The video game retailer, GameStop, has made a big financial move by announcing plans to put bitcoin in its corporate treasury. The board of directors gave the green light and bitcoin officially became part of the company’s long-term plan. The announcement sent the company’s stock soaring.
GameStop plans to invest a portion of its corporate cash into bitcoin, following a unanimous vote by the company’s board of directors.
The company clarified further that it plans to initially raise $1.3 billion through a private Convertible Senior Notes offering, maturing in 2030, to buy bitcoin.
The company is now in the same boat as companies like Strategy and Metaplanet which have also added bitcoin to their balance sheets.
Strategy’s executive chairman Michael Saylor has been a big advocate for corporate bitcoin adoption, and speculation started when GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen was seen with Saylor in February 2025.
“Bitcoin, for example, is a highly volatile asset and has experienced significant price fluctuations over time. Our Bitcoin strategy has not been tested and may prove unsuccessful,” GameStop said in a filing with the SEC, acknowledging the risks involved in bitcoin investments.
As of February 1, 2025, GameStop had $4.8 billion in cash, and it remains to be seen how much of that goes into bitcoin.
After the announcement, the company’s stock went up 6% in after-hours trading. At one point it was up 8% before settling down. Analysts see this as a sign that the market supports the firm’s efforts to diversify its financial strategy.
GameStop’s Bitcoin move is part of a bigger plan by Ryan Cohen to modernize the company. Once a struggling brick and mortar retailer, GameStop has been working to cut costs and streamline operations to be profitable.
The company’s Q4 results showed net income of $131.3 million, more than double the $63.1 million from the same period last year.
With these financials behind them, they can now look at new opportunities including digital assets. While they are still a video game retailer, they want to diversify their financial strategy and bring in new money.
Despite the hype around GameStop’s bitcoin investment, some are still cautious. Bitcoin is known for its volatility and is down 18% from its all-time-high of over $109,000 to around $88,000.
Michael Pachter, managing director at Wedbush Securities compared GameStop and Strategy, saying:
“The problem with that thinking is MicroStrategy trades at about two times their bitcoin holdings. If GameStop were to buy all bitcoin with their $4.6 billion in cash and trade at two times [their bitcoin holdings,] the stock would drop five bucks.”
This is the concern around how much of the company’s value will be tied to bitcoin’s performance.
But many see GameStop’s bitcoin move as a smart play in an inflationary and uncertain economy. Bitcoin is a hedge against inflation and institutional investors are getting in on the action so maybe this will be a long-term winner for the gaming retail company.
This investment is just the start. Industry insiders think the company may go even deeper into digital assets, possibly by accepting bitcoin as payment. Others believe it will inspire other gaming companies to follow suit.
“We believe GameStop has an incredible opportunity to transform its financial future by becoming the premier Bitcoin treasury company in the gaming sector,” Strive Asset Management CEO Matt Cole wrote to GameStop’s leadership.
