In a surprising twist during his keynote at the NearCON event, Oleg Fomenko, co-founder of Sweatcoin and CEO of Sweat Economy, made an unexpected announcement. He declared the end of Move2Earn and presented a vision for a future that goes beyond traditional products.
Sweatcoin is a mobile app that allows users to convert their daily steps into a digital currency called “sweatcoins.” These sweatcoins can be used to purchase various products, services, and experiences through the Sweatcoin marketplace or exchanged with friends and family.
The app’s primary goal is to incentivize users to lead healthier and more active lifestyles by rewarding them for their physical activity.
Expressing gratitude for engaging in conversations within the industry over the past two days, Fomenko acknowledged the death of Move2Earn while shedding light on what lies ahead.
He provided a brief overview of Sweatcoin’s evolution, starting as a Web 2 platform in 2014 that incentivized physical activity.
The company later transitioned to Web 3, introducing Sweat Wallet and Sweat Token. Importantly, Fomenko emphasized the need to move beyond tokenizing existing assets and instead focus on creating entirely new assets.
The Move2Earn dilemma
Addressing the burning question about Move2Earn’s fate, Fomenko compared it to the historical performance of well-known projects like StepN, Genopets, and StepApp.
While acknowledging the general market condition, he challenged the notion of declaring Move2Earn completely dead, drawing parallels with the broader crypto market’s fluctuations.
The Sweatcoin boss delved into a comparison between the current state of crypto and the early days of the internet. Pointing out the internet’s trajectory from curiosity to mass-market phenomenon, he suggested that the crypto space might be in a similar early-stage phase, with much room for growth and development.
Designing for the next billion users
While addressing the need to deal with bad actors in the industry, he outlined key principles for designing products for the next billion users.
Starting with a genuine problem, simplifying language, focusing on native mobile experiences, and recognizing the value of low-value transactions were among the critical considerations.
He also called for a passionate advocate for shifting the success metric from Total Value Locked (TVL) to active users, Fomenko argued that vibrant ecosystems require products designed for the masses, not just whales.
He added that Web3 firms should focus on building economies, not just products. He asked the audience to think beyond products and start building economies using Web3 technology. Drawing inspiration from the attention economy, he proposed creating a movement economy
Finally, to encourage innovation for the next billion users, Fomenko announced Sweat Economy’s sponsorship of a hackathon strand focused on “DeFi products for the next billion people.” The winner will receive 50,000 users for their product to test and validate.
