In short
- GameStop has transferred its entire holdings of 4,710 Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, raising questions about a possible sale.
- CEO Ryan Cohen said a major acquisition strategy is “much more compelling than Bitcoin.”
- The company has returned to profitability and has built a Bitcoin position of approximately $500 million.
GameStop’s love affair with Bitcoin may be coming to an end.
On Friday, CEO Ryan Cohen said the company is steering the meme stock pioneer toward a “transformational” acquisition, suggesting the company’s roughly $500 million Bitcoin treasury may no longer be a permanent part of the balance sheet.
In one CNBC interviewCohen declined to say whether GameStop plans to cash in on its Bitcoin. Still, when asked how the company would finance future deals, Cohen described GameStop’s acquisition ambitions as “much more compelling than Bitcoin.”
“It’s transformative. Not just for GameStop, but ultimately within the capital markets,” Cohen said CNBC. “This is something that has really never been done before in the history of capital markets.”
“If it works, it’s genius. If it doesn’t, it’s completely foolish,” he added.
After the announcement, GameStop shares rose about 8.25% on the day to trade around $25.85 after rising $1.97 from $23.88.
The shift in GameStop’s sentiment on Bitcoin follows on-chain facts of CryptoQuant, indicating that the games retailer had recently transferred its entire holdings of 4,710 BTC to Coinbase Prime in January.
While such moves don’t necessarily mean a sale, GameStop’s move did speculation at For now, GameStop’s Bitcoin holdings have not been sold.
In March, GameStop updated its investment policy to allow Bitcoin as a treasury reserve, joining a growing number of publicly traded companies that have treated the digital currency as a balance sheet hedge.
According to Greg Magadini, director of derivatives at Amberdata, Bitcoin’s recent pullback has brought prices back close to the levels where many large institutional buyers entered the market in 2025.
“This means there is an incentive for big companies to protect themselves before others capitulate,” Magadini said Declutter. “If GME finds a better use of capital, it could make sense to reallocate Bitcoin’s balance sheet to an alternative use (such as an acquisition).
According to Magadini, the bearish argument for Bitcoin revolves around the risk that the wave of corporate and institutional buying seen in late 2024 and 2025 could reverse, with former buyers becoming net sellers, turning inflows into outflows and potentially triggering a downward price spiral as falling prices force additional selling.
“While this bearish scenario could play out, the market is likely aware of some of this dynamic, and this risk may already be priced into Bitcoin,” he said, adding that GME selling its Bitcoin doesn’t necessarily mean other major holders will do so.
“Companies like MSTR have funded their Bitcoin purchases with longer-term debt that is not subject to margin liquidation as many currency traders are used to,” he said. “This means that lower prices don’t necessarily turn MSTR into a seller, even if GME’s sale of Bitcoin temporarily drives prices down.”
GameStop did not immediately respond Declutter request for comment.
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