GameStop Corp plans to launch a marketplace for nonfungible tokens (NFT) for gamers by the end of the year, a person familiar with the matter said, sending shares of the gaming retailer soaring in extended trading.
The company, which is in the middle of a turnaround to focus on digital sales rather than brick-and-mortar shops, is also in talks with crypto and blockchain companies about which tokens could be used on the NFT marketplace, the person said, asking not to be named.
It is also discussing with partners the potential to create funds of up to US$100 million each to invest in NFT content creators and gaming companies, the person said.
Photo: AP
Over the past few months, GameStop has assembled a team of more than 20 people who are focused on the crypto-related push, the person said.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on GameStop’s crypto and NFT plans.
The shares jumped 29 percent in extended trading.
Investors have been waiting for months to hear more about the firm’s strategy from GameStop chairman Ryan Cohen, a cofounder of pet supply company Chewy Inc, who joined the board earlier this year with a vision to revive growth.
The Texas-based company suffered in the shift from gaming cartridges to digital downloads, and was further battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered retail shops.
However, it has been championed by retail investors who organize in online forums such as Reddit, and boosted the stock by almost 700 percent last year, despite little fundamental evidence to support the gains.
The company has posted years of annual revenue declines.
The largest market for NFTs, OpenSea, saw an explosion in sales last year, with monthly sales volume peaking at US$3.4 billion in August, up from US$96.7 million in February, Dune Analytics data showed.
The company makes money by taking a 2.5 percent cut of every transaction.
Seeing this traction, a slew of other NFT marketplaces have sprung up in recent months, hoping to attract users.
GameStop has millions of loyal gaming customers whom it can direct to its marketplace.
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