STEPN kicks off STEPNEMBER5 for its fifth anniversary

In Brief:

• STEPN (official site) is launching STEPNEMBER5, a month-long anniversary event built on weekly challenges and rewards spanning both STEPN and STEPN GO.
• The event marks five years of STEPN and two years of STEPN GO.
• Start dates, prize pools and challenge mechanics haven’t been disclosed. Last year’s edition ran 12 sneaker skins over four weeks alongside a $14,000 seed phrase hunt.

STEPN is launching STEPNEMBER5, a month-long anniversary event built around weekly challenges across STEPN and STEPN GO, the company said in a post on X.

It’s the fifth edition of the annual campaign. “5 years of STEPN. 2 years of STEPN GO,” the post said.

STEPN called it “the month-long anniversary event packed with weekly challenges, community milestones, and exclusive rewards for both STEPN and STEPN GO users.” The format repeats on a weekly cycle. “Every week brings a new challenge and a new chance,” the company said.

What hasn’t been announced

STEPN gave no start date, no reward pool figure and no mechanics for the weekly challenges. It also didn’t say whether rewards will be denominated in GMT, GGT or GGUSD, or whether the two apps get separate tracks.

Last year’s template

STEPNEMBER4 marked four years of STEPN and one year of STEPN GO. That edition centered on 12 sneaker skins released over four weeks, three per week, each referencing a moment in crypto history including meme coins, all-time highs, Sam Bankman-Fried and BlackRock.

Unlock mechanics rotated week to week and were split across the two apps: minting, enhancing, burning and spending Energy.

It also ran a $14,000 seed phrase hunt. Two wallets, one for STEPN and one for STEPN GO, were each locked behind a 12-word seed phrase, with clues seeded through the month as words, numbers and icons hidden inside visuals, posts and NFT artwork. Each wallet held a 1/1 Genesis Sneaker plus GMT. Two players cracked the phrases, and each prize was capped at $7,000.

Alongside it, FSL ID dropped rare 1/1 Genesis Sneakers with a $100,000 giveaway, Game Hub added merch rewards, streak protection and boostable runs, and MOOAR ran two phases of Project Callisto.

Where the apps stand

The anniversary event arrives while Marathon Challenge Season 3 is mid-round. Round 2 runs Aug. 24 through Sept. 7. Players pick a stake tier: 50 GGUSD for two Energy a day, 100 GGUSD for four, or 200 GGUSD for six, and they can enter more than one. Finish all 14 days and the stake comes back with APY rewards and Marathon Boxes. Miss a day and the stake goes into the pool for everyone still standing.

An optional Season Pass costs 20 GGUSD for the full 12-week season and adds extra Marathon Boxes, badges and backgrounds, Starlets, GGUSD coupons and raffle mints for Marathon Sneakers. It doesn’t make finishing any easier.

FSL halved GMT earnings on Jan. 1, reversing an earlier position that it wasn’t planning a halving system. The team said growth had made adjusting emissions the right call.

Other campaigns have run through the year. STEPN Around The World 2026 launched June 4, letting players enhance sneakers for randomly assigned country skins tied to all 48 nations in the summer’s international football tournament, with a 500,000 GMT prize pool that grew as teams advanced. FSL also partnered with Mastercard on GMT Pay, which lets users spend GMT and GGT directly.

How STEPNEMBER started

The campaign began in September 2022 for STEPN’s first anniversary, structured around five “Movements” the company used to describe itself: health and wellness, community and social, environmentalism, financial freedom, and bridging web2 and web3.

That first run had four weekly challenges and a total reward pool of 100,000 GMT, with a 20,000 GMT grand prize for the overall winner across all four. Placement came down largely to social engagement: likes, retweets, comments and shares.

The final challenge of that 2022 edition was called “Best Running Friends Forever.” It ran Sept. 23-29.