Stepn to block mainland China users to comply with regulatory policies

In a move to comply with Chinese regulatory policies, Stepn will be blocking users based in mainland China from its mobile app.

The nonfungible token (NFT) game Stepn will ban users in mainland China in an attempt to follow Chinese regulatory requirements.

The company’s uncertainty has been fueled by rumors that it will be forced to leave mainland China. STEPN is a popular “move-to-earn” game based on Solana and BNB Chain, created by two Chinese emigrants now living in Australia.

On July 15, Stepn will clear all accounts based in mainland China for local compliance reasons. Before then, the platform advises users who plan to reside in mainland China long-term to sell their assets on the platform if possible.

2/ 如果您預期長期會在該地區的GPS 或 IP位置登陸及使用您的帳戶，我們鼓勵您自行決策處理應用內的資產。在此期間，更多細節將通過官方社交媒體公告、郵件、應用內提示等方式通知使用者。

— STEPN | Public Beta Phase IV (@Stepnofficial) May 26, 2022

The news sent shockwaves throughout the market, with investors dumping assets. When Pandaily launched Stepn in April, the floor price of a “sneaker” on the platform was around 13 SOL, but it has since dropped to just 8 SOL. Also, the price of STEPN’s utility token, GMT, has plummeted by more than 30% in the past 24 hours, with most of it occurring after the announcement.

After the news was announced, Jerry, the firm’s founder, noted that mainland Chinese users make up 5% of the platform’s overall user base, implying that the company’s exit from this market will not have a significant impact on its financial success. According to Stepn’s official Twitter account, daily active users increased to more than 500,000 in May, from 300,000 in April.

Stepn aims to show that it is viable because it earns commissions from other blockchain firms who want to market their goods or tokens to Stepn’s users, who are quickly accessible through the move-to-earn concept, Rong stated last month.

Related: NFT traders STEPN to a new groove — Is move-to-earn the future of fitness or another fad?

China has been cracking down on cryptocurrency-related activities for years, and the central bank’s statement about foreign cryptocurrency exchanges in September last year prompted large platforms such as Binance and Huobi to leave the country.