American video game retailer GameStop Release July 11th NFT Marketplace Project. The company has recently experienced confusion. Dismissed staffIncluding the CFO of the company, but its shares spike More than 8% after announcing a 4: 1 stock split last week.
Some people say it Game over For GameStop, the company wants to be successful in the NFT marketplace through its existing customer base.
GameStop for crypto and NFT
The Loopring GitHub public repository first revealed the trend for GameStop to expand into the crypto market in October 2021. GameStop didn’t mention plans for blockchain, but Loopring Leak revealed job listings suggesting that the company could establish an NFT market.
At that time, GameStop’s second quarter report Critics concluded that the potential for expansion of the NFT market could be a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable bankruptcy.
Three months later, GameStop officially publication Partnership with Immutable X to launch a new NFT marketplace. According to the announcement, GameStop has secured $ 100 million in funding for NFT creators and their technology. In March 2022, the Layer 2 solution Loopring announced the integration of GameStop with the upcoming NFT marketplace.
GameStop proved that its plans weren’t limited to NFTs when it rolled up its sleeves to develop cryptocurrencies and web3 wallets for NFTs. The wallet was announced in May 2022 and is planned to work across dApps so that users can run it without leaving the browser. Along with this announcement, GameStop also mentions its strong belief in cryptocurrencies and web3, suggesting that the company may take further steps to expand into cryptocurrencies.
GameStop turmoil
The launch of GameStop’s NFT marketplace takes place when the company is faced with criticisms of staff dismissals, news announcements of stock price spikes, and general declines in NFT prices.
4 to 1 stock split
The company’s stock price soared on July 6th. publication 4 to 1 stock split. According to the announcement, GameStop shareholders who owned shares at the end of the market on July 18 will receive an additional three shares of dividends. Additional shares will be distributed on July 21st.
The news has boosted the company’s share price by more than 8% in a single day. On the day of the announcement, GameStop’s share price closed at $ 117.43.
Dismissal
The next day, GameStop publication Temporary dismissal to “save” the company. Former GameStop CFO Mike Recupero was also fired as part of the layoff. GameStop said Recupero was “unfit for the right culture” and was “cut off” because it was “too much to let go.”
A current employee of GameStop looking for a new position said Kotaku I wasn’t sure if GameStop had the team needed for crypto. They said the company couldn’t launch anything that would have a positive impact on GameStop’s current position, and that the entire cryptocurrency effort only wanted to excite investors about GameStop’s future.
Layoffs have also affected the already sensitive GameStop stock. It rose by more than 8% in the announcement of the 4: 1 stock split the day before, but plummeted by more than 6% on July 7, after the announcement of the dismissal.
NFT market
There are conflicting views on how the NFT market will be maintained this winter.
According to the data from CryptoSlam The average NFT price on July 5 fell 94% compared to its latest peak.
However, according to a more detailed report from DappRadar, the NFT market continues to grow despite bearish market sentiment. According to the report, NFT sales have increased by 59% since the second quarter of 2021, and transaction volumes have increased by 553%.
In addition, prominent companies seem to trust the NFT market enough to enter. For example, Reddit, Uniswap, and Bentley Motors recently announced their latest integration into the NFT market.