GameStop to End All Crypto Wallet Support

Popular game seller GameStop has announced an end of all ties to its crypto wallet system given the space is too uncertain.

GameStop Withdraws from the Crypto Space

The comments make sense in that there is very little crypto regulation permeating the U.S. Traders have no clear rules to follow and neither do the companies and platforms that hold their assets, and this is setting them up for some very harsh realities through financial agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The SEC has taken on the form of a bully in recent months and weeks. It’s gone after virtually every major crypto company it can, from Binance to Coinbase to Kraken. The former two have pending lawsuits with the agency, while the latter has already been forced to forfeit more than $30 million as part of a settlement. In addition, it also had to do away with all its staking services and activities.

Clearly, GameStop doesn’t want to get involved in something that per most eyes, appears rather scary at this time. Thus, it’s stepping away while it can. Chairman Ryan Cohen, when asked why the company was ending all crypto ties, responded with:

The regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space.

The crypto wallet system of the company is still very much in an infant-like state, only having come to fruition in May of 2022 (16 months ago). Not long after it was launched, CEO Matt Furlong commented that there would be a high degree of layoffs coming and that:

Change will be a constant as we evolve our commerce business and launch new products through our blockchain group.

Not long after staff members were given the boot, shares in the firm fell by as much as five percent.

Beginning in November of this year, all crypto wallet services through GameStop will come to an end. All support for both iOS and Chrome extension wallets will cease to be, and users will not be able to go through GameStop to manage their digital assets, meaning they have about two months to move everything.

The company put out the following statement after it announced the ceasing of its crypto wallet support:

All customers ensure that they have access to their secret passphrase[s] by October 1, 2023. Any customer with access to their secret passphrase has the ability to recover their account in any compatible wallet.

The SEC is too Strong

The situation is a tad scary in that it clearly shows agencies like the SEC having too much power when it comes to the course of action crypto is taking in this country.

Because they are afraid of being persecuted, companies are stepping away from crypto even when they don’t offer services comparable with those of Coinbase, et al.