At the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
GameStop NFT ups the ante with new employee from former Robinhood
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With its new non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, GameStops (SNEEZE:GME) the treatment plan is being implemented. The company has gone from a brick-and-mortar retailer of video games to a force within the Web 3.0 and blockchain niches. This is not a surprising turn of events; while brick-and-mortar stores have fallen drastically from consumer favor, the blockchain world has exploded in popularity — so much so that dozens of companies are trying to break into it. And one of these companies, Robin Hood (NASDAQ:HOOD), just had a key player stolen from them by GameStop NFT.
After a year and a half of impatient waiting, the finale of GameStop’s aggressive reorganization campaign is here. This campaign is the result of Chairman Ryan Cohen, who was brought into the company to lead the initiative after GME stock saw its massive retail frenzy in early 2021.
Cohen created massive hype among GME stockholders by promising a brand new GameStop. However, these investors had no idea what form the company would take. By first aggressively reducing GameStop’s debt, Cohen helped increase the fundamental value of the company. Then, after being almost completely silent, rumors began to swirl about the flashy new project that would help bring GameStop back to the fore: the NFT platform.
The company formally announced its pursuit of Web 3.0 technologies in early February with its Immutable X (IMX-USD) partnership. In March, it confirmed its imminent launch of the NFT marketplace. And earlier this month, the public rollout of the product began.
There’s plenty of immediate success to show for the platform, with GameStop processing over $7 million in transactions across the marketplace in its first week. There is also a lot of controversy as GameStop fails to keep offensive content off this platform. And the company is starting talk again when it acquires talent from Robinhood.
GameStop hires Robinhood Web 3.0 Lead for VP role
GameStop isn’t going to slow down its NFT marketplace. Rather, the site is just the beginning of a harder push into the nascent world of Web 3.0. It is a trailblazer in this area, along with technology companies such as Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGNASDAQ:GOOGLE) and Meta (NASDAQ:META). And as a trailblazer, the company is getting pretty tough on the competition.
That proves especially true today when it comes to light that GameStop is poaching a Robinhood employee. However, this is not just any Robinhood employee. GameStop hires the e-commerce platform Web 3.0 and blockchain project managerSriram Bhargav.
Bhargav, as of this month, now serves as GameStop NFT’s VP of engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile update. The hire is huge, considering Bhargav’s role in Robinhood’s massive blockchain push. As a project manager in the company, he led the establishment of the company’s blockchain infrastructure. Bhargav’s name is also linked to the highly anticipated Web 3.0 wallet coming out this year.
Bringing Bhargav into such a big role is great for GameStop, given its promise to continue to innovate in the blockchain space. Although it has not explicitly made its plans for future projects known, one can assume that Ryan Cohen still has many tricks up his sleeve.
