GameStop may accept crypto payments for trading card purchases: report

GameStop, the American video game retailer, will consider accepting cryptocurrencies as payment for trading card purchases, according to the company’s CEO, Ryan Cohen.

During his latest appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Cohen said the company is exploring the use of crypto for payments in its collectibles segment, particularly for trading cards.

“There’s an opportunity to buy trading cards and to do so using cryptocurrency,” he said, adding, “We’ll see how much there is on the actual demand side for that kind of product.”

While GameStop has not yet selected any specific cryptocurrency, Cohen said the company is open to evaluating all available options.

Cohen framed the move as part of a strategic push to reduce dependence on gaming hardware and expand into higher-margin segments like collectibles. According to him, cryptocurrencies could enhance customer experience by providing a new method of transaction aligned with emerging trends in consumer finance.

“The utility of crypto beyond investing is a hedge against inflation,” Cohen said, but added that the ability to “use crypto within transactions is something that is an opportunity.”

Cohen’s remarks came as GameStop has emerged as one of the latest publicly traded companies to adopt Bitcoin as a treasury asset.

The video game retailer made its first purchase of 4,710 BTC in May, with the stash worth over $500 million at the time, following a series of board-approved policy changes to allow investment in digital assets like Bitcoin and stablecoins.

In most cases, traditional companies that have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets have seen shareholders respond positively, often driving up stock valuations. But for GameStop, the move has been perceived quite differently. 

Initially, GameStop shares rallied over 30% in the month leading up to the Bitcoin purchase, but later fell 22% in June after the company increased the size of its convertible note offering to $2.25 billion.

The added capital, which now totals $2.7 billion after exercising additional options, is expected to support further investments, including potential Bitcoin buys.

When asked whether GameStop was copying Michael Saylor-led Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook, Cohen argued his company is taking a different approach. Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, is widely regarded as the pioneer of the corporate Bitcoin treasury model.

“We have our own unique strategy,” Cohen said, emphasising that GameStop makes investment decisions “responsibly” and is backed by a robust balance sheet holding over $9 billion in cash and marketable securities.

“We will deploy that capital responsibly as I would my own capital,” Cohen continued, and said that GameStop will focus on opportunities “where the downside is limited and there’s a lot of upside.”