Major video game chain GameStop has announced that it will no longer put any effort into cryptocurrencies after suffering net losses of $94.7 million in the third quarter and firing workers from its department of digital assets. GameStop CEO Matt Furlong stated on a Dec. 7 earnings call that the company “proactively minimised exposure to cryptocurrency” over the course of the year and “does not currently hold a material balance of any token.”
Although we continue to believe there is long-term potential for digital assets in the gaming world, we have not and will not risk meaningful stockholder capital in this space.
Matt Furlong, CEO of GameStop
In the future, the company will change focus to collectibles, gaming, and pre-owned goods. Earlier this year, the company stated it was looking into crypto, along with nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3 applications, as possibilities for expansion.
Its NFT-related efforts appear to be continuing as it notes in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 7 that it is “also pursuing, and plan to continue to pursue, other business and strategic initiatives associated with digital assets and blockchain technology.”
The most recent Web3-related product promoted by GameStop is their NFT marketplace, which launched on ImmutableX, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, on October 31 after a July public beta.
Before launching its NFT marketplace in May, the company unveiled a beta self-custody crypto wallet and a beta NFT marketplace on Loopring, another layer-2 Ethereum protocol, in March.
However, compared to the second quarter, which experienced losses of $108.7 million, the third quarter’s losses somewhat decreased. Additionally, GameStop, which reported a $105.4 million loss in Q3 2021, saw an improvement year over year.
