GameStop’s (GME) inventory surged as a lot as 30% in after hours after a report that the online game retailer is launching a market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a transfer which had been telegraphed final yr.
GameStop can also be reportedly creating partnerships with two crypto firms to “share technology and co-invest in the development of games that use blockchain and NFT technology, as well as other NFT-related projects,” in keeping with individuals aware of the plans who spoke to the Wall Street Journal.
Last yr, CEO Matt Furlong gave a teaser about plans involving non-fungible tokens and crypto.
“We’ve additionally been exploring rising alternatives in blockchain, NFTs and Web 3.0 gaming,” Furlong stated throughout the earnings name in December.
Months in the past, Internet sleuths had observed firm job descriptions which included “NFT” and “Web 3.0.” The video-game retailer additionally has a hyperlink on the GameStop URL soliciting creators for an NFT market.
GameStop has been a ‘meme’ inventory favourite amongst retailer buyers over the past yr. It was the third most searched ticker in all of 2021 behind Tesla (TSLA), and AMC (AMC). Shares of AMC, one other ‘meme’ darling, have been additionally up greater than 10% in after-hours.
GameStop is present process a turnaround plan below Chairman Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of e-commerce platform Chewy (CHWY).
Cohen, generally known as “Papa Cohen” by the retail dealer crowd, has been hush-hush about his technique.
“We are attempting to do one thing that no one within the retail area has ever carried out,” Cohen stated on the firm’s annual assembly in June of final yr.
GameStop went by a C-Suite overhaul over the summer season, with Amazon (AMZN) veterans Matt Furlong appointed as CEO and Mike Recupero as CFO.
In December, the corporate introduced it had established new places of work in Seattle and Boston, describing the places as “expertise hubs with established expertise markets.”
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Recently, GameStop and different meme favorites have been below strain together with different dangerous belongings and development names, over considerations of Fed fee hikes this yr.
Ines is a markets reporter masking shares from the ground of the New York Stock Exchange. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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