From Wallet to Agent: Designing NEAR's Highest-Turnout DAO Vote
Business context
Market situation:
Sector Crisis
In 2022 and 2023, the Move‑to‑Earn sector faced an existential crisis as Ponzi‑like hyper‑inflation (e.g., STEPN) triggered price crashes and undermined user trust.
Migration Challenge
Sweat Economy, evolving from the Web2 giant Sweatcoin and its enormous sign-up base, had to migrate millions of non‑crypto‑native users onto the NEAR blockchain without triggering a death spiral or running afoul of emerging MiCA regulations.
User Behavior Data
Data revealed that users still walked in the background but lacked compelling reasons to open the app daily.
User Barriers
They were blocked by the complexity of multiple chains, gas fees, private keys and bridging; the passive wallet model turned them into spectators rather than participants.
The Challenge
The challenge was to turn this enormous Web2 user base into an on‑chain community without causing churn, token dumping or regulatory nightmares.
Sweat Economy Ecosystem
Central platform connecting AI agent, multi-chain infrastructure, governance, and gamification systems
Transform passive movement into active on-chain participation
Sweat Economy
AI-driven movement-to-earn platform
AI Agent
Mia [Sweat AI] Features
Multi-Chain
Supported Chains
Governance
Features
Gamification
Systems
AI Agent Transformation
Transform the product from a static wallet into a proactive AI agent that translates natural‑language intents into cross‑chain actions.
- Natural language interface
- Cross-chain orchestration
- Gas abstraction
- Key management
Branded Persona (Mia [Sweat AI])
Deploy a branded persona (Mia [Sweat AI]) to abstract keys, gas fees and bridging, enabling users to ask for yield or staking as if talking to a friend.
Variable Reward Schedules
Introduce variable reward schedules and probability‑based games that tie physical activity to yield and advertising revenue.
- Daily Flip
- Ring Dashboards
- Zeigarnik nudges
Interactive Ring Dashboards
Build interactive ring dashboards that visualize progress and trigger habit loops through open‑ring Zeigarnik nudges.
Swipe-to-Vote Governance
Embed gasless swipe‑to‑vote governance into the home screen to turn every user into a voter.
Integrated Systems
Together, these systems convert passive movement into daily on‑chain participation, generate sustainable revenue and prepare the product for multichain expansion.
User Journey: Web2 to Web3
Progression path from passive Web2 user to active on-chain participant
Strategic interventions
The Trust Engine (Mia [Sweat AI])
Introduced ‘Mia’ – an intent‑driven AI persona marketed as Movement in Action. Users converse with Mia [Sweat AI] in plain language (‘send me yield’ or ‘stake my SWEAT’) while she orchestrates complex transactions behind the scenes, including bridging, swapping and staking across NEAR, Ethereum, Base and Arbitrum. She automatically manages private keys and pays gas via meta‑transactions, turning DeFi into a one‑tap experience. Mia [Sweat AI] also surfaces personalized insights from users’ step data, making cross‑chain yield feel like a game. By abstracting chains and humanizing the interface, the product became a benchmark for AI‑driven consumer finance.
The Revenue Loop (Daily Flip)
Designed the ‘Daily Flip,’ a probability‑based mini‑game that uses a variable‑ratio reward schedule akin to slot machines. Each day, users can choose to watch a short ad to unlock a flip that reveals prizes like bonus yield, discount vouchers or exclusive NFTs. The odds of high‑value rewards increase with consistent streaks, tying continued physical activity to bigger payoffs. Step counts feed into the reward algorithm, and the game surfaces dynamic yield pools to teach users about DeFi tokens. By converting a chore into a playful ritual, Daily Flip generates stable advertising revenue and deepens on‑chain engagement regardless of token price.
Swipe-to-Vote Governance
Turned the passive home screen into a voting booth by embedding a gasless, swipe‑based governance interface. When proposals arise, a card surfaces with a summary; users swipe right to vote yes, left to reject or down to abstain. Each swipe triggers a meta‑transaction executed by Mia [Sweat AI], abstracting signatures and gas fees. Real‑time charts animate how each vote changes the tally, and tooltips explain the impact of proposals in plain language. By making governance as intuitive as Tinder and integrating it into daily routines, DAO voting for 357K+ wallets achieved the highest turnout on the NEAR blockchain at the time.
Circular Dashboard & Retention Loops
Replaced the static step counter on the Sweatcoin App home screen with an animated circular progress path inspired by the Apple Activity app. The ring visualizes daily walking progress, pulsing subtly when incomplete to trigger the Zeigarnik effect, the psychological drive to finish what you've started. As users approach their daily goal, the ring fills with smooth animations and milestone celebrations, turning routine walking into a satisfying completion ritual. The visual anchor creates a powerful habit loop: users open the app to check their ring status, get drawn in by the incomplete circle, and stay motivated to close the loop. The ring resets daily, creating a renewable engagement cycle that transforms background movement into foreground reward.
Verified Business Outcomes
Key metrics with context and verified results
Business Outcomes
Metrics with industry benchmarks and revenue impact
| Metric | Comparison | Result | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
DAO Wallets | Prior NEAR votes | 357K+ | Highest turnout at the time |
Ad Completions | Baseline | +135% | Daily Flip ad flow |
D7 Retention | Control | +20% | iOS (+9% Android) |
User Engagement Framework
Feature availability across user engagement tiers
Framework Comparison
Feature availability across tiers
| Feature / Tier | Passive Walkers Background movement only | Active Participants Daily engagement | Governance Voters DAO participation |
|---|---|---|---|
Step TrackingCore | |||
Ring DashboardsEngagement | |||
Daily FlipGamification | |||
Yield EarningFinancial | |||
Governance VotingGovernance |
User Personas
Key user segments and their motivations
Crypto-Native User
DeFi Enthusiast
Wants to maximize yield across multiple chains with minimal friction
Core Driver
Financial optimization
Fears
Complex key management and high gas fees
Web2 Migrant
New to Crypto
Familiar with Sweatcoin, curious about blockchain but intimidated by complexity
Core Driver
Familiarity and trust
Fears
Losing funds, technical complexity, regulatory issues
Governance Enthusiast
DAO Participant
Wants to participate in protocol decisions and shape the future
Core Driver
Influence and ownership
Fears
Missing important votes, unclear proposal impact
Growth trajectory
Metric growth during tenure.
Executive summary
Highest NEAR turnout at the time (The Defiant, CoinDesk)
Daily Flip, rolled out to all users
iOS A/B test (+9% Android)
Sweat Wallet
Sweatcoin
Official Websites
Project Artifacts
