Solana-based GameStop meme coin gains traction after retailer pulls plug on crypto

A Solana-based meme coin inspired by GameStop’s GME shares has surged to over US$31 million in market capitalization in just three days.

The new cryptocurrency, which also has the GME ticker, rose by more than 285% in the past 24 hours, echoing GameStop’s headline-making stock market saga.

In January 2021, GameStop experienced a dramatic stock surge due to a short squeeze largely driven by users of the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets, inflicting heavy losses on hedge funds and short sellers. 

This event also impacted other heavily shorted stocks and cryptocurrencies. Users of subreddits r/SatoshiStreetBets tried to recreate the GME price pump with Dogecoin. 

As reported by Decrypt, GameStop announced earlier this month that it will be closing its non-fungible tokens (NFT) marketplace on Feb. 2, citing regulatory uncertainty. The company had previously discontinued its crypto wallet service for the same reason. 

However, it appears the NFT market has been in the middle of a resurgence, CryptoSlam data suggests. 

Last December, global NFT sales topped US$1.77 billion, the highest since recording nearly US$3.4 billion in May 2022. NFT sales is on pace to cross US$1 billion for the second straight month, the first time it has done so since last February.