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It’s rewarding to work up a sweat and get into physical shape, but it’s even more rewarding to earn crypto for that sweat. Tech company Sweatcoin announced the launch of SWEAT, a token designed to reward Sweatcoin app users for being physically active by converting physical movement into crypto.
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The crypto is designed to capture the value of movement and is minted purely by steps, the company said, adding that it’s “pioneering a societal shift by empowering people to improve their health, and get paid for it.”
Asked what prompted the idea of the token, Oleg Fomenko, co-founder at Sweatcoin, told GOBankingRates that, “we were worried about the problem of the increasingly sedentary, unhealthy lives we are leading and the far-reaching ramifications of this for both us, as individuals, and society as a whole.”
“We want to make a billion people more active. The question kept coming – how can we make it more incentivizing for people to move that little bit more. Sweatcoin was the answer – an app that counts your steps and rewards you for them,” said Fomenko.
Fomenko explained that while the company had the idea of a crypto reward mechanic in mind “from day one,” crypto wasn’t ready for mass market utilization in 2015 and so Sweatcoin developed as a rewards-currency app.
“And it’s working: our 63 million users walk an average of 20% more after downloading the app. SWEAT – the token, which we’re announcing this week, is the turbo-charging of that vision…a vision to create wealth through health,” he said.
SWEAT will be built on Ethereum and use the eco-friendly NEAR as the blockchain for its token, and the Near Foundation is investing in the project. Other institutional backers include Electric Capital, Spartan Capital, Jump Crypto, OKX Blockdream Ventures (the venture arm of OKX) and GSR, as well as high-profile founders and builders like Terra founder Do Kwon, Sandeep Nailwal, founder of Polygon (MATIC) and Bjorn Wagner, co-founder of Parity (Polkadot), the company said.
The company said that each SWEAT user will be given a Sweat Wallet which will generate fees by enabling a suite of DeFi functions, such as the exchange of SWEAT into other crypto, liquidity provision and staking.
The token enables people to exchange it for goods, services and experiences ranging from high-tech shoes to iPhones, from anti-gravity yoga classes to Apple Watches.
“There are many things you can do with your SWEAT, with new features being added constantly. First of all, you will be able to stake your SWEAT to receive a really attractive return on it,” Fomenko said. “You will also be able to exchange it for other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, so that you are literally walking for Bitcoin.”
Additional features on the roadmap include the use of SWEAT in DeFi – whether that is for staking, liquidity provision, or other crypto opportunities, the ability to purchase NFTs, sell your personal data for more SWEAT or buy premium subscription services, Fomenko said. Users will also be able to convert the token into other cryptos or fiat currency.
In terms of the audience the company is targeting, Fomenko said, “anyone and everyone.”
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“We should and can all get more movement into our daily lives. With SWEAT, the token we’re also keen to see more Web 2 users embrace the possibilities and potential of crypto in the lowest risk way possible – by literally walking for it,” he said.
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