GameStop is doubling down on crypto, and as part of its growing expansion into blockchain technologies, it announced a new partnership with crypto exchange FTX on Wednesday.
The two companies haven’t laid out too many details about what the partnership will actually mean, but they did share a few tidbits. According to a press release“The partnership is aimed at introducing more GameStop customers to the FTX community and its digital asset marketplaces.”
A concrete aspect of the partnership is that GameStop will start selling FTX gift cards in “selected stores.” GameStop is also FTX’s “preferred retail partner” in the US, which could indicate that FTX will sell other types of goods on GameStop at some point.
The partnership comes on the heels of GameStop’s first dive into crypto, which so far has included the launch of its own NFT marketplace and its own crypto wallet. The company also recently laid off staff, and in a memo to employees about the cuts, CEO Matt Furlong highlighted the company’s blockchain group. in the very first sentence.
By partnering with FTX, GameStop seems to indicate that it is still serious about crypto – but the alliance could also help both companies in their effort to navigate the so-called crypto winter. When digital asset prices plummeted earlier this year, FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried tried to bail out a number of struggling crypto firms like Voyager and BlockFi, although he recently said those investments have had “mixed” results.
GameStop isn’t the only company to partner with FTX recently; Reddit has also partnered with the crypto exchange, while FTX spent a lot on advertising during the Super Bowl and sponsored various sports teams/leagues in efforts to increase its profile. Last year, FTX paid $135 million to rename the Miami Heat’s home American Airlines Arena to FTX Arena, well before Crypto.com signed a $700 million deal for naming rights to the home of LA Lakers, formerly known as Staples Center.