tl;dr
GameStop, a publicly-traded video game retailer, has decided to shut down its NFT marketplace due to regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space. The NFTs, which were minted on blockchains, can still be accessed and traded through other marketplaces despite the shutdown. The retailer had previously s...
GameStop, a publicly-traded video game retailer, has decided to shut down its NFT marketplace due to regulatory uncertainty in the crypto space. The NFTs, which were minted on blockchains, can still be accessed and traded through other marketplaces despite the shutdown. The retailer had previously signaled plans to engage with NFTs, hired a team for the gaming NFT marketplace, and collaborated with crypto firms before making this decision. GameStop's NFT marketplace has already been removed from analytics platforms, and the NFT Twitter account has been inactive for several months. GameStop is getting out of the NFT business.
About a year and a half after launching its NFT marketplace, publicly-traded video game retailer GameStop is saying goodbye to its platform, which supports gaming NFTs and other collectibles across Immutable X and Loopring, both Ethereum scaling networks. "GameStop has decided to wind down our NFT marketplace due to the continuing regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space," a message on the marketplace's website reads, adding that the platform will no longer be operating as of February 2 this year. Because the NFTs were minted on blockchains, however, they can be accessed elsewhere and bought and sold through other marketplaces. GameStop first signaled plans to engage with NFTs in 2021, and then in January 2022, it hired a 20-person team to oversee the gaming NFT marketplace. The long-running retailer announced its collaboration with Immutable about a month later, stating that it would use Immutable X's blockchain and established a $100 million fund in Immutable's IMX token with the crypto firm. A day later, GameStop cashed out a large chunk of the IMX tokens it had just received, dumping $47 million worth onto the market. By July 2022, GameStop had laid off an undisclosed number of employees—but launched its NFT marketplace to the public. Months later, it finally added Immutable X gaming NFTs to its marketplace—but that came months after GameStop fired its CEO who oversaw the retailer's crypto push.
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