Move to Earn
First came the ICOs, then came DeFi, then came the NFTs and with them came games with play-to-earn mechanics, with which gamers around the world were excited about the potential to win by playing online games. Now in 2022 things have evolved, giving a twist to the Play-to-earn concept, achieving the "gamification" of sport and health. This has led to a new concept: Move-to-Earn (M2E), which consists of generating rewards for playing sports.
I don't know if it will be sustainable in the long term, something that has been shown not to be the case with its predecessor, Play-to-Earn, or if it is just another new fad to sell NFT's so that a few can do business. What is clear to me is that it is starting to make quite a bit of noise in the crypto ecosystem, and I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes another new speculative bubble. In disclaimer of the above, I have to say despite its speculative potential, the part associated with wellness and health is a plus point for this new trend. So why not, wouldn't anyone like to earn money for doing an activity they enjoy while improving their health?.
What is Move-to-Earn (M2E)?
Well, there is little more to say than what we have already explained in the intro. The move-to-earn concept is the new trend in the blockchain-crypto ecosystem, and it is about projects in which for registering your physical activity, you receive rewards in return, usually in the form of the native tokens of the project in question.
What makes M2E exciting?
Move-to-Earn (M2E) apps allow users to earn passive income while performing routine physical activities.
M2E gamification works in a similar way to P2E, in that players fully own their in-game assets, and thus can exchange them for cryptocurrencies or fiat money at their own discretion.
The advantages I see to M2E over P2E are mainly 2:
On the one hand the M2E movement encourages physical activity, something that has an impact on the health and well-being of those who practice it. This point is indisputable.
On the other hand, the economic mechanics of M2E can potentially be more sustainable over time, because the utility tokens of the projects, if their economies are properly focused, can have real profits.
Many manufacturers and sports brands may want to tap into this new trend, creating products and services that can be purchased by exchanging the tokens they get for registering these activities. I don't know, it occurs to me that Nike or any other leading sports brand could give users of an M2E application the option of acquiring a model of their sneakers or sportswear in exchange for a certain amount of tokens. This acquisition can be of both physical and virtual models (NFT). Likewise, consumption (burning of tokens) can be encouraged by using them, for example, to pay for subscriptions to events, competitions or challenges (real or virtual) in which thousands of users worldwide can compete for a substantial economic prize.
Should you invest in M2E?
Move-to-Earn (M2E) gamification is not another shiny object to obsess over. Currently there are already applications or games, call it what you will, such as STEPN, in which to participate you need a pair of NFT shoes for a fee. Which, the better features you have, the better rewards you can get. The problem is that these shoes do not go below $1000 for the cheapest ones, so we enter the swampy ground of speculation and the economic bubble.
In my opinion, entering into this kind of projects that force you to make a high initial investment just to have an ephemeral promise of reward, that you don't know if you are really going to be able to amortize, seems a bit risky to me. Above all, when what it is all about is to do sport and benefit from it, not the other way around...
Conclusions
Related to the above, I would tell you to look for projects where access is free or minimal and where you can get benefits for doing something you already do and enjoy. Everything else are complications and superfluous expenses that will not lead you to anything but frustration and forced activities, for the sole reason of generating rewards.
Sport is a recreational activity that you should use for your well-being and to improve your health. Don't "prostitute" it, forcing the machine, doing something you don't like, or doing more than you need or can, just for some measly rewards that you don't know if they will ever be worth anything. I tell you, I am in favor of using these applications. In fact I use them, but I don't change my habits at all. I just try to take advantage and get benefits for something that I already did before and that does not involve any effort or additional expense. In any case if you want to spend and invest in better shoes or any other gadget/NFT that can improve your performance in terms of obtaining economic performance within that application/game, do it only with the own rewards you already get in the game. Do not put in additional money, as you will most likely never get it back.
