GameStop chief executive, Ryan Cohen, said the company is planning a “very, very, very big” acquisition of a publicly traded consumer business that he described as more compelling than holding bitcoin.
Cohen said the proposed deal would be transformational for GameStop and the broader capital markets, helping lift the company’s shares more than 8% on Monday and pushing year-to-date gains to about 25%.
“It’s way more compelling than bitcoin,”
Cohen said, adding that he was not prepared to say whether GameStop would liquidate its bitcoin holdings to fund the acquisition.
The comments come after blockchain data showed GameStop transferred its entire 4,710 bitcoin stash to Coinbase Prime, fuelling speculation that the company may be preparing to sell the assets.
Cohen said he is targeting a consumer company with an undervalued share price, strong fundamentals and what he described as a sleepy management team.
GameStop disclosed in late May that it had bought 4,710 bitcoin, then worth about $428 million, marking its most significant move into digital assets.
The potential pivot away from bitcoin would signal a renewed focus on deploying capital into traditional consumer businesses rather than maintaining a large crypto position.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin price was $78,687.72.