GameStop to Abandon Crypto Efforts as Q3 Losses Approach $95M

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Gaming retailer GameStop said it would no longer focus its efforts on cryptocurrencies, after posting net losses of $94.7 million in the third quarter and laying off staff from its digital assets department.

In a Dec. 7 earnings call, GameStop CEO Matt Furlong said he had proactively minimized cryptocurrency exposure over the year and currently holds no hardware balances. token, adding:

While we continue to believe there is long-term potential for digital assets in the gaming world, we do not and will not risk significant shareholder capital in this space.

Earlier this year, the company said it was looking at crypto, along with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and web3 applications, as avenues for growth, calling these spaces “increasingly relevant to gamers across the world.” future”.

Going forward, the focus will be on collectibles, games and used items.

His moves in the NFT space still appear to be moving forward as he says he is also pursuing and plans to continue pursuing other business and strategic initiatives associated with digital assets and blockchain technology, according to a filing. December 7 with the Securities and Exchange. Commission (SEC).

Cointelegraph contacted GameStop to confirm that it would continue efforts in its NFT marketplace but did not receive a response.

GameStop has pushed numerous Web3-related products, the most recent being its NFT Marketplace which went live on ImmutableX, an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain, on October 31 following a July public beta.

Ahead of its NFT marketplace, in May, the company launched a beta self-custody crypto wallet and a beta NFT marketplace on Loopring in March, Loopring is another Ethereum-based layer 2 protocol.

It also partnered with the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX US in September in a bid to bring more customers to crypto and work together on e-commerce and online marketing initiatives. He ended ties with the stock exchange on November 11 shortly after filing for bankruptcy.

Its losses in the third quarter, however, were down slightly from the second quarter, which recorded losses of $108.7 million. It’s also a year-over-year improvement for GameStop, which posted a loss of $105.4 million in the third quarter of 2021.

Staff cuts reportedly hit crypto department

On Dec. 5, GameStop cut several employees in its third round of layoffs for 2022, which Furlong confirmed on the earnings call.

Earlier reports suggested that the team working on the company’s blockchain and NFT projects were the most affected, however, Furlong did not specify where the staff cuts were concentrated during the call.

Earlier posts from people claiming to be former employees came to light. Daniel Williams, Chief Software Engineer at GameStop, wrote in a LinkedIn post on December 5:

Another big round of GameStop layoffs currently underway Producers and e-commerce engineers… Lots of them.

Related: Why Bots Dominate Crypto Gaming? Money-snatching developers trick them

Other posts from those claiming to be affected by the cuts also appeared on LinkedIn at the time. Brandon Jenniges, a former iOS and blockchain engineer, said he had a great time diving deep into Ethereum and learning many new things in the crypto space.

Me and the rest of the mobile team have been laid off, wrote former developer Christopher Fields.

In July, the company fired its chief financial officer Michael Recupero and a number of employees from its video game-focused magazine Game Informer.

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