GameStop halts crypto wallet service citing 'regulatory uncertainty'

In what could be a major setback for driving the mainstream adoption of blockchain-powered video games, GameStop has stopped service for cryptocurrency wallets.

The company posted information to its website: "Due to the regulatory uncertainty of the crypto space, GameStop has decided to remove its iOS and Chrome Extension wallets from the market," said GameStop. Service will end as of November 1, the company also said.

U.S.-based GameStop made headlines late last year when it announced it was launching an NFT marketplace. With its crypto wallet it sought to allow customers to both store their crypto and NFTs and utilize decentralized apps on the Ethereum blockchain. At the time it appeared GameStop's embracing of crypto could benefit web3 games like Gods Unchained and Illuvium, which operate on Immutable X, a Layer-2 Ethereum solution.

So far this year the entire crypto industry, from exchanges to the assets themselves, have faced renewed regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. in the wake of the FTX collapse.

There's particular uncertainty over ether's legal status. For years federal regulators have treated the cryptocurrency more like a commodity, which does not require the financial disclosures that security investments do. But Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has hinted that he may see the Ethereum token as a security, which could subject the core developers around Ethereum to enforcement action over unregistered securities offerings, though he has declined to publicly give his specific position on the token. In March, New York's attorney general argued in a legal action against trading firm KuCoin that ether is an unregistered security.