Two months of speculation ended on Tuesday when GameStop confirmed that it had not sold its Bitcoin. The company has pledged 4,709 of its shares to Coinbase Credit as collateral for a combined call option strategy, according to its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Onchain Analysts Sound the Alarm in January
When onchain trackers saw GameStop move its entire Bitcoin stash to Coinbase Prime in January, speculation quickly spread – the company was selling. That reading turned out to be wrong. The transfer was part of the planned options play, not the exit.
GameStop sold covered call contracts with strike prices between $105,000 and $110,000, which are set to expire this Friday. Under that setup, the company collects premiums up front and keeps the Bitcoin if buyers leave without making options. Some January contracts have expired without being used.
The company still holds one Bitcoin that was held without a collateral arrangement. A total of 4,709 pledged coins remain on the books – just restocked.
BTCUSD trading at $67,312 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView
Why Coins Are No Longer Seen As They Are Directly Held
Because Coinbase Credit can also use pledged assets — a practice called rehypothecation — GameStop removed 4,709 coins from its balance sheet as directly owned assets and recorded them instead as digital assets receivable. The company said in the filing that while the label has changed, its exposure to Bitcoin price movements has not.
That exposure didn’t hurt. Pledged coins totaled $368 million as of January 31, with unrealized losses of just over $59 million that day. Bitcoin is down about 45% from its record high. The filing also shows a $2.3 million profit and $700,000 in debt tied up in lieu of options.
GameStop Goes Into Bitcoin After Meeting Saylor
Reports indicate that CEO Ryan Cohen met with Strategy chairman Michael Saylor in early 2025 to discuss the company’s Bitcoin strategy. GameStop announced its foray into Bitcoin not too long ago. Before the transfer of Coinbase, the company was ranked among the top 25 Bitcoin holders by size, according to bitcointreasuries.net.
The SEC filing closes a chapter in what many read as an impending exodus. GameStop owns its own Bitcoin. It loses money on paper. And now it uses the position to make money while waiting.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView
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