GameStop Corp.
GME -0.91%
launched a digital wallet for cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, pushing further into a buzzy area as it looks to turn around its core videogame business.
The company said Monday that the move will allow gamers and others to store, send, receive and use cryptocurrencies and NFTs across decentralized apps without having to leave their web browsers.
The Wall Street Journal in January reported that GameStop, a poster child of the meme-stock craze that drove frenetic trading last year, was establishing a division to develop an NFT marketplace and establish cryptocurrency partnerships.
The company had hired more than 20 people to run the unit, the Journal reported, and it was asking some game developers and publishers to create NFTs for its forthcoming marketplace.
GameStop on Monday described its new wallet as a self-custodial Ethereum wallet. A web-browser extension for the wallet can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store.
The wallet will also enable transactions on GameStop’s forthcoming NFT marketplace, expected to launch in the company’s second quarter, which ends around July 31.
NFTs are unique digital tokens that act like a certificate of ownership and live on a blockchain. The popularity and value of NFTs tied to digital collectibles—ranging from virtual artwork and sports highlights to trading cards—rose rapidly last year and spurred companies across various sectors to expand into the space.
In recent months, interest in NFTs and cryptocurrencies appears to have waned amid rising interest rates that have crushed speculative bets.
Shares of GameStop rose almost 3% in premarket trading to $98.21. The stock is down more than 35% so far this year.
GameStop’s push into crypto comes as it mounts a turnaround effort led by the co-founder of pet-products retailer
Chewy Inc.,
Ryan Cohen,
who became GameStop chairman last year.
Mr. Cohen’s appointment was widely celebrated by the individual investors who sent GameStop’s stock on a roller coaster last year.
Mr. Cohen’s efforts to push the company into NFTs and crypto have yet to lift GameStop’s financial performance. In March, the company posted a surprise loss during the holiday quarter despite an increase in sales.
Write to Will Feuer at will.feuer@wsj.com
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