STEPN's recent policy has sparked discussions in the community, is the new promotion of the BNB chain beneficial to user ecosystem health?

The current hottest play-to-earn game in the market, STEPN, has recently sparked discussions within the community due to its frequent policy changes. This article explains the community's recent views on the game and observations on the promotion of the BNB chain user ecosystem.

Transition in Shoe Casting Mechanism

STEPN announced on 4/29 that it would change the way shoes are cast, switching from using GST to GMT for casting. The news immediately caused a rapid increase in GMT prices, while GST plummeted.

However, this mechanism lasted for only about a day, as the official quickly changed the casting mechanism to 50% GMT and 50% GST. Such frequent changes in the rules have led to volatile prices for GST and GMT, a "monetary policy" that may be intended for the sustainable development of token economics. However, many criticize this governance approach as too centralized, contradicting the spirit of Web3.

Jun YU, founder of A&T Capital, also stated: "Some recent actions and comments from the STEPN project team are contrary to the spirit of Web3, arbitrarily changing rules and severely centralizing control."

Community Flooded with FUD Comments

As Binance CEO CZ mentioned yesterday: "P2E, staking, airdrops, and other incentive measures are great for attracting new users. But if a project does not have a model where revenue exceeds rewards, the token price will eventually collapse due to oversupply."

After STEPN attracted a large number of users with its innovative gaming approach and impressive annual returns, the community began to scrutinize it more closely. Many believe that STEPN only focuses on whether its economic model will collapse, neglecting product development and the growth of its social ecosystem.

Rumors of studios, various copycats, and cheating programs also raise concerns that it may follow the fate of Axie Infinity.

Additional: STEPN Solana Data Overview

Perhaps due to the proliferation of rumors and FUD comments, STEPN co-founder Jerry responded to a tweet accusing the platform of using multiple cheats. From his response, Jerry seems to have absolute confidence in their anti-cheat mechanism, but his response has sparked discussions in the community.

Nevertheless, looking at the roadmap that STEPN originally planned, they continue to develop steadily. The GMT token was recently listed on the Korean exchange Bithumb, expanding the community's reach to more countries.

Analysis of BNB Chain Situation

Since the collaboration between STEPN and sportswear brand Asics began, it is evident that STEPN is gradually promoting the use of the BNB chain. They also airdropped a pair of genesis shoes on the BNB chain to holders. However, when observing the shoe market and token prices on the BNB chain, it is apparent that it is in a state of high thresholds and detached from the market.

For example, a level 0 walking shoe that has not been cast in a shoebox is approximately 14.6 SOL, around $1,270 on Solana, while on the BNB chain, it is 10.3 BNB, approximately $4,000, nearly three times the price.

Comparing the GST prices on these two chains, it is $6.69 on Solana and $14.55 on the BNB chain. Although the price on the BNB chain is about 2.2 times that of Solana, the breakeven price is significantly longer compared to Solana when considering shoe prices.

With higher shoe prices and longer breakeven periods, new users are likely to choose Solana. Additionally, due to the high prices, there are fewer users who can afford the current BNB shoe prices. The current situation on the BNB chain indicates that mature studios on Solana, meaning profit-oriented professional teams, see the potential in the BNB chain. However, when the balance between high shoe prices and high GST cannot be maintained, it is highly likely that both will experience a downturn.

There are conflicting views within the community regarding STEPN's future development, as it is considered the most successful P2E game after Axie Infinity. However, whether positive or negative, these discussions are hoped to be a driving force for STEPN's progress, continuously developing more enticing features and addressing issues pointed out by the community.