Binance’s venture arm announced strategic investments in the Move-to-Earn application STEPN from Find Satoshi Lab. The project’s governance token (GMT) rose on the news.
What a big day… 😍 Celebrating the new joiner of Binance Labs Family @Stepnofficial — THE BEST of its kind web3 move-and-earn app. Let’s Step up N up!https://t.co/evNkFxrQgx
— Binance Labs Fund (@BinanceLabs) April 6, 2022
Binance Labs did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
STEPN incentivises users to lead healthier lifestyles by allowing them to earn a game token (GST) by walking or running outdoors.
To participate, users must download the app and buy NFT sneakers aligned with their fitness level.
STEPN has a built-in wallet and marketplace, as well as gamification features such as upgrading and releasing sneakers, social interaction capabilities, and more. The app is currently in beta.
“As the Move-to-Earn concept is trending in Web 3.0, STEPN is helping to grow its user base. We believe gamifying physical activity could attract more people to the industry, accelerating the mass adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies,” said Binance Labs head Bill Qian.
According to the release, the financing round included Sequoia Capital, Alameda Research, Folius Ventures, Solana Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, Sfermion and other investors.
The STEPN team will use the raised funds to develop the app and its community.
“Although we have grown a hundredfold over the past months, this is just the beginning. We have many exciting items on our roadmap, including cross-network integration, brand partnerships and new use cases for GMT,” said STEPN co-founder Yan Rong.
In response to the announcement, GMT rose to around $2.7 — more than 20% (Binance). At the time of writing, the asset was trading near $2.64.
In March, Binance Labs invested additional $5 million in the Ultiverse metaverse developers.