GameStop shares tumble as investors question bitcoin pivot

Lisa Pauline Mattackal

Thu, Mar 27, 2025, 9:34 AM 2 min read

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) - Shares of GameStop fell much than 15% connected Thursday aft the company's program to concern its bitcoin pivot raised questions astir the timing of its determination and its strategy to crook astir its struggling retail business.

The video crippled retailer's shares besides gave up each their gains from a time earlier and were connected way for their biggest one-day autumn since past June, aft the institution said it was offering $1.3 cardinal successful 0% 2030 convertible bonds to amass the cryptocurrency.

The company's announcement that it would bargain bitcoin to clasp arsenic a treasury reserve plus had created a mini euphoria among retail traders, who keenly way the alleged "meme stock."

However, GameStop besides announced the closing of a "significant number" of further stores this year, signalling that its retail concern continued to flounder contempt attempts to crook it around.

"Investors are not needfully optimistic connected the underlying business," said Bret Kenwell, U.S. concern expert astatine eToro.

"There are question marks with GameStop's model. If bitcoin is going to beryllium the pivot, wherever does that permission everything else?"

The timing of GameStop's determination to bargain bitcoin is besides successful absorption arsenic the cryptocurrency's terms has gained astir 27% since November's statesmanlike election, though they are sharply down from grounds highs owed to uncertain economical conditions.

"Why did (GameStop) hold truthful agelong if they were going to spell down this road? Six months ago, 9 months agone would person made a batch much sense," Kenwell said.

The indebtedness offering to money bitcoin purchases mimics the playbook of Strategy, 1 of the largest idiosyncratic holders of bitcoin that is wide seen arsenic a bitcoin proxy.

The wide outlook for crypto markets was besides contributing to declines arsenic GameStop's determination has "failed to meaningfully boost marketplace confidence," said Agne Linge, caput of maturation astatine decentralized slope WeFi.

With the day's losses, GameStop shares person dropped much than 23% this year.

(Reporting by Anil D'Silva)