Meme Stocks Meet Crypto Mania With GameStop Pursuing NFTs
It was just a matter of time before the turbocharged worlds of meme-stock and crypto trading collided in a burst of speculative frenzy. News late Thursday that GameStop Corp., which became emblematic of 2021’s turbulent year of retail investing, is getting into the business of non-fungible tokens sent the stock soaring after hours, and the shares were up about 20% in U.S. premarket trading Friday. The jump followed a sharp retreat since late November.
NFTs emerged as the hottest commodity of the crypto universe last year as prices for some digital artworks spiraled into the millions of dollars and celebrities and athletes flocked to the asset class. GameStop’s flirtation with crypto follows that of fellow Reddit-crowd darling AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., which announced in November that it’s contemplating issuing its own cryptocurrency.
Getting into the NFT trade would mark the latest pivot for Chairman Ryan Cohen, whose push to reinvent the brick-and-mortar video games seller into a digital-first retailer sparked a fervor for the stock last year, triggering large losses for hedge funds who were short the shares.
GameStop Soars on NFT-Marketplace Plan as Cohen Maps Turnaround
“The market loves the decision, the struggling company has bought some time by dangling NFTs in front of investors,” said Tokyo-based games industry analyst Serkan Toto. “However, I am very skeptical if GameStop can make it on its own. The company definitely needs partners to compete with the likes of OpenSea and get video game companies to cooperate.”
GameStop’s NFT strategy, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, involves talks with crypto and blockchain operators about what tokens would be accepted on its marketplace as well as the setup of
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