GameSquare Spends $5.1 Million on CryptoPunk for NFT Treasury

GameSquare, a publicly traded gaming-focused company that is adopting an Ethereum treasury strategy, announced a major acquisition today of CryptoPunk #5577 for $5.15 million in preferred stock.

The purchase of the “Cowboy Ape” CryptoPunk marks the beginning of the firm’s $NFT treasury strategy, an expansion of its Ethereum treasury strategy. GameSquare’s initial announcement of the strategy shift on July 21 stated that its “$NFT strategy will focus on Ethereum-native digital assets that align with its creative DNA, including culturally iconic digital art and collectibles.”

The Punk was purchased from the founder of DeFi protocol Compound and current CEO of real world asset tokenization firm Superstate, Robert Leshner, in exchange for preferred stock. Eli Scheinman, who helped broker the sale shared some details of the deal on X today, stating “GameSquare’s largest investor is Jerry Jones. Jerry owns the Dallas Cowboys. There was only one Punk that truly made sense. 5577. Ape with Cowboy Hat.”

Not only is the company now collecting NFTs, but it is looking to monetize the blockchain-based collectibles via its so-called “$NFT yield strategy.” GameSquare says it plans to yield a 6% to 10% annual return on CryptoPunks through “marketing activations, community building, and potential licensing opportunities, while continuing to expand its Web3 strategy with high-value, high-impact digital assets.”

In addition to the landmark $NFT sale, GameSquare also acquired another $10 million in $ETH for its treasury, taking its total to around $48 million out of its $250 million authorization.

The move comes shortly after a massive $8 million CryptoPunk sweep on July 21, with $NFT bulls hoping that it's time for the digital collectible space to surge again.

Matt Medved, co-founder of $NFT Now and longtime CryptoPunks advocate, posted about the acquisition and its potential impact on $NFT prices:

“Now it's JPEGs getting the treasury treatment,” Medved concluded.