Video game giant GameStop is eyeing a possible investment in Bitcoin, Ether, and related cryptocurrencies despite closing down its NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace and crypto wallet, according to CNBC.
Immediately after the announcement, GameStop’s stock price increased by 20%. The company’s stock is currently trading at a price of $27.15 per share.
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen was recently photographed with Michael Saylor, the head of the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, best known for its role as a Bitcoin treasury company. MicroStrategy holds more Bitcoin on its balance sheet than any other company, a model increasingly adopted by firms worldwide.
GameStop itself has explored digital assets in the past, with the Texas-based retailer launching a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace in 2022. The company later closed this marketplace due to turbulence in the digital asset market following the high-profile collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and a wider market rout. The NFT marketplace also attracted criticism for selling unlicensed NFT games without securing permission from game creators.
“GameStop has decided to wind down our NFT marketplace due to the continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space,” the company said at the time.
In 2023, the video game retailer also shut down its crypto wallet, a year after launching the service.
However, with the election of President Donald Trump, the first so-called “crypto president,” businesses in the U.S. are increasingly looking at gaining exposure to Bitcoin for the first time, or increasing their holdings of Bitcoin if they already carry the digital asset. A wave of non-crypto companies are also adding Bitcoin to their corporate balance sheets, from the health tech firm Semler Scientific to the energy storage firm KULR Technology Group.
