American gaming company, GameStop, just launched its non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on Layer-2 scaling protocol for decentralized exchanges (DEXs) built on the Ethereum blockchain, Loopring L2.
Blockchain gaming is fast becoming the latest and most popular craze within the crypto space. The number of GameFi participants is rising rapidly as it revolutionizes the gaming world, offering players a whole host of new opportunities, including more control over their gaming and the ability to earn money through playing.
A DappRadar report shows that the gaming-related NFTs generated $4.8 billion in revenue last year, representing 20% of all NFT sales throughout 2021. GameFi applications even surpassed decentralized finance (DeFi) in terms of user popularity. The report mentioned that 50% of active cryptocurrency wallets connected to decentralized applications in November 2021 were for playing games.
NFT Marketplace on Ethereum Layer 2
As per the official blog post, Beta users will get access to these “massive speed improvements and lower costs” and start making deposits ahead of the the full launch of the official marketplace that is reportedly coming soon. They will also be able to mint NFTs directly on Loopring L2 for fractions of the costs of minting on L1 (less than $1) while inheriting Ethereum L1 security.
According to Adam Browman, Loopring’s Head of Growth, GameStop, in partnership with Loopring L2, aims to provide “fast, cheap and secure” access to digital ownership for the masses. They intend to give power back to the players, creators and collectors with GameStop at the “forefront of these new global digital economies.” Bowman said,
“We believe that today marks an important inflection point for the entire NFT space, and we are excited to be a part of what’s to come.”
GameStop’s $100 Million Grant For Game Developers
This comes on heels after GameStop recently partnered with Immutable X (IMX) for its NFT marketplace and announced a $100 million grant for game creators and developers. At the time, GameStop had stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report filed on January 28, 2022 that Immutable was the its first Layer 2 NFT integration for trading and minting, and that Loopring would follow.
