GameStop just threw another curveball at Wall Street. The meme stock darling said late Wednesday it plans to raise $1.75 billion through a private offering of convertible senior notes—just two months after doing nearly the same thing.
The announcement hit right after market close, and the stock reacted fast. Shares, already down 5.3% on the day, took another 11% dive in after-hours trading. So what’s going on? Many investors think this could be a prelude to another bitcoin buy.
Another Bitcoin Move? Investors Think So
It wouldn’t be a shock. GameStop already made headlines earlier this year when it scooped up 4,710 bitcoins between May 3 and June 10. That move followed its $1.5 billion bond sale back in April.
Now, here comes round two. Same kind of deal, same kind of vague language from the company. In its statement, GameStop said the new funds would be used for “general corporate purposes,” including investments and potential acquisitions. Which, let’s be honest, sounds a lot like corporate code for: we might buy more bitcoin.
And yeah, the market noticed.
A MicroStrategy Copycat Play?
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. GameStop’s shift toward crypto looks like it’s pulled straight from the MicroStrategy playbook. That company—once known for boring enterprise software—is now more famous for hoarding bitcoin than for any of its actual products.
MicroStrategy rebranded as “Strategy” earlier this year, and has loaded its balance sheet with over 200,000 bitcoins. GameStop hasn’t gone that far (yet), but it did update its investment policy earlier in 2024 to allow for bitcoin as a treasury-reserve asset. That’s a major step.
One sentence buried in the company’s earnings release pretty much said it all: it bought its bitcoin in accordance with that new policy.
This could be just the beginning.
Debt Twice in Two Months: What’s the Play Here?
Okay, let’s break it down.
GameStop has raised a total of $3.25 billion in convertible notes in the span of just ten weeks. That’s an eye-popping move for a company that’s still mostly known for selling physical video games in malls.
So why the debt blitz?
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Cash boost: It ended Q1 with $6.4 billion in cash, up from $1 billion a year ago.
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New strategy: With brick-and-mortar retail in decline, the company seems intent on rebranding as a tech-forward investment vehicle.
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Crypto angle: Bitcoin doesn’t need warehouses, employees, or inventory.
And the fact that GameStop isn’t talking specifics? That only fuels the fire.
Is the Meme Stock Magic Wearing Off?
Wednesday’s extended trading told a story: some shareholders aren’t impressed.
After a volatile few years—remember the Reddit-fueled squeeze of 2021?—GameStop has become more than just a stock. It’s practically an ideology. But earnings didn’t help this week, and now the bitcoin speculation is starting to wear thin for some.
Q1 results weren’t exactly a home run. While the company is flush with cash, its core retail business remains shaky. And analysts are asking: can a video game store really become a bitcoin treasury?
Short answer? Nobody knows yet.
Still, the market reaction wasn’t subtle. In just a few hours Wednesday:
| Event | Impact |
|---|---|
| Earnings released | GME drops 5.3% |
| Debt offering announced | After-hours drop of 11% |
| Total paper loss | Nearly 16% in a day |
That’s not nothing.
From Game Discs to Digital Assets
It’s a weird twist. This company, once best known for trading pre-owned Xbox games, is now arguably a quasi-crypto play.
Ryan Cohen’s influence is visible everywhere—he’s the activist investor and current board chairman who’s been steering GameStop through this transformation. His vision, at least publicly, is about making GameStop future-facing. Whether that means Web3, NFTs, crypto, or some hybrid, it’s still murky.
But here’s what we do know:
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GameStop is flush with cash.
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It just raised a bunch more.
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It has a stated bitcoin policy.
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And it’s already made one big crypto buy.
That’s a pattern, not a coincidence.
What Happens Next?
Let’s face it: no one buys $1.75 billion in convertible notes just to sit on it.
If the past few months are a guide, we could see another bitcoin disclosure by Q2 earnings. Or sooner. And whether that excites or spooks investors may depend on how deep GameStop wants to go into the crypto rabbit hole.
There’s also the broader macro picture. Bitcoin’s had a strong year so far. Regulatory pressure is mounting, yes—but institutional interest is rising too. If GameStop is trying to ride the same wave as MicroStrategy, the timing could be strategic.
Or reckless. Depends who you ask.
