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Video game retailer turned meme stock GameStop is considering investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to sources familiar with the matter.
GameStop is exploring investments in alternative asset classes, including crypto and bitcoin in particular, three sources said. Shares of GameStop soared as much as 20% in extended trading following the news.
The retailer could decide not to follow through with the investments. The company is still in the process of figuring out if this makes sense for GameStop’s business, according to one source.
Last weekend, CEO Ryan Cohen posted a photo on social media site X with Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. However, Saylor is not involved in GameStop’s discussion about crypto investments at this time, two of the sources said.
In 2022, GameStop launched crypto wallets that let users manage their crypto and nonfungible tokens. However, the firm shut the service down in 2023, citing “regulatory uncertainty.”
Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, bought shares in GameStop in 2020 and joined the board in 2021 as GameStop became one of the key meme stocks in the trading mania. His e-commerce experience fueled hopes that he could help modernize the brick-and-mortar retailer, but the company is still struggling to adapt to changing spending habits by gamers.
Under Cohen’s leadership, GameStop has focused on cutting costs and streamlining operations to ensure the business is profitable even though it is not growing. As of Nov. 2, the company had amassed a $4.6 billion cash pile and has been using those funds for investments, according to a December securities filing.
Companies considering adding bitcoin to their balance sheet would be following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy. That company, recently rebranded to Strategy, has bought billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in recent years, effectively transforming from a software stock to a bitcoin holding vehicle.
The decision has helped fuel a rapid, if volatile, rise for Strategy’s stock.
In December 2023, GameStop’s board approved a new “investment policy.” It allows Cohen, plus two independent board members and other necessary staff, to manage GameStop’s portfolio of securities investments. Those investments have to conform to the policy’s guidelines, or be approved by the committee by unanimous vote or the full board by majority vote.