NFTs
GameStop to shut down NFT marketplace amid ‘ongoing regulatory uncertainty’
GameStop is exiting the non-fungible token (NFT) arena.
In an update posted on its GameStop NFT website, the company said it decided to shut down its NFT marketplace “due to continued regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space.”
“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 sellable through other platforms.”
GameStop has revealed its NFT Marketplace in July 2022, saying it would allow gamers, creators, and collectors to buy, sell, and trade digital art collectibles.
The marketplace allows users to 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 entered NFTs and cryptocurrencies by introducing a digital asset wallet to send, receive and use cryptocurrencies and NFTs across multiple decentralized applications without leaving their browsers.
News of the NFT marketplace’s shutdown comes about five months after GameStop’s Aug. 1 announcement that it would end of support of this digital asset portfolio on November 1st.
In a message published at the time, the company advised customers to ensure they had access to the Passphrase that would allow them to recover their account on any supported wallet.
As with the NFT Marketplace, GameStop attributed the end of support for the digital asset wallet to “regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space.”
NFT Sales dropped 63% in 2023 despite tripling volume between October and November, Bloomberg News reported Sunday (January 14), citing data from CryptoSlam.
While GameStop is exiting 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 allows CEO Ryan Cohen and the management team to invest in equity securities and other investments.
The company’s previous policy restricted GameStop to short-term investment-grade income securities when it sought to invest excess cash, according to the report.