Sweat Economy

At the token generation event on 12 September 2022, Sweatcoin holders were airdropped SWEAT at a 1:1 ratio, and a co-founder said earlier users could convert old coins for free. Raptor Group describes the token as built on NEAR for speed and scale, with reward settlement through Ref Finance, a NEAR exchange.

Users earn through steps, and staking SWEAT raises the daily minting limit. One source says the minting rate was designed to fall over time. As of 21 October 2022, SWEAT and sweatcoins were not exchangeable.

A Substack post reports a DAO vote to burn about 1.8 billion SWEAT from reclaimed tokens and allocate the remaining 690 million to support the US launch. A NEAR explorer page lists a total supply of two billion but shows no price data, so its figures should be treated cautiously.

The 1:1 ratio is generous at face value but depends on the value of a SWEAT token, which fell in the months after launch according to capital.com's account of the sell-off.

A step-counting app can be gamed by fake motion, so rewards usually come with limits.

Step-counting tokens raise a privacy question as well as a financial one. Linking a phone's activity data to a crypto wallet creates a record of movements, so users should read what data the app collects and how it is shared. The reward is small compared with the personal information involved, which is worth weighing.

If you use the app, read the terms about withdrawal limits and fees before assuming that your balance can be converted at the price you see. Reward programmes tied to a phone app can change with little warning, so never plan spending around a balance that has not been paid out.