GameStop jumps 12% after Bitcoin purchase plans announced

GameStop shares jumped astir 12% connected March 26 aft the institution announced plans to acquisition Bitcoin (BTC).

The institution plans to concern the acquisition done indebtedness financing. After markets closed connected March 26, GameStop announced a $1.3 cardinal convertible notes offering.

The convertible elder notes — indebtedness that tin aboriginal beryllium converted into equity — volition beryllium utilized for wide firm purposes, including acquiring Bitcoin, according to a institution statement.

“GameStop expects to usage the nett proceeds from the offering for wide firm purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin successful a mode accordant with GameStop’s Investment Policy,” it said.

The institution revealed connected March 25 plans to usage a information of its firm currency oregon aboriginal indebtedness to bargain integer assets, including Bitcoin and US-dollar-pegged stablecoins. GameStop’s currency reserves stood astatine $4.77 cardinal connected Feb. 1 compared to $921.7 cardinal 1 twelvemonth earlier.

According to Google Finance, GameStop shares closed astatine $28.36 connected the NYSE, marking an 11.65% summation for the day.

GameStop banal show connected March 26. Source: Google Finance

The institution reported a nett income of $131.3 cardinal for Q4 2024 compared to $63.1 cardinal for the anterior twelvemonth Q4. Although nett income had fallen $511 cardinal year-over-year, the institution has been aggressively cutting expenses, including closing 590 stores passim the United States successful 2024.

GameStop was erstwhile astatine the halfway of the 2021 meme banal craze erstwhile retail traders orchestrated a “short squeeze” that sent the terms of the banal soaring. Some hedge funds closed down arsenic a effect of losses sustained during the abbreviated squeeze, giving the GameStop meme banal emergence a “David vs. Goliath” narrative.

Related: GameStop buying Bitcoin would ‘bake the noodles’ of TradFi: Swan exec

More companies follow Bitcoin reserve strategy

GameStop is pursuing the pb of Strategy, which archetypal added Bitcoin to its treasury successful August 2020. As of December 2024, Strategy’s banal had gained 3200% since adopting its crypto strategy.

Metaplanet, a Japanese institution with plans to bargain 21,000 BTC by 2026, saw its banal terms emergence 4800% since announcing the move. In promotional materials, Metaplanet said it had attracted a important fig of caller investors, with its marketplace capitalization rising by 6300%.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn connected crypto leaves cardinal questions unanswered