Same unrealized loss, GameStop chooses to exit and run away, while Saylor is still increasing his position

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

“This strategy is more attractive than Bitcoin.”

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen sat in front of CNBC’s camera, casually saying this. As if he had just decided not to abandon a $500 million investment, but to change the lunch menu.

But in the crypto market, this statement’s impact is as explosive as a bomb.

According to on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, GameStop transferred all of its Bitcoin holdings to Coinbase Prime around January 23, moving out approximately 4,710 coins, with a market value of about $450 million.

In the eyes of crypto veterans, this move only means one thing: preparing to sell.

Next, Cohen gave back-to-back interviews with The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, where he talked extensively about acquisition plans and vowed to turn GameStop into an investment holding platform similar to Berkshire Hathaway. When asked about the Bitcoin strategy, he threw out that sentence.

Is it ironic?

From entry to exit readiness, less than a year.

The End of a Mimic Show

On February 8, 2025, Cohen met with Strategy’s co-founder Michael Saylor.

At that time, Saylor was at the peak of his career. He changed his Twitter bio to “Bitcoin Maximalist” and posted long Bitcoin sermons daily.

He said on a podcast that Bitcoin is a “technological phoenix,” reborn from the ashes of traditional finance.

According to Cryptopolitan, Strategy held over $47 billion worth of Bitcoin at that time.

This meeting sparked market speculation that GameStop might follow Strategy’s lead and include Bitcoin on its balance sheet. On the same day, GameStop’s stock rose 4%.

What did Cohen learn? At least how to create hype.

Three months later, GameStop announced its entry. According to Reuters, GameStop spent $513 million to buy 4,710 Bitcoin, with an average cost of about $108,917 each.

The news caused a brief stock price surge.

But a closer look at this transaction reveals issues.

As of the company’s financial report on February 1, 2025, GameStop had about $4.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. The $500 million in Bitcoin? Only about 10.4% of its cash reserves.

This isn’t All In; it’s testing the waters.

And Saylor? During the same period, he nearly fully loaded Strategy’s balance sheet and kept issuing debt to leverage purchases. That’s true conviction. Cohen’s move? Just speculation.

“Based on the proportion of funds, subsequent actions, and communication style, Bitcoin seems more like an option rather than a core anchor,” said an anonymous analyst. “Saylor put the entire company on the line. Cohen? Bought a little and stopped.”

By Q3 2025, Bitcoin prices remained high.

GameStop did not increase its holdings.

Strategy kept buying almost weekly.

That’s where the gap lies.

The Two Sides of the Flywheel

To understand why GameStop is running, you first need to understand the rules of this game.

The core logic of corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies can be summarized in one word: flywheel.

Issue stocks to raise funds, buy Bitcoin, as Bitcoin rises, it boosts market cap, higher market cap allows issuing more stocks, buying more Bitcoin, and so on.

In a bull market, it’s a money-printing machine.

From August 2020 to the end of 2025, Strategy’s stock price increased by 12.29 times. Bitcoin rose about 6.37 times in the same period, while the S&P 500 only gained 115%.

The effect was astonishing. By 2025, nearly 200 listed companies jumped in, stuffing Bitcoin onto their balance sheets. According to K33’s H1 report, in the first half of 2025 alone, Bitcoin treasury companies bought 244,991 Bitcoin, bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars in capital inflows.

But the flywheel has a deadly trait: it can reverse.

In October 2025, Bitcoin hit a record high of about $126,000. Then it started to fall.

By the end of December, it was around $87,500—a decline of over 30%.

The flywheel began to spin backward: coins fell, market cap dropped, stock prices fell below net asset value, unable to issue new shares at a premium, no money to buy more coins, investor confidence collapsed, and market cap continued to decline.

Strategy’s market value plummeted from roughly three times its Bitcoin holdings’ net worth. By December 2025, some analysts on Reddit estimated it was at an 11% discount.

Not a premium. A discount.

The market no longer believed the flywheel would keep spinning.

What did Saylor do then?

From December 29, 2025, to January 4, 2026, while Bitcoin was still in a downtrend and the company’s stock price had halved from its peak, he announced the repurchase of 1,286 Bitcoin.

He said, “Bitcoin’s decline is a gift. Every dip is an opportunity to buy.”

And Cohen?

He transferred coins to exchanges.

Facing the same paper loss:

Strategy increased its position. GameStop prepared to run.

The difference isn’t in financial condition but in conviction.

Three Paths Forward

“The era of premiums is over,” said senior analyst John Fakhoury of Stacking Sats in a market report. Surviving in this space requires two things: discipline and solid business execution.

Those who exit lack the former; those who hold need to prove the latter.

GameStop? At least on the Bitcoin treasury path, it neither chose to bind itself long-term nor built a sustainable execution mechanism.

So, what’s next?

Based on feasibility, the field may evolve along three paths.

First, consolidation and centralization. The weak exit, the strong harvest. According to Galaxy Digital’s 2026 crypto market outlook, at least five Bitcoin treasury companies will sell their holdings or shut down entirely this year. Where will these Bitcoins go? Some will be absorbed by ETFs and retail investors, others acquired at a discount by giants like Strategy. Ultimately, only a few companies may dominate the entire field.

Second, mode evolution. Pure “buy and hold” has failed. Some companies are exploring how to generate cash flow without selling, trying options trading, Bitcoin lending, structured products, etc. But this requires professional skills, which most followers lack.

Third, narrative downgrade. Bitcoin is downgraded from “revolutionary corporate asset allocation” to “a highly volatile alternative asset.” It can be allocated, but not worth All In; it can be tried, but not as a core strategy.

However, Ryan Cohen is taking the fourth route: a complete shift.

His goal is to transform GameStop into a company worth over $100 billion, with business far beyond selling video games and collectibles. At the current market cap of about $11.5 billion, the stock needs to increase by 8.7 times.

Cohen is ambitious. To achieve this, he is considering acquiring a publicly listed company.

When the Tide Turns

Let’s zoom out a bit.

Saylor believes Bitcoin is the most important asset innovation in human history; dips are just noise, and he will buy until the last breath.

Cohen, on the other hand, says, thanks, but I see something more attractive.

If Bitcoin hits $500,000 in five years, Saylor will be revered, and Cohen will be the “bottom-seller.”

If Bitcoin enters a long-term bear market, Cohen’s timely exit will be seen as wise, while Saylor will have to pay about $700 million annually in preferred stock dividends and bond interest.

Who’s right?

Time will tell.

But one thing is certain: GameStop’s Bitcoin experiment will most likely be a footnote. Years from now, when people look back at this history, they will remember Saylor, and they will remember the true believers who kept buying during the darkest times.

As for the bandwagon followers who come and go?

The market never lacks such characters. When the tide goes out, they are always the first to run.