GameSquare Holdings, Inc. has made a bold move by acquiring CryptoPunk #5577, a prominent NFT, for $5.15 million through preferred shares. This decision has launched a passionate discussion about NFTs as corporate treasury assets. Today, they are among well-known reserve cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Many industry experts consider this a smart move onto a more innovative track. Despite this, doubts persist regarding the long-term utility of NFTs in corporate finance.
The news was particularly well-timed considering the NFT market overall has recently rebounded from a year-long slump. As noted by Nathan Frankovitz, Ethereum NFT trading volume exploded July 23. According to data from CryptoSlam, it reached its peak value since May 2022.
NFT marketplace volumes have similarly surged back to life in July so far, according to data from Dune. Daily trading volumes have been amazing, with one day above $26 million and the average day over $10 million.
According to Garga, the CEO of Yuga Labs, such NFT treasury companies were inevitable.
"The world isn’t ready for NFT treasury companies, but they are coming anyway." - Garga
As a strategic reserve, the use of crypto has been under scrutiny since the beginning. Anatoly Yakovenko, founder of the Solana blockchain, has been one of the loudest critics of NFTs and memecoins.
"I've said this for years. Memecoins and NFTs are digital slop and have no intrinsic value. Like a mobile game loot box. People spend $150B a year on mobile gaming." - Anatoly Yakovenko
Despite the criticisms, NFT believers think these digital pieces of art have more to offer than monetization. Loki highlighted the social aspect inherent to the NFT space.
"But I think there’s way more to it. This won’t be just a cold finance strategy like what Michael Saylor is doing. It will involve real social dynamics." - Loki
Matt Medved echoed his expectations for the NFT market, and Medved believes the NFT market cap is small but still has massive growth potential.
GameSquare’s acquisition is the hopeful first indicator of that. It’s too soon to say if this will become a national movement. The NFT market, though recently experiencing a resurgence, remains small and volatile.
