GameStop's Bitcoin Play: Ryan Cohen's Quiet $513M Bet Signals Major Shift

Remember the guy who turned pet food startup Chewy into a $3.35B unicorn? Ryan Cohen just did it again—this time with Bitcoin.

In May 2025, buried in a routine SEC filing most people missed, GameStop casually announced it had purchased 4,710 BTC (~$513M)—no press release, no fanfare, just the legal minimum. This move vaulted GameStop to the 14th largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally.

Here’s the plot twist: Cohen funded this through convertible bonds while keeping over $4B in cash reserves. It’s not an all-in gamble—it’s calculated.

Why Bitcoin, Why Now?

Cohen’s logic mirrors his Chewy playbook: find where others see chaos, spot the real opportunity. His thesis on Bitcoin is straightforward—it’s a hedge against currency devaluation with advantages gold can’t match: instant global transfer, blockchain verification, fixed supply, no insurance costs.

The broader context matters too. GameStop’s path to this moment wasn’t linear:

• 2020: Cohen spotted potential in a “dying” brick-and-mortar chain when Wall Street was ready to bury it
• 2021: Joined board → stock surged 1500% (you remember the meme stock chaos)
• 2022-2024: Gutted costs, rebuilt leadership with Amazon/Chewy veterans, scaled online operations
• 2023: First-ever profit despite 25% revenue decline (gross margin up 440bps)
• 2024: Tested crypto with NFT marketplace ($77.4M volume → crashed to $2.8M)
• 2025: Bitcoin play

The NFT failure? Classic Cohen move—extract the lesson, don’t repeat the mistake.

Why This Matters

1. Signal: When a founder who’s proven he can scale business reinvests in Bitcoin at this scale, it’s not noise
2. Precedent: Follows MicroStrategy and Tesla’s playbook of corporate Bitcoin reserves
3. Conviction: The timing (amid Fed policy chaos) suggests Cohen sees macro headwinds ahead
4. Patience: His “ape army” of retail holders won’t panic-sell—he has time to play long-term

Stock dropped post-announcement? Cohen shrugged and raised another $450M through greenshoe option, proving he’s not chasing price action.

The real flex: “GameStop follows GameStop’s strategy, we do not follow anyone else’s strategy.” That’s the most Cohen thing ever.

Not saying this guarantees returns, but the pattern is worth watching—the man doesn’t swing at pitches he can’t hit.