RadioShack's 'wild' pivot to crypto

RadioShack is attempting to shift its perception as a stale, outdated physical retail chain. Having significantly reduced its bricks and mortar footprint, the new owners of the brand have raised eyebrows with some pointed social media posts and by rebranding itself as "an online cryptocurrency company that also happens to sell batteries," The Washington Post reports. The group have launched RadioShack Swap as "a decentralized crypto exchange platform," permitting users to swap coins or tokens, including its own token, dubbed $RADIO.

• RadioShack's current owners, the Miami-based REV, acquired the brand — along with a cluster of other fading retailers like Modell's, Stein Mart and Pier 1 Imports amid the pandemic, intent on shifting the brands online.
• RadioShack was delisted by the New York Stock Exchange in 2015, the Post writes, and has filed for bankruptcy twice as its store count went from more than 5,000 in 2014 to less than 500 in the pandemic.