At NFT Paris 2023, which was held in Paris on February 24-25th, we had the chance to speak with Yawn Rong, co-founder of Find Satoshi Labs and creator of the well-known STEPN NFT project. We discussed what attributes are necessary for a successful marketplace.
How to increase the game and NFT marketplace in the future?
We initiated STEPN during the Covid-19 pandemic. I was so bored with all the restrictions, especially in Australia where there were numerous lockdowns. Jerry lived next door to me at that time and we would often see each other since we were limited to a 500 km radius.
We agreed to collaborate on a cryptocurrency project due to Jerry’s experience in game development and my knowledge of crypto investments, mining, and turning a profit.
We joined forces, intending to conceive a game. Initially, the goal was not to involve walking but rather something that resembled Monopoly or SuperMario.
However, with the lockdown still in effect yet allowing us to walk outside for a few hours while police kept watch, we noticed numerous people out with their kids or pets. This sparked an idea of creating something related to outdoor strolls.
We decided to strip the game of many features, including the narrative, and kept only its core elements. This was met with approval from players; we now have between 20,000 and 50,000 people playing it daily.
What’s your opion of the current NFT market? How to grow in the future? What’s your prediction on adoption?
We are striving to make it easier for individuals to get involved in the NFT field. That is our ambition; that’s what we want to achieve.
What are your future plans for STEPN?
Last year, our goal was to broaden the Find Satoshi Labs platform, which requires a continuous development process.
To back up the GMT token, we made a decision to construct our marketplace, DEX and an infrastructure ecosystem that will be available later this year. Following this completion, we must begin populating it with stores and products.
STEPN will always be included in this but there are additional apps that we wish to launch. We are cultivating a two-pronged approach: concentrating on NFTs with one leg and focusing on tokenomics, with the GMT token at its core, using the other.
The NFT and the token will complement each other; for instance, tokens can be used to create NFTs, and NFTs can be exchanged for tokens.
What is the current status of the NFT marketplace Mooar and its associated DEX, Dooar?
We created Dooar as our DEX. We wanted to incorporate all the necessary elements into one application, which is called STEPN. Initially, we utilized third-party providers but then resolved to replace them with our own offerings.
At the moment, Dooar is available on Mooar to make exchanging tokens easier. We have plans for Dooar in the future, but it is not our main focus right now.
It has basic operations, but we are paying more attention to Mooar – an NFT marketplace that works with Solana and Ethereum and other blockchains.
Additionally, we are aiming to optimize the user experience. To put it briefly, Mooar is currently a zero-fee launchpad open only to members who can trade in addition to launching new blue-chip NFTs – and that’s what we’re focussing on right now.
We are being very selective when it comes to choosing which projects to back and promote on a quarterly basis, in order to identify those that are most likely to succeed.
The NFTs we are launching have a purpose and allow for growth. To make the process more sustainable, we are eliminating trading fees and replacing them with subscriptions.
This may be more challenging since users don’t often trade NFTs; however, we plan on introducing other products that will make being a member worthwhile.
The subscription model allows us to take advantage of numerous product features. For instance, users are now able to access an entire ecosystem and receive a more immersive experience as they progress, not just trading.
If you have an advanced level of expertise, you will be more likely to be successful and receive rewards when using the launchpad, for instance.
