GameStop Moves To Raise up to $1.3B To Buy Bitcoin

GameStop looks set to follow Strategy's Bitcoin accumulation blueprint. When GameStop announced on Tuesday that it had updated its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury asset, many expected the firm would purchase the asset using some of its $4.75 billion cash reserves. However, recent statements from the company suggest otherwise. In a press release on Wednesday, March 26, the video game retailer disclosed its intention to issue senior convertible notes to buy Bitcoin. Senior convertible notes are debt instruments that offer holders the option to convert their notes into equity at a set price or redeem them for cash. GameStop intends to issue $1.3 billion in senior convertible notes maturing in 2030, with 0% interest. Buyers will have the option to purchase an additional $200 million worth of these notes within two weeks of the initial issuance. The firm said this raise will be used to purchase Bitcoin in line with its investment policy. Following MicroStrategy's Bitcoin Blueprint With this move, GameStop follows the blueprint laid out by business intelligence firm turned Bitcoin treasury company, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). Using this model, it has accumulated over 500,000 BTC, worth over $44 billion at market prices—the largest holding of any corporate entity. GameStop's decision to follow this model should perhaps not be surprising, as its decision to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet likely stemmed from a meeting between CEO Ryan Cohen and Strategy Chairman Michael Saylor. "Welcome to Team Bitcoin," Saylor wrote on Tuesday in response to GameStop's investment policy update.