GameStop Terminates its Crypto Wallet Program Citing ‘Regulatory Uncertainty’

The American gaming merchandise retailer – GameStop – announced it will remove its cryptocurrency wallets from the market as of November 1, 2023. 

The entity launched those features in the spring of last year, enabling users to manage digital assets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

The End of the Offering

GameStop disclosed on its official website that it will remove its iOS and Chrome Extension wallets as of the beginning of November due to “the regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space.”

It warned that all clients must have access to their secret passphrase by October 1 to be able to “recover their account in any compatible wallet.”

GameStop rolled out its self-custodial wallet in May last year, giving customers a chance to send, receive, store, and use crypto assets and NFTs across decentralized applications without leaving their web browsers. The firm doubled down on the field a few months later when it introduced an NFT marketplace built on the Ethereum layer 2 network Loopring L2.

It is worth mentioning that the interest in digital collectibles has shrunk over the past few years. Despite the emergence of new marketplaces, like Blur, which quickly made their way to the top, the current NFT trading volume is far from the peaks registered in 2021 and 2022. 

GameStop’s Connection With FTX

Besides offering digital asset wallets and launching an NFT trading platform, the gaming giant teamed up with the American subsidiary of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX in September 2022. As part of the deal, GameStop vowed to introduce its clients to the community of FTX.US and offer gift cards from the marketplace in select stores across the States.

Nonetheless, the company terminated the partnership shortly after the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection, assuring that users will receive full refunds.

“GameStop is winding down its relationship and pilot gift card marketing partnership with FTX US and will be providing full refunds to impacted customers. Please reach out to customer service if you purchased a gift card,” it tweeted in November 2022.

Esports giant – TSM – and the video game developer – Riot Games – also cut ties with the collapsed platform in the following months.