GameStop NFTs Not So Good But Announces Partnership With FTX as Crypto Push Continues

GameStop is not easing its push into the Web 3.0 space even after underwhelming non-fungible token (NFT) adoption figures. The video game and consumer electronics retailer has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX.US, the U.S. subsidiary of FTX. 

Bloomberg reports that GameStop and FTX.US intend to collaborate on new e-commerce and online marketing initiatives. While the financial terms of the deal are not disclosed, GameStop will also begin carrying FTX gift cards in a selection of its stores, the report notes. 

According to Bloomberg, the partnership has several implications for GameStop, which has seen an 11% rise in the price of its share following the announcement. GameStop has been seeing declining revenues after last recording a quarterly profit at the end of 2021.  

The agreement buttresses GameStop’s foray into the crypto market as it looks for strategies to improve its ailing revenue figures. Most significantly, it builds on the launch of GameStop’s June NFT wallet to store, receive and send digital collectibles roll out, and its July rollout of an NFT marketplace. 

The partnership with FTX.US also unites GameStop with Robinhood, the retail stocks trading app that has a place of honor in GameStop’s success in 2021. FTX.US’s founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) took a 7.6% stake in Robinhood earlier this year. 

While SBF has debunked rumors that he was in talks to buy Robinhood in an interview with Reuters, FTX US has continued to expand its stock trading services and plans to also offer options trading as it looks to diversify its income stream away from only digital assets trading fees. 

GameStop NFTs yet to show any positive results for the company 

GameStop’s pivot to NFTs, while still in its early days, is yet to have an impact on the company’s revenue. In its last quarterly report, the company’s net sales declined by 4% while net losses doubled to $108.7 million quarter on quarter according to Bloomberg. 

Data from GameStop’s NFT marketplace shows that sales of its gaming NFTs have been hard to come by. After the initial buzz in July where it generated around $1.98 million worth of NFT sales on its first full day of business, enthusiasm seems to have died down. 

Per data from NFT data aggregator DappRadar, GameStop NFT has seen an about 65% decline in sales volume. The marketplace generated $5.47 million in NFT sales in the last 30 days from around 7,800 traders. 

Meanwhile, the marketplace has already run into its first legal battle after the developer of a game complained that items linked to his game were being sold on the marketplace without his consent.