" by all members to some people paying for conspicuous consumption needs will no longer be a "pie in the sky" slogan, but a real possibility of realization. STEPN GO can also truly transform from a financial incentive to a more long-term and stable social-driven economic system.
Digging, withdrawing and selling and farmer issues are challenges faced by almost all web3 projects. In particular, efficient, rational, and ruthless studio-type efficient farmers usually use efficient multi-account operations or script automation operations to drain market resources in a short period of time, aggravate market pressure, cause token prices to collapse, and have a devastating impact on the project.
STEPN GO has introduced a series of mechanisms to softly restrict mining, withdrawal, and selling behaviors, and effectively dissuade studio-type scale farmers.
Hidden time and resource costs
In STEPN GO, users' income is linked to their fitness level. Each new user must go through a 14-day fitness level change process, during which the income gradually decreases from 100% to 50%, and finally returns to the 150% "strong feet" buff state. This state is not permanent after obtaining it. If you do not consume enough energy (at least 2 energy) within 5 days, you will lose 150% of the buff and your income will fall back to the 50% "sore feet" state.
Breeding new NFTs also increases the time cost - users can get a mint quota for every 15 energy they consume. Users can make energy consumption more efficient and get mint quotas faster by renting shoes, but all mint quotas will be recovered at the end of the 14-day rental period. Such changes have left no room for the pure "breeding flow" in the old STEPN.
High wear limit and withdrawal cost
In STEPN GO, a fee of 5 GGT is deducted when withdrawing coins (10 GGT for NFT withdrawals), further limiting users' frequent withdrawals. This move adds additional economic costs to mining, withdrawing and selling, forcing users to be more cautious in withdrawal decisions, and effectively slowing down the token selling pressure in the market. In addition, the design of continuously burning shoes to obtain energy ensures the continuous consumption of NFTs, fundamentally reducing the problem of excessive backlogs of NFTs and tokens.
Dissuading studio farmers from investing
STEPN GO is a type that studio farmers are reluctant to touch. The revenue design is complex and the return is uncertain. It is difficult to register in batches. The time cost is high and it is impossible to quickly cash out and leave the market. The project party has a very strong technical protection capability against cheating... I can't go into details.
I believe that this new economic model can bring stronger sustainable development capabilities to STEPN GO, or provide a brand new solution for other blockchain game projects.
Market promotion strategy optimization
I have studied the promotion strategies of multiple projects in depth, and was fortunate to have been a consultant to design the promotion strategy and specific implementation plan for a top project. I know that "airdrop is a double-edged sword" - airdrop is a means of motivating users by distributing assets. It is indeed effective, but if used improperly, the backlash effect is also obvious:
Airdrop is not as expected --> scolded Airdrop rules have loopholes --> scolded A large number of airdrops were given to "wrong" users --> disaster Airdrop assets are far greater than the initial demand of the project--> greater disaster
On the other hand, STEPN GO's airdrop and market operation strategy has been very stable and successful so far, and it is worth studying carefully by every project party. Let's see how they do it:
The first wave of soul-bound assets was given out through a 4-year staking lottery: This wave screened target users with high loyalty, and as seed users for the launch of new projects, it also brought them "first mine blessing" rewards. The form of lottery is much fairer than setting complex rules, and the soul-binding and random distribution method effectively dissuaded those who were greedy and arbitrage studios, which was very clever in design.
Provide a "single shoe" consolation prize for users who did not win the staking lottery: At least 2 shoes are required to start entering the market, 1 shoe is burned to gain energy, and the other shoe is used for walking. The current market price of 5400u is given away for free, and you can start earning 200u a day by buying another one. Who can resist this temptation? This part of users is also the main demand side at the current stage. Offline activities give "single shoe" invitation codes to real users: The meet-ups held in Taipei and Japan in August attracted more than 100 runners to participate, and more than 100 "single shoe" invitation codes were given on site, further activating the target user group. Recruit GO'er and promote through community cold start: Usually Web3 projects will find KOLs to release paid content and provide Token/NFT assets as compensation. However, the quality of KOLs varies. Many KOLs can only bring short-term hype to the project party and fail to achieve the expected results. The airdropped assets will also be sold, forming selling pressure. (No specific project is mentioned here, so don't take it personally.) On the other hand, STEPN GO did not choose this traditional method, but completed a lot of early content creation, community education and publicity preheating work by recruiting GO'er (similar to the low-profile ambassador).
Let old users decide who can enter for free with "0 risk": As I mentioned before, only old players who have opened the Haus system can invite new users. These old players can rent out their extra shoes to newcomers and share the profits in proportion. Newcomers can join at 0 cost and 0 risk. The owners of the Haus system will get higher energy consumption efficiency and faster mint quota, as well as the emotional value of being needed and respected. Sociality is fully utilized here. Some people may ask: "Why should I give it to others? Isn't it better to give it to a small account?" —— But STEPN GO's AI anti-cheating system is very strict, restricting technology and multiple openings. Accounts have energy limits, and running itself has physical limits. Moreover, not everyone only looks at benefits. Many people prefer to share with their close friends or family. As long as not every new user is a "small account", this system can be stably expanded.
Strictly control the user growth rate and circulating market value: STEPN GO limits the user growth rate through the invitation code system to ensure that the initial liquidity and token price remain stable. The current GGT price is very well maintained and rising steadily. ~~ (I have no evidence to say that this is the project party's control, but just to express: when the circulation and user volume are small, it is relatively easy to pull the market and protect the market) There is no better advertisement in the currency circle than the continuous rise in the price of the currency. Rising is justice. There is no exchange, no contract and no borrowing of coins, which also effectively suppresses the speculation of currency speculation.
The founder personally went out to shout hard: The external recruitment advertisement of Black Myth Wukong Studio requires that you must love and play your own game in depth. For an excellent product, the developer must be its most loyal user. Since the release of STEPN GO, co-founder @Jerry10240 has been sharing his running data on Twitter every day. Today, he suddenly released a first-come, first-served tenant invitation code, the best Trainer shoes, 5:5 high commission, 4-week rental period! Click the little bell to follow him.
User experience optimization
Web3's user experience has always been a huge obstacle to large-scale adoption, especially in the two links of account management and initial asset acquisition. Although the design of "Connect wallet" was once regarded as a revolutionary breakthrough by people in the Web3 circle, it has become the biggest obstacle for ordinary users.
In STEPN GO, the team is deeply aware of this pain point and has made bold optimizations in user experience, especially in the login process and asset management. These improvements not only greatly reduce the user's learning cost, but also make the Web3 experience closer to Web2, providing the basic conditions for truly promoting mass adoption.
1. A more Web2-like account login experience
Web3 platforms have always advocated the design of "wallet as account", but this is also the biggest obstacle that discourages ordinary users. Obtaining initial assets on the chain, cross-chain, wallet mnemonic backup... Every step is a headache for learning. Privy products are certainly the leaders among web3 account login products, but little do people know that STEPN, which was launched earlier than Privy, also uses email registration and login methods, which effectively lowers the threshold for users to enter. At that time, it completed the results of breaking the circle and mass adoption, and became the brightest star in the web3 industry in 22 years
With STEPN GO, the login experience is further simplified. Only one FSL ID is needed, and the login process is almost exactly the same as Web2 products. Taking Apple users as an example, it only takes two steps to register an account:
Step 1: Click "continue with Apple" Step 2: Click "Create passkey"
Next, users only need to scan their faces to log in. This extremely simplified design completely breaks the wallet barrier of Web3. Users no longer need to understand the complex wallet system, and the threshold is instantly lowered.
2. Lower the learning threshold and simplify the operation
In the old version of STEPN, new users have a high learning cost: which shoes to choose? How to allocate shoe attributes? What is HP repair? How to use gems and treasure chests? Every choice requires time to study.
In STEPN GO, the design concept of "Less is better" is further adhered to. Newcomers only need to understand one thing-walking exercise can make money. There is no HP repair, no gem selection, and the shoe attribute is only one "efficiency", and there is no more complicated decision-making process. This simplified design allows users to quickly get started as soon as they enter the system, start exercising and making money directly, and the learning cost is compressed to a minimum.
3. More convenient asset management and cross-chain transfer
STEPN GO has also made great optimizations in cross-chain operations and asset management. Through FSL ID, users only need to register and log in with an email to obtain a multi-chain address, and can directly complete the Swap of encrypted assets in the FSL ID, and can easily manage the asset mapping and association between multi-chain products on the platform, avoiding the complex cross-chain transfer process in traditional Web3 products.
4. The Haus system cleverly solves the financial threshold for new users
For new users, purchasing Crypto assets and taking financial risks has always been the biggest psychological burden. STEPN GO cleverly bypasses this problem through the Haus system.
The Haus system allows old users to pack their shoes into activation codes and rent or give them to new users. In the rental mode, old players provide shoes, are responsible for shoe selection, upgrades and points, and renters only need to enter the activation code to start making money at 0 cost, without worrying about the risk of losing Crypto assets. In the gift mode, new users can also enter the activation code to get started. They no longer have to figure out a series of complicated operations such as wallets, gas fees, and NFT transfers when friends give them shoes.
Most importantly, this design ensures that every new user is "brought in" and there is always someone to guide them, avoiding newcomers from exploring the Crypto world alone, and cleverly solving financial thresholds and risk issues. This may be an important step for Web3 products to move towards mass application.
This year's Crypto market is difficult for almost everyone, and the market sentiment is low. The "old leeks" have experienced too much. They are afraid of being cut and running slowly, so they hold their pockets tightly and invest cautiously.
Under this mood, the performance of STEPN GO is particularly eye-catching. The Web3 market is in urgent need of a reliable and sustainable project, and the performance of STEPN GO seems to have hit everyone's expectations. So, how is STEPN GO different from STEPN in 2022? How did the FSL team lay the foundation for this "re-breakthrough"?
What is the difference between STEPN GO and STEPN OG?
STEPN in 2022 can be said to have become popular overnight with "Move to Earn", but as the market changes, the project has exposed some problems, which has caused the project to fall into a low ebb and predicament for a time.
STEPN GO is not just the second generation of running shoes, but also a brand new product:
Sustainable economic model: On the basis of continuing the healthy narrative of running, the economic model of the entire product has been reconstructed to make it more flexible and sustainable, or to explore a new paradigm that truly breaks the "death spiral" curse.
Healthy growth of users: STEPN GO strictly controls the speed of user joining through the invitation code system. This method not only ensures the quality of users, but also avoids the market pressure caused by the previous explosion of users. At the same time, with the help of the Haus system, the model of old users bringing new users has improved the interaction between users and further enhanced the stickiness of the community.
Simplified user experience: Compared with 2022, STEPN GO makes the user experience simpler and easier to understand. Now there is no need to study the complex properties of shoes, nor to consider the cost of shoe repairs. Users can earn tokens as long as they walk and exercise. This extremely simplified design not only lowers the learning threshold for users, but also makes it easy for novices to get started.
STEPN GO has the potential to detonate the market again.
The FSL team has survived the bull and bear market transitions in the past three years and continued to innovate, which in itself proves their strength. More importantly, their layout and execution have made STEPN GO a strong dark horse.
Complete ecological layout: FSL is not limited to a single product line. At present, there are STEPN, a phenomenal application for healthy life narrative, and the second-generation STEPN GO (using a brand-new economic model) that has just entered beta testing, @GasHeroOfficial (realizing the exploration of full asset on-chain and community co-creation of UGC), CEX product #DOOAR @Dooarofficial, and #MOOAR @mooarofficial, which covers NFT trading/creation/issuance and lottery tools based on on-chain assets. By connecting these products through FSL ID, FSL is building a complete Web3 ecosystem, in which user interaction and social functions are gradually becoming key components. As more and more users enter this ecosystem, FSL's user stickiness and social interaction will undoubtedly be further enhanced. It can be said that FSL's web3 ecological landscape has taken shape at present, and #GMT Layer is not a public chain, but it is better than a public chain
Broad user base and strong community: Starting from STEPN, FSL has accumulated a large number of loyal users, and these users have become the core force for the promotion and development of STEPN GO. Interaction within the community and spontaneous promotion by users have made STEPN GO begin to gain more attention in different regions and communities.
Strong cooperation network: In the past few years, FSL has established cooperative relationships with many traditional big brand companies/heavyweight IPs (#asics, #adidas, #Casio, Ghost in the Shell). This not only increases their popularity, but also provides more possibilities for the future expansion of its ecosystem. The strong cooperation network and capital support also give FSL enough strength to promote STEPN GO to break the circle again.
Mature project management and execution: Through years of accumulation, the FSL team has demonstrated their ability to make steady progress in the market. Whether it is the frenzy of the bull market or the coldness of the bear market, they can keep a clear head and not rush to pursue short-term interests, but ensure the long-term stability of the project by continuously optimizing and improving products.
Finally, the rest is left to time and luck. STEPN GO is ready. Whether it can break through the circle again depends on whether it can seize the opportunity of market recovery and lead more users into the world of Web3.
Helium represents the dedicated DePIN narrative, but before that, there are at least three important contributions that will form a major part of the next DePIN narrative, along with dedicated hardware.
JinseFinanceSTEPN, a crypto web3 app that enables people to earn rewards for exercising, announced a partnership with The Giving Block.
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BitcoinistI will not be easily affected by the temporary abnormal data of the market and become hasty, panic and sway, nor will I introduce and recommend projects with the mentality of "multilevel marketing" to consolidate the "profit" field of my early users.
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