Controversy Ensues After GameStop “Dumps” $42M IMX Tokens

GameStop has found itself in the middle of a controversy after the video game retail giant dumped nearly 15 million IMX tokens worth around $42 million. The move came shortly after it received part of a $100 million grant from the layer-2 scaling solution, Immutable X. Simultaneously, the IMX token’s value has plummeted by around 30%.

The two companies had recently announced a partnership to launch a $100M joint fund for gaming NFTs. They had also said they will use their technologies to build next-level products, including GameStop’s much-anticipated NFT marketplace. The announcement had sent IMX token soaring, reaching a high of $4.13.

GameStop dumps $42M worth of IMX tokens

As part of the partnership, Immutable X is to pay GameStop a $100 million grant as 56,209,850 IMX tokens in five instalments. Based on Etherscan data, the gaming retail giant has received the first two payments. Of this, GameStop has already liquidated 14,989,293 IMX tokens worth around $42 million in three transactions. Furthermore, these transactions were made to crypto exchanges Binance, OKX, and Huobi. As a result, IMX’s prices fell sharply from $4.13 to a low of $2.80 (at the time of writing). 

Twitter user @polka was the first to bring GameStop’s IMX token transactions to light. “The funds were UNVESTED, and dumped immediately, leaving a very nice looking graph,” they wrote February 4. “So GME basically used the announcement that they’re now involved with Immutable to dump on holders.”

A day later, Immutable X, likely in response to the token dumping, tweeted saying that both the companies are “making large, upfront, capital-intensive investments to build a juggernaut in NFT gaming.”

“Immutable doesn’t comment on the actions of $IMX holders, but Immutable has sold *no* tokens since the public sale of $IMX,” it added.