GameStop Memes (GMS), an unofficial project aiming to capitalize on the success of Wall Street Memes (WSM) token, has raised $4 million from investors, as announced on Feb. 14 by the project’s official X account. However, some investors are accusing it of being a never-ending presale that drains investors’ crypto without providing any returns.
An anonymous investor revealed to Cointelegraph that despite spending $1,000 to purchase GMS tokens through the project’s website, they have yet to receive them. Instead, the developers informed them that the tokens will only be distributed after the ongoing presale concludes. Furthermore, the investor claims that the developers refuse to disclose a specific end date for the presale, stating that it will only end when all tokens are sold. “The presale is continuously ongoing,” the investor stated.
In a Telegram conversation with Cointelegraph, the GameStop development team confirmed that the tokens will only be sent to investors after the presale ends. They declined to provide a definite end date for the presale but mentioned that if it fails to sell out, they have contingency plans to match the presale allocation.
It should be noted that GameStop Memes has no affiliation with the official GameStop retailer or its brand of retail stores. Cointelegraph reached out to GameStop for comments but did not receive a response at the time of publication. On the memecoin’s website, the project falsely claims to have a partnership with Cointelegraph.
GameStop Memes: A Web 3.0 Success Story
Inspired by the triumph of “Wall Street Memes,” a previous venture that raised $25 million during its presale, GameStop Memes strives to replicate its predecessor’s achievements.
The origins of Wall Street Memes can be traced back to 2019, when members of the Reddit group Wall Street Bets launched an online store at Wallstmemes.com. The store featured a variety of merchandise, including t-shirts, mugs, and hats, all adorned with designs inspired by Wall Street. However, it wasn’t until January 2021, when Wall Street Bets orchestrated a short squeeze on GameStop’s stocks, that Wallstmemes.com gained widespread attention. This newfound popularity caught the eye of a group of developers, who in May 2023 created “Wall Street Memes community (WSM),” a meme coin project seeking to capitalize on the success of the website. Archived versions of Wallstmemes.com reveal that the coin was promoted as early as October 3, suggesting a potential association between the two teams or a possible sale of the website to the meme coin project’s team before October.
The WSM presale was divided into stages, with the price increasing with each subsequent stage. The team allocated 50% of the raised funds towards marketing, effectively generating interest in the coin as the presale progressed. On September 18, they announced that the presale had only seven days left and had already raised over $25 million. On September 26, the token was listed on the crypto exchange OKX.
On the secondary market, WSM reached a peak price of nearly $0.07 per coin on September 30, 2023, according to CoinMarketCap data. As of now, it is valued at $0.0082 per coin. The WSM development team recently launched a casino app and a new version of the coin on the BNB Smart Chain, with plans to allow holders of the old token to redeem it for the new one.
Cointelegraph reached out to the Wall Street Memes development team to clarify any potential association with the new GameStop Memes token. In response, a WSM representative stated that “we are solely a different project.”
The GMS website aims to emulate the success of WSM
Launched in October, the Gamestop Memes site bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, Wall Street Memes. It is currently in “Stage 1” of its presale.
GMS claims to have risen from the same battle that WSM started and is determined to carry on the fight as the ultimate champion of the community. The website credits the inspiration for its creation to the “triumphant launch of Wall Street Memes and their accomplishments in the world of cryptocurrency.”
GameStop Memes: Exploring Partnerships and CEX Funding in the World of Web 3.0
According to its website, Gamestop Memes boasts partnerships with various crypto media outlets, including Cointelegraph. However, it should be noted that Cointelegraph is not actually affiliated with Gamestop Memes.
The Cointelegraph team recently connected an Ethereum wallet to the project’s interface to investigate the process of purchasing their coin. Upon depositing either Ether (ETH) or Tether (USDT), the funds were sent to an address ending in CE60f1. Our research also revealed that the account frequently converts Tether to ETH, as evidenced by blockchain data. Additionally, data from Arkham Intelligence shows that the account periodically transfers funds to the ChangeNOW crypto exchange.
Interestingly, the address also sends some of the funds to another address ending in 21b3B, which then distributes them to various centralized exchanges such as Binance, Crypto.com, and Paribu.
GameStop Memes has not yet distributed any tokens, but they claim that they will in the future.
According to the project’s official website, the token’s contract can be found at 0xe7584C670BC5bb9F661DF3bA02Abb50b0612B2AA. Data from the blockchain shows that this contract was created on October 4, 2023. At the time of creation, the total supply of 1 billion GMS was sent to the deployer account. As of now, the tokens still remain in the deployer account and have not been distributed to investors.
In a Telegram chat with the Cointelegraph news team, an admin with the username “GameStopMemes” reiterated:
The admin went on to say, “Our goal is to create more than just a meme coin. We have a vision to develop a protocol that adds real value, build a strong community, and establish a sustainable ecosystem around the token.” However, no specific date has been given for when the presale will end.
Despite the fact that the tokens have not been sent to investors, data from the blockchain shows that people are still purchasing the coin. The most recent deposit was made on Feb 19. The developers have not sold any of the tokens into the market, as the total supply still remains in the deployer account.
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