Finance

GameStop is considering investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, sources say

Published

4 months ago

February 13, 2025

Business Finance News

A general view of the GameStop logo on one of its stores in the city center of Cologne, Germany.

Ying Tang | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Video game retailer turned meme stock GameStop is considering investing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to sources familiar with the matter.

GameStop is exploring investments in alternative asset classes, including crypto and in particular bitcoin, three sources said. Shares of GameStop soared as much as 20% in extended trading following the news.

The retailer could decide not to follow through with the investments. The company is still in the process of figuring out if this made sense for GameStop’s business, according to one source.

Last weekend, CEO Ryan Cohen posted a photo on X with Michael Saylor, co-founder and chairman of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. However, Saylor isn’t involved in GameStop’s discussion about crypto investments at this time, two of the sources said.

In 2022, GameStop launched crypto wallets that let users manage their crypto and nonfungible tokens. However, the firm shut the service down in 2023, citing “regulatory uncertainty.”

Cohen, co-founder of Chewy, bought shares in GameStop in 2020 and joined the board in 2021 as GameStop became one of the key meme stocks in the trading mania. His e-commerce experience fueled hopes that he could help modernize the brick-and-mortar retailer, but the company still is still struggling to adapt to changing spending habits by gamers.

Under Cohen’s leadership, GameStop has focused on cutting costs and streamlining operations to ensure the business is profitable even though it isn’t growing. As of Nov. 2, the company had amassed a $4.6 billion cash pile and has been using those funds for investments, according to a December securities filing.

Companies considering adding bitcoin to their balance sheet would be following in the footsteps of MicroStrategy. That company, recently rebranded to Strategy, has bought billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in recent years, effectively transforming from a software stock to a bitcoin holding vehicle.

The decision has helped fuel a rapid, if volatile, rise for Strategy’s stock.

In Dec. 2023, GameStop’s board approved a new “investment policy.” It allows Cohen, plus two independent board members and other necessary staff, to manage GameStop’s portfolio of securities investments. Those investments have to conform to the policy’s guidelines, or be approved by the committee by unanimous vote or the full board by majority vote.

Finance

New ETF gives investor chance to act like a private equity giant

Published

50 minutes ago

June 15, 2025

Business Finance News

VanEck moves first to target alternative asset managers themselves

The S&P 500 is less than 3% from an all-time high. Six of its 11 sectors are within 5% of an all-time high. But even as the U.S. stock market index proves its resilience during a volatile stretch for investors, more money from within portfolios is expected to shift in to privately traded companies.

Jan Van Eck, CEO of ETF and mutual fund manager VanEck, says the trend of companies staying private for longer rather than seeking an initial public offering is here to stay and it offers new opportunities.

High-profile examples include Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Sam Altman’s OpenAI and fintech Stripe.

According to Van Eck, allocations to private assets will jump from a current average portfolio holding level of approximately 2% to 10% in the years ahead.

Some ETFs have begun to invest small portions of their assets in privately held company shares, including SpaceX, such as the ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF (XOVR). VanEck has launched an ETF tackling the private opportunity in a different way: taking big positions in the publicly traded shares of the investment giants, including private equity firms and other alternative asset managers, that own many private companies.

The VanEck Alternative Asset Manager ETF (GPZ), which launched this month, has a portfolio holdings list that includes Brookfield, Blackstone, KKR, Brookfield Asset Management and Apollo, which combined make up almost 50% of the fund. TPG, Ares and Carlyle are also big positions, in the 5% range each.

The new ETF extends an existing focus on private markets for VanEck. For over a decade, it has offered investors access to private credit, through the VanEck BDC Income ETF (BIZD), which invests in the business development companies that lend to small- and mid-sized private companies. That ETF has a high level of exposure to Ares, Blue Owl, Blackstone, Main Street and Golub Capital, which make up about half of the fund. It pays a hefty dividend of 11%.

Investing private through a publicly traded ETF

“You have to believe this is a secular trend and growth will be higher than that for normal money managers, including ETF and mutual fund managers,” said Van Eck.

He cautions, however, there is more volatility in these funds compared to the public equity market overall. “You have to size it appropriately,” he added.