GameStop climbs after the video-game retailer launches a cryptocurrency wallet ahead of its rollout of an NFT marketplace

• GameStop shares rose after the company said it was launching a wallet for cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
• The self-custodial wallet runs on the Ethereum network.

GameStop stock advanced Monday after the company said it's opened a wallet for gamers to manage their digital assets as it prepares to launch a marketplace for non-fungible tokens.

The GameStop Wallet will allow gamers and others to store, send, receive and use cryptocurrencies and NFTs across decentralized apps without having to leave their web browsers, the videogame retailer said in a statement Monday.

The stock rose as much as 3% to $98.52 in early trading. But shares have lost about 35% in 2022 after surging by 687% in 2021 during a stunning run-up in so-called meme stocks.

GameStop's self-custodial wallet was in its beta stage, running on the ethereum blockchain. It will enable transactions on the NFT marketplace that it's aiming to launch in the second quarter of 2022.

Earlier this year, the company teamed up with Immutable X, a protocol for trading Ethereum NFTs, to help it run its NFT marketplace as GameStop aimed to push into the business of digital collectibles.

Ether, the token that runs on the Ethereum blockchain, rose 2% on Monday to $2,070.87.