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Web3 Move-to-Earn App STEPN Integrates Apple Pay for In-Game Purchases

Cam Thompson
·2-min read

Web3 move-to-earn game STEPN is integrating payments service Apple Pay as a fiat onramp for in-app purchases in a bid to make its app more widely accessible.

The integration will allow users to connect their credit card to Apple Pay and purchase non-fungible token (NFT) sneakers necessary for gameplay. With Apple Pay as a fiat payment method, users will no longer have to connect a crypto wallet to purchase in-game assets – a step that can hinder new players from joining its ecosystem.

Shiti Manghani, chief operating officer of STEPN told CoinDesk that incorporating a fiat onramp like Apple Pay – a technology native to iOS users – will help onboard the next 100 million users to Web3. STEPN says it is the first blockchain gaming app to secure Apple Pay integration.

“It's very prestigious, and a privilege, to be able to be approved by Apple for this kind of integration…These big platforms give us exposure to bigger audiences,” said Manghani. “Our attempt always has been to diversify and expose both the app as well as Web3, and the benefits that it can bring to an audience that is not limited just to within the Web3 community.”

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According to data platform Dune Analytics, while STEPN quickly scaled to over 700,000 monthly active users in May 2022, it has since declined to about 23,000. Jerry Huang, co-founder of Find Satoshi Labs (FSL), the company behind STEPN, said in a press release that using a hybrid of Web2 and Web3 technologies is a helpful avenue for onboarding more users to the ecosystem.

“With this Apple Pay integration we are making the user journey much more seamless, removing barriers to entry for all who want to move-to-earn, and ensuring that the Web3 space reaches a level of maturity it requires in order to go mainstream,” said Huang.

In November, Find Satoshi Labs rolled out its native NFT marketplace MOOAR to allow users to purchase in-game assets natively within the application. In July 2022, STEPN reported $123 million in Q2 profits ahead of the crypto winter onset.

Read More: Stepn Was a Runaway Success During COVID but Can It Keep Moving Forward?