‘GameStop’ Meme Coin on Solana Pumps 330% as Gaming Giant Bails on NFTs

GameStop’s “meme stock” resurgence is largely in the past now, but now there’s a new GME that’s skyrocketing—and it’s a meme coin with no real connection to the gaming retailer.

The GameStop (GME) token is minted on Solana, and it’s seen surging demand and a rising price since being minted on Saturday. GME is up over 330% in the last 24 hours to a current price above $0.0039, per data from GeckoTerminal, with about $22 million of trading volume during the span. The token’s market cap sits at nearly $29 million, as of this writing.

Popular meme coins are often based on internet trends, prominent people, and world events, and typically are deployed to capitalize on such things. These tokens don’t typically last long in the spotlight, as seen with coins based on the late Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger late last year.

However, some meme coins buck the trend and stick around over a long period of time. For example, dog-themed coins like Dogecoin, Ethereum’s Shiba Inu, and Solana’s BONK have persisted and seen price jumps long after their initial spotlight.

The GME token on Solana undoubtedly has nothing to do with GameStop, a publicly traded company, given the launch and where it’s trading. And it comes at a precarious time for the firm, which had been one of the most crypto-friendly retailers.

Decrypt has reached out to GameStop and will update this article should we receive a response.

Earlier this month, GameStop quietly announced that it will shutter its NFT marketplace on February 2, this coming Friday, after previously shutting down its own crypto wallet. In both cases, the retailer cited “regulatory uncertainty” in the crypto space. GameStop launched the platform in 2022 with a focus on gaming assets and other digital collectibles.