Strive Asset Management, co-founded by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has urged gaming industry icon GameStop to invest in Bitcoin, according to a new letter sent to the company on February 24.
"We believe GameStop has an incredible opportunity to transform its financial future by becoming the premier Bitcoin treasury company in the gaming sector," Strive CEO Ryan Cohen wrote in a letter seen by TheStreet Crypto. "With nearly $5 billion in cash on its balance sheet, the firm is uniquely positioned to shift its reserves from a shrinking asset to a growth engine, propelling GameStop from meme stock to market leader, one Bitcoin at a time."
GameStop did not respond to TheStreet Crypto's request for a comment.
Earlier this month, however, the video game giant was reportedly mulling a possible crypto investment, despite ending its NFT marketplace and crypto wallet in the last few years.
That possible shift has caught the attention of crypto experts, who see it as a strategic pivot that could mirror the Bitcoin accumulation strategy of MicroStrategy , now known as Strategy.
"GameStop’s potential investment in Bitcoin could position it alongside companies like Strategy in recognizing Bitcoin as a superior treasury asset,” Cory Klippsten, CEO of Swan Bitcoin, told TheStreet Crypto.
“By holding Bitcoin, GameStop gains exposure to the world’s best-performing asset while insulating itself from ongoing fiat debasement," Klippsten added. "If they go further and adopt a Leveraged Bitcoin Equity strategy, it would signal a deep conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term dominance over traditional financial assets."
However, some analysts warn that corporate Bitcoin accumulation comes with hidden risks. “Once they borrow against their holdings, as Michael Saylor's Strategy does, they risk triggering cascading margin calls and forced selling," Thomas Ruble of Nirvana Finance told TheStreet Crypto. "Too many concurrent margin calls could destabilize the market... The real danger to corporations when accumulating Bitcoin isn’t the volatility — it’s systemic fragility.”
Additionally, GameStop's potential Bitcoin investment carries several other risks, including financial overexposure to a single asset, Bitcoin's price volatility, possible regulatory uncertainty, and growing cybersecurity threats as crypto hacks proliferate. Additionally, the Texas-based retailer could face accounting and tax challenges, as well as a diversion of focus from its core gaming business.
Although the actual risks are contingent on how GameStop pursues a crypto investment strategy, others in the industry are more optimistic about the potential gains: "This move would signal confidence in Bitcoin’s staying power, easing GameStop into the digital economy while pushing crypto further into the spotlight and giving investors a reason to rally,” Rachel Lin, CEO of decentralized exchange SynFutures, told TheStreet Crypto.
