Bulletins

GameStop is getting in on the NFT game

r/WallStreetBets hypebeasts have yet another reason to celebrate.

A trading app shows shares of GameStop during the January rally.

Shares of GameStop shot up during the January rally.

Photo: Clay Banks/Unsplash

Watch out, r/WallStreetBets: GameStop is hiring engineers to build an Ethereum-based NFT platform.

This week, Redditors uncovered a minimalist site operated by GameStop that announces its intention to hire "exceptional engineers (solidity, react, python), designers, gamers, marketers, and community leaders" for a new project. The site also includes an Ethereum link and a hidden smart contract that says "Game On Anon."

Another page on the NFT GameStop site hosts what appears to be a reskinned version of the Google Chrome dinosaur game (the game that shows up whenever your internet stops working). The GameStop version makes apparent allusions to r/WallStreetBets with its spaceship and moon iconography.

GameStop is already in the collectibles business, though more so for things like Funko Dolls and replica Stormtrooper helmets. The NFT operation could be a means of expanding that collectibles segment into the digital realm.

Of course, the NFT expansion could also be interpreted as a cynical attempt to capitalize on the r/WallStreetBets hypetrain. In case you thought the memestonk journey was coming to an end, it's not: GME has popped over 30% since Monday. One need not scroll far on the r/WallStreetBets forum to see GME posts accompanied by numerous rocket ship emojis (and maybe a YOLO tag for good measure).

Hirsh Chitkara

Hirsh Chitkara ( @HirshChitkara) is a reporter at Protocol focused on the intersection of politics, technology and society. Before joining Protocol, he helped write a daily newsletter at Insider that covered all things Big Tech. He's based in New York and can be reached at hchitkara@protocol.com.

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