Hey 👋,

Richard Johnson here, welcome to Sports 3.0 Issue #1. Thanks for signing up 👊

In this issue we are talking all about the next big trend in Sports and Web 3.0 or also known as "🏃‍♂️ 2 💸" - If you don't know what I'm on about, don't worry, the answer will be revealed very shortly.

Before then I just want to say thank you for signing up!

Over 83 of you from various brands, teams, agencies and athletes since announcing this a few days ago. You're in good company 😁!

I'd like to do 2 things with this newsletter:

1) Make it easy for people to discover the latest opinions and insights where Sports meets Web 3.0

2) Get to know other people in the sports industry who are just as curious as I am

Beyond that, as a fusion of Sports and Web 3.0, I see potential of Sports 3.0 representing Collaboration, Creativity & Community within the Sports Industry - so if you have any feedback or requests on what you would like me to cover you can get in touch via LinkedIN or by responding to this email.

The next big trend in Web 3.0 👇

So 🏃‍♂️ 2 💸 means.....

🏃‍♂️ = Move / 2 = to / 💸 = Earn

It's a trend I've been following for a few weeks now, and I think the possibilities and current players are fascinating.

So, what is 'Move to Earn'?

Move to Earn is a gamified concept where users are rewarded with Crypto for participating in real life physical activity.

To put this into context, the darling of the space over the last 2 months, STEPN, is rewarding users upwards of $300 a day simply for exercising.

STEPN has recently reached Unicorn status, achieving over 1 million downloads, 100k monthly users and $26m in Q1 revenue - sounds good eh?!

How does it work? TLDR version

• You buy a shoe NFT to get started (which can be tailored for running or walking)

• When exercising with your shoe 'equipped' via the app, you earn their in game token GST.

• You are capped on how much you can earn depending on how many shoes you own - but you can buy more to increase your earning potential

• GST Token is then used in game to level up sneakers, repair the shoes and a variety of different unlocks

For a full in depth breakdown of STEPN, you can read Pet Berisha's brilliant newsletter Sporting Crypto where he recently covered the app.

Of course, the hook of 'Earn $300 a day just by walking' is great sales patter, but for me there are 3 interesting factors which will create momentum behind Move to Earn as the next big trend for Sports 3.0 👇

#1: Ease of habit forming

Inspired by James Clears 'stages of habit', the move to earn craze is perfectly placed to take advantage of an effective habit loop.

Whilst any good app will be looking to achieve the same elements of the Habit Loop, I think Move to Earn creates strong pulls in two particular areas.

A normal exercise app Habit Loop is as follows

1) Cue: The app lives on your homescreen as a prompt/You leave your trainers by your front door

3) Response: You go for a run

4) Reward: Endorphin hit post workout/Excuse for a post-run treat (No? Just me 😬?)

Overlaying the Move to Earn Habit Loop 🤩

I think the 'Cue' and 'Reward' systems over index when it comes to move to earn.

The FOMO 'Cue' pull of missing out a day of earning is strong, and perfectly kicks off the habit loop, creating a 'Streak' type mechanic.

The Reward system speaks for itself, and real money rewards naturally writes the headlines in the space and attracts a windfall of users.

But I think it's cleverer than just a financial reward, I see this as an effective placebo to further trick you into participation.

What may be better in the future, how far you've run this month or how much you've earnt?

Move to Earn provides an extra, and perhaps unconscious incentive to use the product.

#2: Status and Signalling

The NFT community is currently largely about signalling. It continues to be an overlooked factor when brands and newcomers come to the space.

It's the reason why PFP's (Profile Picture Projects) have been some of the most successful in the space. It simply mirrors real world behaviour around personal status & perception.

{🚨TANGENT ALERT🚨: I can't stress this enough for the future of the Sports 3.0 space - Real world behaviours we are used to seeing will be replicated across digital assets and habits in the future albeit with certain variables - I have more interesting research and thoughts to share on this - perhaps in coming weeks!}

And Move to Earn and the 'normal' fitness space is no different.

Why do people go to the gym when many could achieve similar results at home for a fraction of the cost? It's because it's a signal (conscious or unconscious) to their friends, colleagues and other gym goers.

In the world of Move to Earn, whether the user participates with the app or not, the $3,000 trainer NFT which someone acquires lives in their digital wallet, and acts as a visible signal that they exercise.

Going back to the Habit Loop, it's an even better signal of a persons hunger for fitness when rewards neatly rack up with boosts and items only available by having earnt a ton of the in game token.

#3: Storytelling & Community

We've talked a lot about STEPN, but there are some other fantastic Move to Earn products which are also gaining great momentum.

OliveX are focusing on building the fitness metaverse, with a neat and innovative audio based Move to Earn app called Dustland Runner.

The game is set in a post apocalyptic world where an immersive storytelling audio experience guides you whilst running. As you are set missions, you are rewarded with NFTs and their DOSE token based on distance completed.

What a great idea.

For me this is where the Web 3.0 space gets exciting. There are so many creative people out there passionate about merging tech, brand and storytelling.

Another superb 'to earn' format that was shared with me recently was Commit Club.

Commit Club is almost a 'to earn' game in reverse.

You stake your own ETH (or you can do a free version) and set yourself a goal to complete - for example, workout everyday for a month.

You can invite others to your challenge, and you then come back everyday to 'check in' that you have done it for the day.

Every check in, you get a percentage of your ETH back plus ETH if others’ failed challenges! If you miss a check in your ETH is forfeited.

I think type of mechanic will enable opportunties to deepen connections between communities in a fun and memorable way.

I LOVE it!

Maybe I'll do one soon for Sports 3.0 readers to get involved in - let me know if you like the sound of that! 😅

A Key Challenge for Move to Earn:

I'm very aware whilst exploring the aspects of why this trend could really take off, it should also be treated with healthy scepticism which I just couldn't cover in the space of this newsletter.

In the case of most move to earn games, the challenge will revolve around reward sustainability. For a great write up here specific to STEPN, on tokenomics and bear and bull scenarios, check our Nat Eliason's excellent article here.

Key Takeaways

I wanted to highlight this as a growing trend as I believe it could be an area of interest for a number of readers of this newsletter.

The possibilities of Move to Earn (or 'To Earn' activities generally) allow for brands, athletes and rights-holders to explore:

• Opportunities to deepen engagement amongst fan and audience groups, through fun but compelling participation with an in built habit loop

• Genuine rewards systems, where outcomes for participation are fair and can be converted to REAL cash - or kept within the game ecosystem if compelling enough

• Communities formed around such products due to the shared incentives and fun factor

Thats all for issue #1.

If you enjoyed this breakdown please feel free to share on LinkedIN and Twitter 🙌

Thanks & see you next week,

Richard Johnson