Four Ways How Gamestop Is Cementing Its Roots in the Crypto Space
GameStop has been making headlines in the stock market and is one of the most well-known “meme stocks”. The video game accessories seller is making headlines, but this time for an entirely different reason; it seems to be going all in into the crypto space. The company’s stocks have been slowly rising as it explores its newfound interests, particularly in NFTs and cryptocurrencies. This article will outline how GameStop has been cementing its roots in the crypto world.
An NFT and Web3 Gaming Division
GameStop has increased its efforts in Web 3 development this year; the company announced it would have a Web3 gaming division in January. The video game retail company is cashing in the crypto space by launching the division. The company had already hired twenty people to work in the division. After gaining popularity on the internet, the video game retailer felt this could be good business.
NFTs are part of a blockchain-based technology quickly gaining prominence in the video game industry as companies seek to integrate the technology to allow users to monetise their time and investments. At the same time, the company hinted at the launch of its NFT marketplace.
The company CEO, Furlong, stated that the marketplace would support GameStop’s pursuit of long-term growth in cryptocurrency, NFT, and Web gaming verticals, which are expected to be vital for collectors and gamers.
Launching NFT Marketplace on Immutable X
The company joined the NFT craze by launching its marketplace where its users can acquire digital assets. The company announced in February that it would launch its NFT marketplace with Immutable X, an Australian blockchain startup that would launch in the second quarter of the fiscal year.
The Australian company is also behind Gods Unchained, an NFT trading card game. The marketplace was then launched on July 11th 2022. This would enable creators, gamers, collectors and members to trade their NFTs on the platform.
The marketplace is a non-custodial, Ethereum layer 2-based marketplace that ensures transparent ownership of digital assets by its users as they are secured on the Ethereum Blockchain. Immutable X joined GameStop as a co-creator on a $100m fund for game developers, which was given as grants in IMX tokens.
Gaming is a large industry; however, gamers’ investments cannot be turned into real economic value. Therefore, this partnership may be the key to the imminent gaming paradigm, which entails true-in-game economies that allow users to acquire value for their time and in-game item ownership.
GameStop Crypto and NFT Wallet
The gaming retail company earlier this year announced it launched its own crypto and NFT wallet, which would enable its users to purchase, store and transfer digital assets. Users can now download the wallet on the chrome web store and access a wide range of DApps without leaving the chrome tab.
The company announced the information on its Twitter handle on 23rd May 2022, stating, “it’s official! The GameStop wallet is here. Download wallet.gamestop.com”. The wallet is non-custodial, allowing users complete control of their digital wallets as no third parties will access them unless they have their private keys. The wallet will allow users to consolidate e all their digital assets in one location, making it more convenient to use.
Partnership With FTX US
GameStop Corp stocks have recently risen by almost 12 per cent after the corporation stated that they would partner with FTX US, a USA-based crypto exchange, on September 7. This move suggested that the company is still striving to shift to cryptocurrencies and NFTS. This collaboration is expected to attract more investors to the crypto world and introduce more GameStop clients to the FTXs community.
The partnership will promote marketing initiatives and E-commerce while selected GameStop retail stores will have the FTX gift cards. The reports state that GameStop will be the preferable retail partner in the states with 2970 GameStop locations. The CEO Matt Furlong stated that the partnership between the two companies is expected to create something unique; he added that the deal was a byproduct of the company’s blockchain and commerce team to develop something new in the retail world.
This partnership could also aid the companies in traversing the crypto winter; GameStop is not the only company that has partnered with FTX. Startups such as Voyager and BlockFI partnered with FTX to help them survive the crypto winter.
Conclusion
GameStop gained popularity from social media when it was expected to make huge losses; however, the internet uproar caused it to profit more as more stocks were in demand. Seeing the internet’s power, the company has recently acquired an interest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs.The retail company has already made several moves that indicate that it is shifting to the crypto sphere.
