GameStop to End NFT Market Amid ‘Regulatory Uncertainty’
GameStop is getting out of the non-fungible token (NFT) arena.
In an update posted on its GameStop NFT website, the company said it has decided to wind down its NFT marketplace “due to the continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space.”
“Effective as of February 2, 2024, customers will no longer be able to buy, sell or create NFTs,” GameStop said in the update. “Your NFTs are on the blockchain and will remain accessible and saleable through other platforms.”
GameStop unveiled its NFT marketplace in July 2022, saying it would let gamers, creators and collectors buy, sell and trade the digital art collectibles.
The marketplace lets users connect their own digital asset wallets to the marketplace and allows them to own their assets, which are secured on the blockchain.
Two months before unveiling the marketplace, in May 2022, GameStop jumped into NFTs and crypto by introducing a digital asset wallet for sending, receiving and using cryptocurrencies and NFTs on several decentralized apps without leaving their web browsers.
The news of the winding down of the NFT marketplace comes about five months after GameStop’s Aug. 1 announcement that it would end support of that digital asset wallet on Nov. 1.
In a message posted at the time, the company advised customers to ensure that they had access to the Secret Passphrase that enabled them to recover their account in any compatible wallet.
As with the NFT Marketplace, GameStop attributed its ending of support for the digital asset wallet to “the regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space.”
Sales of NFTs fell 63% in 2023, despite a tripling of volume between October and November, Bloomberg News reported Sunday (Jan. 14), citing data from CryptoSlam.
While GameStop is winding down one investment, the company is potentially embarking on a new one, Seeking Alpha reported Thursday (Jan. 18). The company’s board of directors approved a new investment policy last month that lets CEO Ryan Cohen and the management team invest in equity securities and other investments.
The company’s previous policy restricted GameStop to investment grade short-term income securities when looking to invest excess cash, according to the report.
