GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares are set for double-digit gains Friday after news that the videogame retailer is planning to create a marketplace for nonfungible token, or NFTs.
Shares are down nearly 12% in 2022, off more than 70% from their 52-week high.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday after the bell GameStop’s potential move into the NFT space. One source close to the situation says the plan has been in the works for months.
GameStop also plans to establish cryptocurrency partnerships to create games and items for the marketplace, the source said.
The company has been quietly hiring talent in blockchain and crypto with more than two dozen members on the team now.
NFTs, which use a technology that allows proof of ownership of digital goods to be stored on a blockchain, often Etherium. It has been one of the most hyped sectors in technology. OpenSea, the best-known NFT marketplace, was recently valued at $13.3 billion by investors.
GameStop’s marketplace will focus on virtual video game goods such as character outfits and weapons, according to the WSJ report.
In January 2021, retail traders teamed up on Reddit’s WallStreetBets’ forum, aiming to bid up GameStop’s shares, which were heavily shorted by hedge funds. The retail buying triggered massive short covering among hedge funds that fueled the rally even further.
The stock ended 2021 up 687% after a year of wild trading.
The shares came out of the gate with a flourish, gaining $21.96, or 16.8%, to $152.99 Friday morning.
