Move-to-Earn Projects: Bridging Fitness and Crypto Rewards in 2024

Imagine earning cryptocurrency simply by walking. That’s not a dream—it’s the reality of Move-to-Earn (M2E) gaming, where blockchain technology transforms your daily steps into digital earnings. Unlike traditional gaming, M2E projects leverage physical activity as the primary input for rewards, making fitness financially rewarding.

Understanding the Move-to-Earn Mechanism

At its core, M2E gaming operates through a simple yet sophisticated system. Wearables and smartphone sensors track your physical movements—walking, running, jogging—and send this data to a blockchain where it’s permanently recorded and verified. The beauty lies in the transparency: every movement is timestamped and authenticated, eliminating fraud while ensuring you receive fair compensation proportional to your activity intensity and duration.

Most move-to-earn projects employ a dual-token structure. One token (typically in-game currency) handles everyday transactions like upgrades and purchases, while the second token manages governance and premium features. This design prevents excessive inflation while maintaining economic stability.

As of April 2024, the broader M2E sector commanded a combined market capitalization approaching $700 million, with over 30 projects listed on major tracking platforms. This growth trajectory underscores the sector’s expansion and mainstream acceptance.

Leading Move-to-Earn Projects Worth Your Attention

STEPN (GMT): The Market Leader

STEPN remains the heavyweight champion of M2E gaming despite recent user fluctuations. Operating on the Solana blockchain, STEPN rewards players with Green Satoshi Tokens (GST) for everyday movement while offering GMT for governance and premium access.

What sets STEPN apart is its Background mode—your sneaker continues earning even when the app isn’t active, maximizing every step. The platform previously recorded over 700,000 monthly active users at peak, though this has normalized to under 35,000 as of April 2024.

Current metrics:

• GMT market cap: $45.33M (updated Dec 26, 2025)
• Price: $0.01
• Still the largest M2E project by market capitalization
• Dual-token system with GST burn mechanism to combat inflation

The April 2024 100 million GMT token airdrop to the community signaled renewed commitment to user engagement and long-term sustainability.

Sweat Economy (SWEAT): Mass Adoption Play

Built on the NEAR blockchain, Sweat Economy democratizes M2E participation through zero entry barriers. Download the app, start walking—no NFT purchases required. This accessibility has propelled Sweat Economy to 150 million users across web2 and web3 ecosystems.

The platform’s sustainable tokenomics model gradually reduces minting rates, preventing the inflationary death spiral that plagues many crypto projects. Sweat Economy was recognized as the most downloaded health and fitness app in 2022, demonstrating mainstream crossover appeal.

Current metrics:

• SWEAT market cap: $10.62M (updated Dec 26, 2025)
• Price: $0.00
• 150M+ user base
• Rated most downloaded health app in 2022

Step App (FITFI): The Avalanche Contender

Step App brings a different approach to move-to-earn projects by operating on the Avalanche blockchain. Users earn KCAL tokens through physical activity, which function as both rewards and in-game currency for purchasing Sneaker NFTs.

The platform’s impressive statistics reveal genuine user engagement: over 300,000 players across 100+ countries have collectively walked 1.4 billion steps and earned 2.3 billion KCAL tokens.

Current metrics:

• FITFI market cap: $2.32M (updated Dec 26, 2025)
• Price: $0.00
• 300,000+ users globally
• 1.4 billion collective steps tracked

Genopets (GENE): NFT-Centric Fitness Gaming

Genopets transforms fitness tracking into creature evolution mechanics. Your accumulated steps convert to Energy, which strengthens your digital companion—the Genopet. The game’s dual-token system (GENE for transactions, KI for gameplay rewards) creates layered economic opportunities.

Built on Solana with integrated NFT mechanics, Genopets offers real-world economic value. The Genesis Genopets collection recorded 146,000 SOL in all-time trading volume as of April 2024.

Current metrics:

• GENE market cap: $11M (from original article)
• Genesis NFT collection: 146,000+ SOL trading volume
• Integration of habitat NFTs for expanded revenue streams

dotmoovs (MOOV): AI-Powered Sports Competition

Dotmoovs stands apart by integrating artificial intelligence into move-to-earn projects. Rather than simple step counting, the platform analyzes your sports performance—assessing creativity, rhythm, and technique through AI algorithms—in peer-to-peer competitions.

Operating on Polygon with ERC-20/BEP-20 standards, dotmoovs keeps transaction costs minimal while maintaining speed. The platform has analyzed over 41,000 videos spanning 340+ hours, with an 80,000-strong player base across 190 countries.

Current metrics:

• MOOV market cap: $501.70K (updated Dec 26, 2025)
• Price: $0.00
• 80,000 players worldwide
• Sport-specific NFTs unlock tournament access

Walken (WLKN): Character-Based Earning

Walken transforms steps into CAThlete character progression. Your daily movement directly boosts your character’s capabilities, which then compete in athletic challenges (sprint, urban, marathon) for token rewards.

The game achieved over 1 million downloads on Google Play Store by April 2024, demonstrating strong user acquisition momentum.

Current metrics:

• WLKN market cap: $3.3M (from original article)
• 1M+ Google Play downloads
• Dual-token system with WLKN governance and GEM rewards

Rebase GG (IRL): Location-Based Exploration

Unlike fitness-focused peers, Rebase GG emphasizes geo-located challenges. Players complete real-world missions at specific locations, blending exploration with earning. This approach attracts casual gamers and adventure seekers alongside fitness enthusiasts.

Current metrics:

• IRL market cap: $4M (from original article)
• 20,000+ active players
• Location-based gameplay mechanics

M2E vs. P2E: Understanding the Fundamental Divide

While Move-to-Earn projects reward physical activity, Play-to-Earn (P2E) games reward virtual accomplishments. This distinction matters significantly for different user demographics and earning potential.

P2E games (Axie Infinity, The Sandbox) demand engagement in virtual worlds. Success requires strategy, skill development, and sustained commitment. Rewards can be substantial but remain volatile and skill-dependent.

M2E games offer predictable, stable earnings tied directly to physical activity. No complex strategies needed—consistency matters more than expertise. This accessibility attracts broader audiences beyond traditional gamers.

Critical Challenges Facing M2E Projects

The sector faces legitimate headwinds that investors and players must understand.

Tokenomics Vulnerabilities: Many move-to-earn projects feature unlimited token supplies (like STEPN’s GST), creating structural inflation. Without robust burning mechanisms, token value erodes as new supply floods the market faster than demand absorbs it.

Sustainability Economics: Current systems depend heavily on continuous new user inflows. Early adopters benefit disproportionately, creating pyramid-like dynamics that eventually collapse when growth stalls. The sector must evolve beyond this model.

Entry Cost Barriers: Requiring NFT purchases (STEPN sneakers, habitat NFTs) excludes price-sensitive users. While Sweat Economy solved this through free entry, most projects maintain high barriers.

User Retention Crisis: The novelty factor wanes. STEPN’s dramatic user decline from 700,000 to 35,000 monthly active users exemplifies this challenge. Without continuous innovation and compelling gameplay, retention suffers severely.

The Path Forward for Move-to-Earn Gaming

Despite headwinds, M2E projects show resilience through technological evolution. Augmented reality and virtual reality integration could transform mundane walks into immersive adventures. Advanced health tracking might provide gamified biometric insights alongside earnings.

More critically, the sector is experimenting with improved tokenomics. Multi-blockchain deployment, sophisticated burning protocols, and community governance models aim to address sustainability concerns.

The convergence of fitness, gaming, and finance remains compelling—particularly as health consciousness grows globally. Move-to-earn projects that solve economic sustainability while maintaining genuine user engagement will thrive in this expanding space.

For players and investors, the key remains clear-eyed assessment: evaluate each move-to-earn projects tokenomics separately, understand entry costs, and recognize that current rewards reflect speculative valuations rather than fundamental economics. The sector’s future depends on whether projects can transition from novelty to sustainable utility.