GameStop, backed by a strong balance sheet with over $9 billion in cash and marketable securities, plans to deploy more capital into Bitcoin and digital assets following its initial investment, but only when conditions present a favorable risk-reward profile, said CEO Ryan Cohen in a Tuesday interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’
GameStop announced in May that it had acquired 4,710 Bitcoin in its first-ever BTC purchase. The company reportedly considered investing in Bitcoin and other crypto assets following a meeting between Cohen and Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor.
Cohen saw that first $500 million investment in Bitcoin as “a hedge against inflation and global money printing.”
“We have our own unique strategy and we have a very strong balance sheet, over $9 billion of cash and marketable securities, and we will deploy that capital responsibly as I would my own capital and only look for opportunities where the downside is limited and there’s a lot of upside,” Cohen said when asked whether GameStop’s approach mirrors Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin plan. “So we’ll be opportunistic when we see those opportunities.”
Cohen also said that the video game retailer is exploring crypto payment for trading cards, but indicated that whether the idea moves forward will depend on customer demand.
“There’s definitely an opportunity to actually use crypto in the space, and the utility of crypto beyond investing is a hedge against inflation. I think that so far, that’s been the biggest demand for crypto,” Cohen said.
“The ability to actually use crypto within transactions is something that is an opportunity,” he noted. “It’s something that we’re looking at