STEPN is an NFT game that I've been blogging about in my Exploring NFTs series. 

This guide will take you through buying your first NFT sneaker so you can start your own STEPN journey.

Download the app

First thing you'll need to do is download the STEPN app.

It's available on both Android and iOS from the STEPN website.

Note that you may get asked for an Invite Code or Activation Code.

You can usually find these all over the STEPN subreddit.

You can also DM me on Instagram and I may have an active one for you.

Choosing Your Sneaker

Your next task is to figure out which type of sneaker you want to buy.

A good place to start is my STEPN introduction article where you can learn the basic mechanics of the game.

My recommendation is to choose a sneaker that is optimised to earn GST.

This means your primary attribute will be Efficiency.

The reason Efficiency is the best attribute to begin with is because when you're first starting out, GST will be your main earnings.

You will not have enough Luck or Energy to earn worthwhile Mystery Boxes (Level 3 boxes are the minimum level that are actually worth anything, and you'll need a high level sneaker and at least 4 Energy before you start earning them).

You also cannot use Comfort to earn GMT until you hit Level 30, which you will not reach for some time (unless you fork out for a Level 30 sneaker right away).

The best sneaker to get accustomed to the game without breaking the bank will be a good GST earning sneaker.

The two attributes important in earning GST are Efficiency and Resilience.

Efficiency determines how much GST you will earn on each walk

Resilience determines how much GST you will spend repairing your shoe from the walk.

Ideally you want both of those base scores to be as close to 10 as possible.

You also need to decide whether you want a Runner, a Walker or a Jogger.

My recommendation is to go with a Walker if you plan on playing every day, because even if you're a regular runner (like me), it is quite hard to run every day, especially when you get to higher Energy capacity and your runs last 45 minutes or more.

However, all of these variables are completely up to you! That's what makes the game fun.

How To Buy A Sneaker

Once you have set yourself up with an account, go to the Solana symbol in the top right:

Note - if you chose the BNB realm, you will since a Binance Coin symbol, and if you chose the Ethereum realm, you will see an ETH symbol.

In this case, we will use the Solana realm since that's the original.

Once you click in here, you will be taken to your wallets.

Click the Wallet tab:

This is where you can deposit some SOL so you can buy your sneakers.

Click "Receive" and it will open up your SOL address for this wallet:

This is where you will send your first deposit.

Next, we need to buy some SOL.

UPDATE: You can now buy GMT directly from EasyCrypto! Meaning you don't need to buy SOL first and then exchange it. So if you're planning to play STEPN, buy GMT, not SOL (this will become clear as you continue reading below).

Head to your EasyCrypto account and place a regular buy order.

If you have not purchased crypto before, I suggest reading my guide How To Buy Your First $100 In Bitcoin.

For this particular order, I am purchasing $500 of SOL:

Once you've completed your order, your SOL should arrive in your wallet in just a few seconds.

Next thing you'll need to do is exchange some of this SOL into GMT (the native token for STEPN).

You need to do this because GMT is the currency you use to buy the sneakers on the marketplace.

Click the "Trade" button and exchange some of your SOL into GMT (however much you think you will need to purchase a sneaker. If you're not sure, head to the marketplace and look!)

Again, you can now buy GMT directly from EasyCrypto! Meaning you don't need to buy SOL first and then exchange it.

Once you've done this, you will need to transfer your GMT into your game wallet.

To do this, just hit the "Transfer" button and send your GMT balance:

Now you're ready to go!

Head to the marketplace and go shoe shopping.

When you find a sneaker you like, hit Buy and it's yours!