GameStop, a popular American chain of console and computer game stores, was the preferred “meme” stock among retail investors. The highly tentative stock grabbed the 3rd position among ‘most searched ticker’ in 2021. It left behind Tesla (TSLA), and AMC (AMC).
GameStop Hires More Than 20 Persons for the Creation of its NFT Marketplace
According to The Wall Street Journal report on January 8, GameStop has just hired more than 20 people for a new division that will focus on developing a market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The video game retailer stock surged higher with the report of its NFT marketplace.
The WSJ also stated that the retailer is conducting negotiations with two cryptocurrency companies to leverage their technology and jointly invest in blockchain games and NFTs.
The company intends to develop a platform that will allow users to buy, sell and exchange irreplaceable tokens based on game elements. The market launch is scheduled for the end of 2022.
Taking into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its outlets, GameStop’s actions are aimed at improving overall financial performance, according to the publication.
It should be noted that the company’s share price is up 20% after the news was released. Recall that GameStop stock rose to $347 in January 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange.
GameStop CEO’s Plans for NFT
In the last conference call on GameStop’s results, CEO and Director Matt Furlong discussed plans to introduce non-fungible tokens and cryptocurrencies.
In December 2021, Furlong stated that they have analyzed emerging opportunities in Blockchain, NFT and Web 3.0 games.
A few months ago, Internet investigators discovered that the company’s job description included “NFT Program” and “Web 3.0”. This video game retailer is referring to obtaining the creator’s GameStop URL from the NFT marketplace. According to the website, “Request to be a creator on the GameStop NFT marketplace.”
