Why GameStop put $315 million of Bitcoin into a covered call options strategy

Video game retailer GameStop revealed this week that it has transferred all but one bitcoin Bitcoin Treasury holdings in covered call options strategy on Coinbase Prime.

In doing so, the 4,709 Bitcoin inventory — worth about $315 million as of this writing — became a receivable rather than an intangible asset on the company’s balance sheet. The reclassification is important, because it will change how Bitcoin’s gains and losses flow through GameStop’s quarterly earnings.

Bitcoin treasury companies were Relatively quiet since the beginning of the year. BTC price started the year around $87,000, but has struggled to stay above $70,000 since February. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $67,000 after falling 5% in the past week, according to cryptocurrency price aggregator CoinGecko.

The increased volatility has put companies that have BTC on their balance sheets under pressure. GameStop, which originally spent more than $500 million to buy Bitcoin last May, has seen the value of its holdings decline significantly in recent months.

GameStop noted in its report that the terms of the collateral agreement mean that Coinbase Prime has the right to “unilaterally re-stake, consolidate or sell” the retailer’s bitcoin.

This means that GameStop is not selling its bitcoin, but is selling it He could It is sold.

“Although the classification of these assets has changed, our economic exposure is consistent with direct ownership of the underlying currency Bitcoin,” the company said in its report. 10-K Annual Report With the SEC.

In a covered call strategy, an investor who owns an asset — in this case, Bitcoin — sells a call option to the counterparty. An option gives the counterparty the right to buy the asset at a predetermined price, called the strike price, within a specified time frame. In return, the cardholder receives an upfront bonus, generating income on an asset that would otherwise be on the balance sheet.

If the price of Bitcoin rises above the strike price, the counterparty can exercise the option and receive Bitcoin at the agreed-upon lower price, limiting the holder’s upside. If bitcoin stays below the strike price, the option expires worthless and GameStop keeps the premium — plus its bitcoin.

By pledging nearly all of its bitcoin as collateral for the strategy through Coinbase Prime, GameStop is essentially betting that Bitcoin won’t rise sharply enough to trigger options — and collect a return in the meantime.

The company originally purchased Bitcoin in May 2025 after completing a purchase A $1.5 billion offer of convertible senior notes to investors in the previous month.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen had He hinted at the foray into obtaining Bitcoin Posing next to Strategy Head Michael Saylor in a photo on X. Strategy pioneered the Bitcoin treasury model, and remains the largest corporate holder to date with approximately $51 billion worth of Bitcoin as of this writing.

Since the strategy first classified Bitcoin as a treasury asset in… August 2020Many companies have followed suit in raising capital through ATM stock software, Convertible notesand Preferred stock issuesthen publish it in Bitcoin. The strategy has used all three.

But there have been questions recently about the company’s Bitcoin conviction.

In February 2026, Cohen was asked by GameStop CNBC If a company is considering selling its Bitcoin inventory. Cohen declined to elaborate, but hinted at the company’s acquisition ambitions as “more compelling than Bitcoin.”