- GameStop bought 4,710 BTC for over $512 million, marking its first big crypto move.
- CEO Ryan Cohen sees Bitcoin as a hedge against currency risk and praised its portability and scarcity.
- Despite the news, GameStop stock dipped 9% as investors reacted to the bold shift in strategy.
GameStop just made a bold entrance into the crypto world. On Wednesday, the video game retailer announced it scooped up 4,710 BTC—worth roughly $512.6 million—marking its first-ever crypto purchase. The buy happened with Bitcoin trading around $108,837, and it feels like a move straight out of MicroStrategy’s old playbook, only with a GameStop twist.
Bitcoin Surge Meets Meme Stock Energy
Bitcoin’s been on a heater lately, flirting with $112K just last week. The backdrop? Easing trade tensions and a U.S. debt downgrade by Moody’s got folks rethinking where they park their cash. But despite the buzz, GameStop shares took a 9% dip in morning trading. Still, they’re up about 8% on the year, and the company’s got a healthy $4.76B war chest, per its Feb 1 report.
No Cap on Crypto Ambitions
This move didn’t exactly come out of nowhere—CNBC spilled the beans in February, and GameStop confirmed it in March. The company said there’s no ceiling on how much BTC it might buy. That’s… ambitious. And it all came together this week with a pre-recorded message from CEO Ryan Cohen at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Vegas.
Cohen’s Bet: Bitcoin Over Fiat
Cohen’s take? Bitcoin could be a hedge against macro chaos. “If the thesis is right,” he said, “Bitcoin—and yeah, gold too—can help guard against global currency devaluation and systemic risk. But Bitcoin’s got some serious perks. It’s portable, global, and instantly verifiable thanks to the blockchain. Plus—scarcity.”
GameStop’s Path, Not Strategy’s
Sure, the comparisons to Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) are flying, but Cohen brushed that off: “GameStop is following GameStop’s strategy. We’re not following anyone else’s.” With Cohen at the helm, the company’s been focused on trimming fat and reshaping itself for profitability. Bitcoin might just be part of that transformation toolkit.
