# Why Move-to-Earn (M2E) is the way By [Christel](https://paragraph.com/@christel) · 2022-06-12 --- **TL;DR** * Earn money through exercising? Sign me up please - This strikes me as an interesting concept, innovative and fresh, leveraging upon the health conscious society we live in now to reward people for moving * Many apps reward users for exercising and practicing healthy habits by awarding them vouchers. Whats the difference between these apps and move to earn dapps? - **Added layer of cryptocurrencies and NFT incentives** * It is imperative for Web2 companies to stay abreast such trends and think of ways that they can leverage upon such technologies to engage their customers. _LFG_👇🏻 ### What is Move-to-Earn (M2E)? Let’s start by breaking down the words: **Move:** What is one essential daily activity for most of us? One could say breathing, eating, standing up to go to the bathroom and many more.. and this all falls under the wider umbrella of - _MOVING!_ **Earn:** There are many ways to _EARN_ your keep but have you ever imagined that you can be paid to _MOVE_? You'll get paid in the form of the project's cryptocurrency token `How it works?` One has to buy a non-fungible token (NFT) created by the project owners (the brains behind a particular project) before they can start moving to earn. After which, start _MOVING_ and earn in-game currency in the form of crypto tokens. These tokens can then be used in-game or cashed out. Here are some of the ways of which players can earn: * **Minting:** Players can mint in-game NFTs on platform like StepN and subsequently trade them on secondary marketplaces at a profit * **Staking:** Players can stake tokens/cryptocurrencies and earn rewards as a result `How do the project owners make money? Don't they just PAY me to move?` * **NFT:** The NFTs that one would often have to purchase before earning come with varying benefits - more expensive NFTs could for example accrue better returns (etc earn more tokens per session) * **NFT trading fees:** Every time a transaction is made, a cut goes back to the developer `Essential elements - What keeps people coming back?` * **Game-Fi:** Players earn in-game tokens and cryptocurrencies by completing challenges and MOVING. This facilitates a connection with other participants * [**Social-Fi:**](https://www.binance.com/en/blog/nft/why-are-social-media-platforms-expanding-into-socialfi-and-nfts-421499824684903417) SocialFi, short for social finance, refers to the combination of social networking and the blockchain finance. The SocialFi space lets users earn income from content creation, participation in DAO governance, NFT minting, communicating with other users, watching entertainment and gaming ![Credits: Bitcoinist](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/683c61ec0b416ff8b32e5fc50a3807400a00d8f9dd2591a047907df4a0f47d39.png) Credits: Bitcoinist ### Where's the buy-in? In your traditional reward apps say you win a $10 voucher, its value forever remains at that (However not completely true because ….. INFLATION 🥲) But with M2E dapps, you get rewards too in the form of tokens but just that your vouchers have potential to appreciate (and of course depreciate though). Some just like this additional risk additional reward. After all, how an NFT derives its value is through its rarity, utility and tangibility. If more people value these factors of a project, demand would surge and drives up the value and price. ### Case Study Since there are plentiful articles out there covering StepN as a promising industry pioneer, I want to bring to attention a similar project - Dustland Runner by fitness company OliveX (partner of Animoca Brands). This project just minted in May with 5943 operation passes minted, offering an audio fitness adventure with different missions for people to exercise and win rewards. ![Credit: Dustland Runner Website](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/2ebc698223007a295ada3596928ae240c0c6872762e47e4d6a46143a40f1505a.png) Credit: Dustland Runner Website Dustland Runner is the world’s first proof-of-workout audio game, where going on runs in the real world progresses the narrative - 🥵 temperatures has risen to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and large parts of the world are buried underwater or face hostile droughts. You as a Dust Runner who races across the Dustland and completes missions such as "The Fall of Kettlemine"and "And alone I escaped". This earns one the in-game token - $DOSE token which can be used for in-game badges, gadgets, and upgrades. ### How this plays out for us? I think such a concept really lowers the barrier of entry for non-blockchain users (people who have not used any blockchain related technology/apps before) to be a part of this initiative. Be it whether one struggles to find motivation to exercise or are already very active, this appeals to both groups. Through brand partnerships and collaborations (StepN collaborated with footwear powerhouse Asics to release StepN x Asics branded sneaker NFTs), it would further bring web3 closer to the masses. For Web2 businesses, it is perhaps timely to think how such a concept can play out and materialise in their existing business or even just to think about how they can see web3 playing out for their business. It is definitely early days but I guess it doesn't hurt to give these some thought ✌🏻 ### Why I decided to embark on this piece? 🤙🏻 Interest really - I was recently asked by a friend on a topic he could share with his colleagues as part of a "share anything” session. Move-to-earn was the first that came to mind because of its very potential and overall vision which promotes healthy lifestyle habits. Can't wait to see how this space develops. _#WAGMI_ _Signing off ~ Always #DYOR_ The Web3 trekker next door 👀 --- *Originally published on [Christel](https://paragraph.com/@christel/why-move-to-earn-m2e-is-the-way)*