Move to Earn Cryptocurrency: Exercise and Earn Money—Trend or Trap? Gate's Latest Data Deep Dive

At 6 a.m. in the morning, many runners are already on the city streets. Unlike ordinary fitness enthusiasts, the applications running on their phones are turning every step into cryptocurrency rewards.

This is the Move to Earn movement—a burgeoning field that combines blockchain incentive mechanisms with real-world sports activities. According to CoinMarketCap data, the overall market capitalization of Move to Earn concept tokens reached hundreds of millions of dollars by December 2025.

01 Market Status and Challenges

The Move to Earn sector showed a clear polarization by the end of 2025. On one hand, leading projects continued to attract capital, with Sweat Economy recently completing a $13 million funding round, backed by well-known institutions including Electric Capital.

On the other hand, the market as a whole faced severe tests. On December 16, 2025, the cryptocurrency market experienced a broad decline, with Bitcoin falling below $86,000, and panic spreading among investors.

This market environment directly impacted Move to Earn projects. Many tokens saw their prices and user activity decline. However, unlike traditional financial products, the value of Move to Earn tokens is not only reflected in price fluctuations but also in their unique utility and economic models.

02 Overview Comparison of Mainstream Projects

On major trading platforms like Gate, users can find tokens from multiple Move to Earn projects. These projects each have their own features, catering to different user needs.

Below is a comparative analysis of several key Move to Earn projects:

Among these, STEPN’s GMT and GST tokens are actively traded on Gate. According to Gate data, GMT once reached a price of $0.05 in 2025, with a market cap close to $150 million.

03 Token Economics and Sustainability

The success or failure of Move to Earn projects hinges on their token economic design. Early projects like STEPN faced major challenges with token inflation—GST, as an unlimited supply token, produced far more than needed, causing its price to plummet.

In contrast, newer projects focus more on sustainability. Sweat Economy employs a dynamic difficulty adjustment mechanism, automatically adjusting rewards based on network participation to avoid infinite inflation traps.

The MTG project combines Move to Earn, gambling, and emoji token elements, using a deflationary model where 1% of each transaction is burned, and 1% goes into a lottery pool. As of December 2025, MTG’s trading price was $0.000055, with a market cap of approximately $36,780.

04 Trading Opportunities on Gate

For users interested in trading within the Move to Earn space, Gate offers a variety of options. The platform lists related tokens including:

GMT (STEPN): As the governance token of the STEPN platform, GMT is actively traded on Gate. It uses a fixed supply model, which theoretically makes it more scarce than the unlimited supply GST.

MOVE (Movement): Another Move to Earn project token, also available on Gate. Historical data shows MOVE once reached a price of $0.0769.

WLKN (Walken): This Solana-based Move to Earn game token is also listed on Gate. Walken combines crypto rewards with physical activities like walking and running, and recently completed a $4.7 million funding round.

Investors should closely monitor project fundamentals when trading these tokens, especially user activity, tokenomics adjustments, and project roadmap progress.

05 Beginner Guide and Risk Assessment

For newcomers wanting to try Move to Earn, here is a basic beginner’s guide:

First, choose projects that match your risk tolerance and exercise habits. If you prefer low initial investment, consider zero-cost entry projects like Sweat Economy.

If you decide to participate in projects requiring NFT purchases, such as STEPN, it’s advisable to only invest funds you are willing to lose entirely, viewing exercise earnings as an added fitness bonus rather than a primary income source.

During participation, pay attention to token maintenance costs, such as shoe repairs and upgrades, which can directly eat into your exercise earnings.

Additionally, Move to Earn projects often face high policy risks. Different countries and regions may have varying regulatory attitudes toward fitness apps that incorporate crypto rewards.

06 Future Outlook and Innovation Directions

Despite challenges, the Move to Earn sector continues to innovate. Projects are exploring multiple directions to enhance sustainability:

Vertical segmentation is a key trend. Beyond simple step counting, projects are introducing complex mechanisms like AI scoring competitions (e.g., dotmoovs), geographic location challenges (e.g., Rebase GG), increasing gameplay richness.

Cross-chain expansion is also a strategy to diversify liquidity risk. Many projects are no longer limited to a single chain but are expanding to Polygon, NEAR, Avalanche, and other blockchains.

In the long term, with the development of AR/VR technology, Move to Earn may evolve from flat applications into immersive experiences, increasing user engagement and retention.

Future Outlook

In the bear market, Move to Earn projects are like marathon runners adjusting their breathing and finding their rhythm. The GST token of STEPN has fallen 98% from its all-time high, and GMT has dropped 99.5%. However, Sweat Economy’s 150 million users are still earning tokens while walking.

A sustainable token economic model, rather than short-term price spikes, is becoming the true test of this sector. When speculators exit, what remains will be communities that genuinely believe in the philosophy that “health is wealth.”