Leading video game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) has highlighted plans for an NFT marketplace as one of its key growth items moving forward. After a slight delay, the marketplace is live and putting up sales volume that is already ahead of a leading cryptocurrency platform.
What Happened: The GameStop NFT marketplace launched this week and passed 3,000 Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) in sales volume in its first 48 hours, according to Decrypt.
While the company’s 3,167 ETH volume, or around $3.5 million, trails NFT marketplace leader OpenSea, GameStop has already passed the all-time sales volume on the Coinbase NFT marketplace from Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN).
Coinbase announced its NFT marketplace in late 2021 and saw millions of people sign up for the waitlist. The marketplace launched in beta in April and to the public in May. The Coinbase NFT marketplace has seen a sales volume of 1,704 ETH or around $1.8 million according to the report.
According to GameStop blog Gmedd, GameStop’s marketplace volume passed $4 million in its first three days.
The GameStop marketplace had more than 200 collections and over 50,000 NFTs available on its platform at launch.
GameStop previously highlighted the launch of the marketplace would happen by the end of the second quarter, an estimate it came close to hitting but ultimately missed.
Related Link: GameStop's Ethereum L2 Based NFT Marketplace Is Now Live: What You Need To Know
Why It’s Important: The NFT marketplace from GameStop does not currently offer gaming NFTs yet, which are expected to be one of the key items and reasons for launching the platform.
“Over time, the marketplace will expand functionality to encompass additional categories such as Web3 gaming, more creators, and other Ethereum environments,” GameStop said.
GameStop takes a 2.25% commission on NFT sales. While this isn’t a huge amount, it adds up as sales volume increases, an item that could happen with more partners and gaming companies joining the platform.
In February, GameStop announced a $100-million investment with Immutable X (CRYPTO: IMX) that will help support the development of gaming NFTs on the blockchain.
Gaming NFTs are listed as “coming soon” on the GameStop NFT marketplace.
The Coinbase NFT marketplace launch came with popular collections added from holders, including many that were available on other platforms.
GameStop has gone the other route, adding collections that are exclusive to the platform and allowing new creators to join the space. The strategy appears to be paying off early.
As Coinbase’s highly anticipated NFT marketplace turned out to be less of a hit, analysts had to revise expectations for the company.
With GameStop’s NFT marketplace being a bigger success than many expected, analysts and industry experts could need to rewrite the expectations and potential growth for GameStop.
GME Price Action: Shares of GameStop were up 0.26% at $136.56 Friday morning. Shares have risen around 7% on the week.
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