Will GameStop Buy More Bitcoin? Shares Plunge Amid ‘Black Box’ Criticism Over Strategy

GameStop shares plummeted on Thursday after the video game retailer announced that it would offer investors $1.75 billion worth of convertible senior notes, a form of corporate debt that Bitcoin-buying firms like Strategy have tapped to accumulate the asset.

The Grapevine, Texas-based firm’s stock price had dropped 22% to $22.12, as of noon Eastern Time, according to Yahoo Finance. GameStop shares changed hands around $25.40 in late March, when the company said that it could start leveraging Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as treasury reserve assets after updating its investment policy.

In a blog post, GameStop said that proceeds from the convertible bonds, which “will not bear regular interest,” will go toward “general corporate purposes,” including investments consistent with its investment policy, and acquisitions, according to a company blog post.

Although GameStop purchased 4,710 Bitcoin last month, the company did not specifically mention Bitcoin in its Wednesday announcement. The company has held other cryptocurrencies before as part of its ill-fated gambit to establish an NFT marketplace, too.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen hinted at the company’s Bitcoin purchase when posing for a photo alongside Strategy co-founder and Executive Chairman Michael Saylor earlier this year. However, he said in a recent interview that the company would not telegraph any future Bitcoin purchases, and that it’s “not following anyone else’s strategy.”

The way in which the company has communicated Bitcoin-related activity to shareholders hasn’t mirrored most firms engaged in accumulating the asset. When the company divulged its first Bitcoin buy in late May, its one-sentence press release did not include an average purchase price, or detail how much money the company spent on Bitcoin. 

“What I think is very important for a Bitcoin Treasury company is transparency and authenticity, and so far, they’ve been a black box,” Strive CEO Matt Cole told Decrypt in a recent interview.

Before saying that it would offer investors $1.75 billion worth of convertible bonds on Wednesday, the company raised $1.5 billion through a similar offering in early April.

Among those disappointed with GameStop’s crypto foray, some feel that the company has been vague about its plans, while appearing to be more focused on maintaining its cash position. As of May, GameStop held $6.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, per its latest earnings results.

Recognized as the world’s first meme stock, GameStop became a pandemic-era phenomenon after its stock price skyrocketed during a historic short squeeze in 2021. Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, became the de facto face of a retail-led movement to bet against Wall Street institutions.

Edited by James Rubin