Ethereum Treasury Firm Buys $5M CryptoPunk—And Is Borrowing Stablecoins Against It

GameSquare, a digital media company with an Ethereum treasury strategy, said Thursday that it acquired a rare CryptoPunk NFT for $5.15 million worth of preferred shares.

The Ethereum-based NFT was previously owned by Robert Leshner, who founded the decentralized lending protocol Compound and now serves as CEO of crypto asset manager Superstate. His preferred shares can be converted into common stock at $1.50 per share, GameSquare said.

Featuring “Cowboy Hat” and “Ape” as traits, the CryptoPunk is among the 24 rarest NFTs from the iconic collection of 10,000 pixelated profile pictures, per marketplace OpenSea. Lesher purchased the NFT for 2,501 ETH worth $9.4 million in 2022, blockchain data shows.

GameSquare is among the first publicly traded companies to announce that it had purchased a pricey NFT as a way to maximize shareholder value. The company says it plans to leverage the piece of digital art as a “strategic treasury asset,” “cultural symbol,” and yield-bearing asset.

On Thursday, the company’s profile picture on X showed the CryptoPunk purchased from Leshner, but a company spokesman told Decrypt that the NFT is more than a mascot.

“There’s nothing more O.G. in this space than a CryptoPunk,” they said. “A Punk is a marker that you’ve been here, you’ve built through the cycles, and you’re committed to the ecosystem.”

On Monday, the company, which was established in 2011, said that it received authorization from its board of directors to pursue a “NFT yield strategy,” with an initial $10 million allocation.

The GameSquare spokesperson told Decrypt that the firm is borrowing stablecoins against “high-quality NFTs like our CryptoPunk at a fixed rate” and leveraging those funds to generate yield and capture a spread through a strategy managed by crypto firm Dialectic.

GameSquare’s stock has rallied 72% to $1.30 over the past month, rising alongside Ethereum’s price, according to Yahoo Finance. However, GameSquare shares have fallen notably from a multi-year high of $2.82 earlier this month.

In a statement, GameSquare CEO Justin Kenna described the acquisition as the firm’s “first ‘grail,’” a term reserved for ultra-rare NFTs that signaled more NFT purchases could be coming.

“We’re interested in high-quality art and digital collectibles,” the GameSquare spokesperson said, noting that CryptoPunks have both “cultural weight and financial upside.”

Leshner has been in the news again recently. A little-known firm in Florida that specializes in advertising for liquor defended itself this month against an acquisition from Leshner. He declared a “partial” victory on X after the firm unveiled a Bitcoin treasury strategy, despite being diluted out of a controlling stake in the company.

GameSquare’s announcement follows a flurry of CryptoPunk sales earlier this week, which generated levels of NFT trading volume not seen in months. On Sunday, $13.6 million worth of CryptoPunks changed hands through a dedicated marketplace for the NFTs.

As of Thursday, the company said that it owned around 12,900 ETH that’s currently worth $48 million. And under recent authorization from its board of directors, the company said it can purchase up to $250 million worth of digital assets.

GameSquare owns several companies popular with the esports world, including the gaming organization FaZe Clan. It also owns a marketing agency and production studio.

The CryptoPunk purchased by GameSquare was transferred to a new owner on Thursday, blockchain data shows. The digital wallet that received the NFT held 242 others, including ones created by digital artists Beeple, Snowfro, Justin Aversano, and Sam Spratt. The digital wallet also held a Rare Pepe and an NFT from Tom Sachs’ Rocket Factory.

“The wallet is managed under our treasury program in strategic partnership with Dialectic,” the GameSquare spokesperson said. “ETH custody, NFT custody, and yield strategy are all part of the same structure, housed under the Dialectic umbrella.”