Sweatcoin is an ahead-of-its-time global health platform launched in 2015 and which assigns value to users' physical movements, tracked by GPS and turned into so-called Sweatcoins. These are not a form of crypto and are not to be confused with SWEAT (which is a crypto, accessible via the Sweat Wallet).

Prior to the September 2022 launch of SWEAT tokens – airdropped to the community of Sweatcoin app users – the burgeoning M2E platform had only that in-app reward token; it could be redeemed for things such as discounts and gift vouchers or as a way to donate to a range of humanitarian and environmental charities.

Now, users of the Sweatcoin fitness app still can the get in-app tokens as an incentive for physical activity as well as the newly released SWEAT tokens, cryptos that run atop the NEAR Protocol.

Users earn SWEAT tokens (up to five per day) for walking a certain number of steps (1,000 per SWEAT or up to 5,000 in day).

As Capital.com explained, "the Sweatcoin crypto will use people called movement validators, who will confirm that people are taking the required number of steps in order to issue the crypto. The token will be used to collect revenue from NFT sellers, as well as being used to buy NFTs and to take out a subscription to Sweatcoin’s premium services."

When was SWEAT created and how much was it worth?

The project traces back to 2015. In April of 2022, the platform announced it would launch a crypto run on the Near blockchain.

Sweatcoin's token generation event took place on Sept. 12, 2022. Sweatcoin in-app token holders got SWEAT cryptocurrencies on a 1:1 basis.

About 25.8 billion SWEATs were minted. The price jumped to $0.09 but fell by 80% within the span of about six weeks.

How is the price of SWEAT determined?

The total supply of newly minted supply of SWEAT tokens is 21 billion. Data from CoinGecko showed the circulating supply of SWEAT as being roughly 2 billion tokens, as of late October of 2022. Much of the airdropped supply is being subjected to a lockup.

The inflationary aspect of M2E projects’ tokens remains a major concern, as Blockonomi explained.

However, the difficulty to mint new SWEAT will rise with time.

Additionally, Blockonomi pointed out, both Sweatcoin and Sweat Wallet have diverse sources of income that by design will also cause SWEAT to be burned, reducing its available supply.

Why does SWEAT have value?

Participants in the Sweat Economy can earn SWEAT (by moving) and stake/swap/trade it by way of the Sweat Wallet. SWEAT can be used to buy digital items such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Is SWEAT secure?

Sweat Economy is built on the Near blockchain which has boasted of being able to provide greater security by adding hidden validators that must verify batches of smaller blocks known as shards.

Meanwhile, the Near Foundation said it has partnered with Elliptic to enhance on-chain security.

What are the main benefits of SWEAT?

• As the native crypto of the Sweat Economy, SWEAT can be staked to earn yields. Users with higher SWEAT stakes get access to better rewards, lower transaction fees and increased daily minting limits (Capital.com).
• The M2E paradigm, which has evolved since the beginning of 2022, is now driving a fresh wave of mainstream adoption, Blockonomi said. "Over time, the verification process will become decentralized, allowing other apps and wearables to validate other forms of activity, allowing users to earn $SWEAT for a variety of other activities such as swimming, cycling, walking, or gymnastics," the website said.
• It's a free platform. You download the app, integrate devices and start earning.

What do critics say about SWEAT?

Sweat Economy is still in its fledgling stages, MakeUseOf.com said.

Between the start and end of October 2022, SWEAT brutally sold off, falling 39% to $0.0174 as of Oct. 31, 2022, according to CoinGecko. SWEAT value has plunged 80% since its debut.