Meme Stock Legend GameStop Begins Betting on Bitcoin, Initiating 'Financial Strategy Shift'
GameStop, which was at the center of the meme stock frenzy, is now drawing attention by betting on Bitcoin. On the 28th (local time), the company officially announced that it purchased a total of 4,710 bitcoins for approximately 705 billion won (51.26 million dollars).
This is interpreted as GameStop's full-scale launch of a 'Bitcoin financial strategy' mimicking MicroStrategy, a representative Bitcoin holding company. According to CNBC, GameStop stated that it did not set an upper limit for this investment.
"Bitcoin as a New Value Storage Mechanism"
Amid global economic instability, including the easing of US-China tariff wars and downgrading of US Treasury ratings, Bitcoin is gaining attention as an alternative asset, and GameStop appears to have accepted Bitcoin as a new value storage mechanism.
In March, the company unanimously adopted a financial policy to add Bitcoin as an official reserve asset at the board meeting.
However, Market Reaction is Cold... Stock Price Drops Over 10%
Contrary to expectations, the market's response was chilly. Immediately after the disclosure, GameStop's stock price plummeted by 10.88%, reflecting investors' concerns. This is similar to the two-day decline pattern when the Bitcoin holding policy was announced in March.
Experts assess that GameStop is insufficient to become a Bitcoin-centric financial company like MicroStrategy.
Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, dismissed, "There's no reason for GameStop to receive a high premium with a Bitcoin strategy" and that "expectations of being a better Bitcoin manager are unreasonable".
Strategic Transformation or Repeated Speculation?
GameStop's move is evaluated as a turning point to seek new growth momentum, going beyond a simple asset management strategy, breaking away from an offline-centered video game distribution structure.
GameStop, which rose rapidly due to 'meme stock' speculation by online investors after COVID-19, is now pursuing cost-cutting and restructuring under CEO Ryan Cohen's leadership amid recent poor performance.
The industry is focused on whether this Bitcoin purchase will be limited to short-term investor sentiment stimulation or become the starting point for corporate transformation.
