GameStop stock soared in after-hours trading on Thursday after a report detailed the company’s plans to create a division to buy, sell, and trade non-fungible tokens, reversing recent losses for last year’s hit meme stock as the brick-and-mortar game retailer doubles down on the cryptocurrency space to help mint a turnaround.
After the Wall Street Journal first revealed the intentions on Thursday, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Forbes that GameStop had employed more than 20 individuals to assist develop an online marketplace to exchange NFTs of virtual games.
Within minutes of the report, GameStop shares soared more than 31% to $173 in after-market trading, the highest levels in nearly a month after the stock was hit by a broad sell-off started by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
The company also intends to work with game developers and publishers to list NFTs on its marketplace, which will include everything from avatar clothing to weapons.
GameStop, which collected more than $1 billion in funding last year, hinted at the move in May when it launched a GameStop NFT page on its website, linked to an Ethereum address (the blockchain platform powering many NFTs), but providing no further specifics, instead pledging to “change the game.”
Despite plunging approximately 65 percent from an all-time high in January, GameStop shares have risen almost 860 percent in the last year, valuing the company at more than $13 billion.
Despite episodes of tremendous volatility, GameStop and other meme stocks have continued to generate significant acclaim from retail investors after rising more than 800 percent last January and then dropping as much as 70%. In a recent report, Oanda Senior Analyst Ed Moya stated, “The retail force behind this movement is still strong, so it is anyone’s guess how much larger this can grow.” The stock price of GameStop is more than double the average one-year price objective of $83 set by Wall Street analysts.
