Amid widening losses and a diminishing cash pile, US video games retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME) is rolling ahead with a partnership with digital asset exchange FTX US with a view to “introduce more GameStop customers to FTX’s community and its marketplaces for digital assets".
During the second-quarter earnings call on September 7, GameStop chief executive officer Matt Furlong said: “The deal we just announced with FTX is a by-product of our commerce and blockchain team, working hand-in-hand together to establish something unique in the retail world.”
The partnership announcement follows GameStop’s launch of an NFT marketplace in July in collaboration with Immutable X, which formed part of GameStop’s broader Web3 ambitions.
Furlong said: “The launch of our NFT marketplace supports GameStop's long-term growth in the cryptocurrency, NFT and Web3 gaming verticals, all of which we expect to be increasingly relevant for the collectors and gamers of the future.”
As part of the joint venture, Gamestop will start carrying FTX gift cards in some stores.
GME shares dipped 4.4% to US$24 in Thursday’s pre-market trade.
Checking out the GameStop NFT marketplace
Two months in from the launch of GameStop NFT, total marketplace volume stands at slightly over US$22mln, according to an unofficial market tracker.
The platform has generated around US$443,400 in fees and has over 500 live collections.
GameStopNFT has significantly eclipsed Coinbase’s competing platform since launching.
In fact, GameStop’s trading volumes outstripped the exchange’s offering by the end of its first week.
The most popular collection is ‘Kickass Vol 1’, a selection of official hand-drawn images of graphic novel Kick-Ass by artist John Romita Jr.
The collection enjoyed over US$254,000 in trading volumes over the past seven days.