🧘‍♂️This Crypto is Up 2000%

Dear Meditators

Inflation data from the U.S. maintains pressure on crypto prices today. Despite what’s been a difficult month, one crypto seems to have defied all odds. Let’s take a look at STEPN and Move-to-Earn.

Today’s Meditations: 

• STEPN 101: Understanding Move-to-Earn
• Fundamental Overview of BTC and ETH
• Latest of Bored Ape Yacht Club

Nexo offers a simple, secure way to build your crypto portfolio.
Sign up Now & Get $100 in BTC!

Get $100 in BTC

⏰ Top Headlines

• White House in Damage Control Mode as Crypto Markets Brace for 8%-Plus Inflation
• Axie Infinity maker floats bug bounty program after $600 million Ronin hack
• Nyan Heroes Announce Their Cinematic Trailer Date
• Ariana Grande’s fundraiser for trans visibility adds a crypto option

? I Like to Move It Move It

GMT, the governance token for the STEPN application has increased by over 2000% in the past month. This suggests that a new trend encompassing Move-to-Earn (M2E) could begin to form within the crypto markets.

? Here are some key features of M2E:

• Utilises GPS and sensor technology within modern handheld devices to gamify outdoor activities such as walking and running to reward users with tokens and NFTs.
• Is still a very small niche within the crypto market and is yet to fully take off with a total market cap of $1.47 billion according to data from CoinGecko.
• Currently, the two largest M2E games are STEPN and Genopets with a market cap of $1.36 billion and $40.8 million respectively.

? Why Is M2E Gaining Attention? 

STEPN has led the hype around M2E gaming having recently attracted investment from the likes of Sequoia Capital, Alameda Research and many other big Web3 investors. They have begun to incorporate the metaverse with reality.

• STEPN is a Solana based Web3 Social-Fi application that incorporates Game-Fi elements. Users equipped with NFT sneakers can walk, jog or run outdoors in the real world to earn GST tokens.
• The team have stated a clear mission: to inspire millions to a healthier lifestyle, easily connect them to Web3 and combat climate.
• STEPN has a two token system similar to Axie Infinity:
  • GST acts as the game’s currency and utility token with an uncapped supply. It can be used to mint new shoes or repair and boost existing ones.
  • GMT will act as the governance token of the ecosystem with a limited supply of 6 billion tokens.

According to STEPN’s official Medium, they have generated a profit of 198,635.62 SOL ($26,815,807.35) from their NFT Marketplace trading and royalty fees in the first quarter of 2022. They plan to use the generated profits to buy back and burn GMT from the secondary market to accrue more value to the STEPN ecosystem.

?️ How To Navigate M2E

M2E is a new and relatively niche area of crypto, these games are a natural continuation of Play-to-Earn (P2E) games and as such have many similarities such as:

• High Barriers to Entry: To participate in the gameplay mechanics of STEPN, an NFT sneaker is required. There are 4 different classes of sneakers with 5 different rarity levels. At the time of writing the cheapest available sneaker is 10.6 SOL ($1138).
• Unstable Token Prices: GST token is earned as a reward to users of the application. If the gameplay mechanics are not interesting enough, like with Axie Infinity, we could see users play M2E games purely for profit. If this was to occur we could see similar sell pressure as SLP which has lost 95.6% of its value from the all-time high.

The success of M2E will depend on how successful the teams are at navigating the two issues that plagued P2E gaming discussed above.

As an investor in M2E and P2E, the earlier you are to the project, the greater your expected returns. As such, take the necessary precautions to protect your capital and only invest as much as you are willing to lose.

? Grin and Bear It

Bitcoin and Ethereum suddenly dropped below $40k and $3k respectively last night for the first time in a month and everyone’s all a flutter. What does it mean?! Does it mean anything? Let’s have a look at the facts:

• Bitcoin has been steadily dropping over the last week since its monthly high of $47k, and Ethereum has followed it from $3.5k in two steps down.
• Arthur Hayes had warned of carnage on Sunday and within 24 hours it came, with one trader losing 10 million in a single trade.
• The macro environment remains much the same: high inflation, rising interest rates and the Ukraine-Russia war continuing to impact commercial markets.
• As the central bank starts to reduce its balance sheet it continues to exert downward pressure on both stocks and crypto, with Bitcoin more correlated to stocks these days than previously.
• One additional factor, as Raoul Pal points out, is that U.S. investors may be rushing to sell assets in order to optimize their tax returns.
• Despite the sudden move causing over $400 million in liquidations, Glassnode’s weekly report concluded that nearly three quarters of BTC addresses are still in unrealised profit, much higher than closer to 50% during the 2018 bear market.

Market could go up. Market could go down. It seems though that as Bitcoin continues to age more long-term holders are willing to grin and bear it.

? The Good, The Bad and The Degen 

The Bored Ape Yacht Club is trying to become the first NFT collection to build a true mainstream brand. Almost a year after the initial release of 10,000 ape themed NFTs, it has been announced that a trilogy of Bored Ape Yacht Club films will be released.

• The film series will be called ‘The Degen Trilogy’ and is described as ‘an interactive film series’ that is set to be produced by Coinbase.
• The first film of the series is set to debut this June at the yearly NFT NYC event and will somehow tie into the launch of Coinbase’s new NFT marketplace.
• Holders of a Bored Ape NFT can submit their apes for casting and will receive $10,000 in BTC or APE in return.

Believers and investors of the Bored Ape Yacht Club have seen extraordinary returns over the last year. According to Dune Analytics, the floor price of one Bored Ape has increased 114,423% since April 2021.

In addition to the price appreciation of the Bored Ape NFT itself, holders have received tens of thousands of dollars in free value thanks to the Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club and the recent ApeCoin (APE) airdrop.

Twitter 

• Inflation was just reported at 8.5% growth year over year. This is the highest inflation in decades. – Pomp
• Robinhood lists Shiba Inu, Solana, Polygon and Compound – Blockworks

We’re Watching

? Did you enjoy today’s newsletter? This survey is your chance to tell us how we can improve the product for you. Link here.

??‍♂️✍️ Stories in this newsletter were written by Isambard FA, Kai.A, Nick T., Max P., Kimia K., Ellen B. and Koroush AK. Graphics were produced by Ellen B.

Not financial or tax advice. The content in this newsletter is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this email is intended to serve as financial advice. We are not financial advisors. Every investment and trading move involves risk. Do your own research when making a decision. See our important security disclaimers here.

Disclosure. Some of the links we’ve included are affiliate, they give you rewards and discounts and earn us a commission. Additionally, the Market Meditator writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here.