Play-to-earn game Stepn, which lets users buy non-fungible token (NFT) running shoes and earn native crypto GMT through jogging, reportedly started a major layoff of its contract workers amid a market downturn – but the team behind the app denies firing staff.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Find Satoshi Labs, Stepn’s parent company, has terminated the contracts of more than 100 community moderators of its social media channels, as well as its “ambassadors” who promote the “move-to-earn” fitness app. It cited the crypto news outlet Wu Blockchain and “people familiar with the matter.”

“It began to focus on promoting its parent company Find Satoshi Lab, and mainly focused on new projects to be released such as the NFT exchange market,” Wu Blockchain reported. “In addition, the large amount of GMT's investor saft will be unlocked in March next year.”

The SCMP, however, added that a Stepn representative denied that the team was laying off staff. Instead, they claimed that “the company had “parted ways” with “volunteer” moderators who had not been active recently,” as well as that it’s “actively hiring for several roles.”

The representative reportedly declined to say whether those “volunteers” were ever paid, and they did not reply to questions about the company’s current relationship with its ambassadors.

Furthermore, the company told Decrypt that,

These are "baseless claims that are factually inaccurate."

Per a blog post published on Tuesday, titled “an open letter to the STEPN Community,” the team has been “reflecting on the past year,” claiming that:

“The slower pace of the crypto market leaves room for creativity–we are feeling inspired. The current market conditions make this the perfect time to build. […]