If you track your steps with a Garmin or Apple watch and aim to hit 10,000 each day, you may now earn money for it. Moonwalk Fitness, an app that rewards users with cryptocurrency for adopting healthy behaviors, has acquired $3.4 million in initial investment from lead investor Hack VC, with additional contributions from Solana Raj Gokal, Binance Labs, and Reciprocal Ventures.
Caitlin Cook, head of growth and spokesperson for MoonWalk Fitness, told Fortune that she calls it “gamified accountability.” She said that she is only attempting to assist individuals in sticking to the objectives they have set for themselves.
By enabling users to challenge friends, relatives, or complete strangers to daily tournaments, the app “gamifies” health. The challenge’s creator can establish characteristics such as the number of days the competition will last, the daily step target, and the entry fee for each player. Gamers have the option to deposit in USDC, Solana, or Bonk, a memecoin based in Solana.
Your deposit is pooled and divided equally among those who met the daily step target; if you don’t meet it, you forfeit it. You receive your deposit returned plus a share of the pooled funds if you successfully finish the daily tasks.
Based on the Solana blockchain, the program can be effortlessly included into well-known fitness monitors including as the FitBit, Apple Watch, and Garmin. MoonWalk is presently only accessible through a web browser, but it will ultimately be available on mobile devices as well. According to Cook, customers will be able to purchase credits using a credit card or Apple Pay in addition to a cryptocurrency wallet once the mobile app launches.
Since 2015, crypto fitness applications have attempted to build a steady user base. Similar platforms like StepN need players to buy in-game NFTs in order to play. Instead than rewarding users with a new currency that is exclusive to the platform, MoonWalk uses widely used tokens, which sets it apart from other cryptocurrency fitness applications, Cook explained.
In terms of game mechanics, Cook stated, “I believe MoonWalk is a little bit different, where it’s very clear where any sort of winnings are coming from, and it’s directly from other players.”It is comparable to the most popular and liquid on-chain assets, and fiat will soon support it as well.
By simplifying the intricacies of cryptocurrency use, MoonWalk hopes to attract a larger number of non-native users. Cook stated that the project’s goal is to create a product that the general public will want to use and won’t be scared by, with the blockchain component taking a backseat.
The application leverages a wider phenomenon referred to as “consumer crypto”—the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies by regular people for purposes such as gaming, fashion, banking, music, and the arts.
“Moonwalk opens up a whole new user class by bridging the gap between consumer cryptocurrency and exercise. According to a statement from Hack VC partner Roshun Patel, “a sleek mobile app will abstract crypto elements away from users, fostering simple onboarding and high retention.”
The software just tracks steps at the moment, but Cook stated that the business plans to utilize the money collected in this seed round to provide support for many kinds of fitness activities. According to her, the money will also be utilized to keep creating the application’s iOS and Android versions.
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