GameStop is doubling down on crypto, and as a part of its rising enlargement into blockchain applied sciences, it introduced a brand new partnership with crypto trade FTX on Wednesday.
The 2 corporations haven’t spelled out too many particulars about what the partnership will truly imply, however they did share a number of tidbits. In accordance with a press launch, “the partnership is meant to introduce extra GameStop prospects to FTX’s neighborhood and its marketplaces for digital property.”
One concrete facet of the partnership is that GameStop will begin carrying FTX present playing cards in “choose shops.” GameStop can be FTX’s “most popular retail accomplice” within the US, which might recommend that FTX will promote different types of products at GameStop in some unspecified time in the future.
The partnership arrives on the heels of GameStop’s headfirst dive into crypto, which has thus far included the launch of its personal NFT market and its personal crypto pockets. The corporate additionally lately laid off workers, and in a memo to workers in regards to the cuts, CEO Matt Furlong highlighted the corporate’s blockchain group within the very first sentence.
By partnering with FTX, GameStop appears to be signaling that it’s nonetheless critical about crypto — however the alliance might additionally assist each corporations as they try and navigate the so-called crypto winter. As costs of digital property plunged earlier this yr, FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried have tried to bail out some struggling crypto corporations like Voyager and BlockFi, although he mentioned lately these investments have had “combined” outcomes.
GameStop isn’t the one firm to lately accomplice with FTX; Reddit has additionally teamed up with the crypto trade, whereas FTX has spent extensively on advertisements throughout the Tremendous Bowl and sponsored numerous sports activities groups / leagues in makes an attempt to lift its profile. Final yr, FTX paid $135 million to rename the Miami Warmth’s residence American Airways Area to FTX Area, nicely earlier than Crypto.com signed a $700 million deal for naming rights on the LA Lakers’ residence court docket, beforehand often known as Staples Middle.