Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

"This strategy is more attractive than Bitcoin."

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen sat in front of CNBC's cameras, uttering those words with an almost nonchalant tone. It was as if he had just decided not to abandon a $500 million investment, but rather to change the lunch menu.

But in the crypto market, this statement is as devastating as a bomb.

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

To seasoned crypto enthusiasts, this action has only one meaning: they're preparing to sell.

Cohen then gave a series of interviews to The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, in which he discussed his acquisition plans at length and vowed to turn GameStop into an investment holding platform "similar to Berkshire Hathaway." When reporters pressed him on his Bitcoin strategy, he uttered that famous statement.

Is it ironic?

From entering the venue to preparing to leave, it took less than a year.

The End of an Imitation Show

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

Saylor was at the peak of his career. He changed his Twitter bio to "Bitcoin Maximalist" and posted lengthy sermons about Bitcoin every day.

In his podcast, he said that Bitcoin is a "technological phoenix" that will rise from the ashes of traditional finance.

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

This meeting sparked speculation that GameStop might follow Strategy's lead and include Bitcoin on its balance sheet. GameStop's stock price rose 4% that day.

What did Cohen learn? At least he learned how to create momentum.

Three months later, GameStop announced its entry. According to Reuters, GameStop spent $513 million to buy 4,710 bitcoins, at an average cost of approximately $108,917.

The stock price briefly rose after the news broke.

But a closer look at this deal reveals a problem.

According to the company's financial report as of February 1, 2025, GameStop had approximately $4.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. $500 million in Bitcoin? That only represents 10.4% of its cash reserves.

This isn't an all-in move; it's a trial run.

And what about Saylor? During the same period, he practically staked the entire Strategy's balance sheet, constantly issuing bonds and leveraging his investments. That's true faith. Cohen, on the other hand, was merely speculating.

“Judging from the proportion of funds, subsequent actions, and communication methods, Bitcoin seems more like an option than a core identity anchor,” said an analyst who declined to be named. “Saylor has staked the entire company on it. Cohen? He bought a little and then stopped.”

Bitcoin prices will remain high in the third quarter of 2025.

GameStop did not increase its holdings.

I buy Strategy products almost every week.

The seeds of this difference were sown here.

Both sides of the flywheel

To understand why GameStop runs, you first need to understand the rules of the game.

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

They issue stocks to raise money, buy Bitcoin, the price of Bitcoin rises, increasing market capitalization. With a higher market capitalization, they can issue more stocks and buy more Bitcoin, creating a vicious cycle.

In a bull market, this is a money-printing machine.

From the initial purchase in August 2020 to the end of 2025, Strategy's stock price has increased 12.29 times. Bitcoin has increased approximately 6.37 times during the same period, while the S&P 500 has only increased 115%.

The results were astonishing. In 2025, nearly 200 publicly traded companies rushed in, stuffing Bitcoin onto their balance sheets. According to K33's H1 report, in the first half of 2025 alone, Bitcoin Treasury purchased 244,991 Bitcoins, bringing in tens of billions of dollars in inflows.

But flywheels have a fatal flaw: they can rotate in the opposite direction.

In October 2025, Bitcoin reached an all-time high of approximately $126,000. Then it began to fall.

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

The flywheel begins to operate in reverse: the coin falls, the market value falls, the stock price falls below the net asset value, it is impossible to issue new shares at a premium, there is no money to buy more coins, investor confidence collapses, and the market value continues to fall.

Strategy's market capitalization plummeted from a premium of approximately three times its net Bitcoin holdings. By December 2025, Reddit analysis suggested it was trading at an 11% discount.

It's not a premium. It's a discount.

The market no longer believes the flywheel will continue to turn.

What did Saylor do at this point?

Between December 29, 2025 and January 4, 2026, while Bitcoin was still in a downward trend and the company's stock price had been halved from its peak, he announced that he would purchase another 1,286 Bitcoins.

He stated, "Bitcoin price drops are gifts. Every drop is a buying opportunity."

What about Cohen?

He transferred the coins to an exchange.

Both situations involve book losses:

Strategy is increasing its holdings. GameStop is preparing to exit.

The difference lies not in financial circumstances, but in beliefs.

Three paths

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

Those who leave lack the former, while those who stay need to prove the latter.

GameStop? At least on the Bitcoin Treasury path, it has neither opted for long-term identity binding nor established a sustainable enforcement mechanism.

So, what will the future hold?

Based on feasibility studies, this field may evolve along three paths.

First, consolidation and concentration. The weak exit, the strong reap the rewards. According to Galaxy Digital's 2026 Crypto Market Outlook report, at least five Bitcoin treasury companies will sell their Bitcoin holdings or close down entirely this year. Where will this Bitcoin go? Some will be absorbed by ETFs and retail investors, while some will be acquired at a discount by giants like Strategy. Ultimately, only a few companies may dominate the entire sector.

Second, the business model is evolving. The simple "buy and hold" approach is no longer effective. Some companies are beginning to explore how to generate cash flow without selling, and are subsequently experimenting with options trading, Bitcoin lending, structured products, and so on. However, this requires specialized expertise, which most followers lack.

Third, the narrative has been downgraded. Bitcoin has been downgraded from a "revolutionary corporate asset allocation option" to "a highly volatile alternative asset." It can be allocated, but it's not worth going all in; it can be tried, but it shouldn't be a core strategy.

However, Ryan Cohen is taking a fourth path: a complete reversal.

His goal is to transform GameStop into a company worth over $100 billion, with a business far exceeding the sale of video games and collectibles. Based on its current market capitalization of approximately $11.5 billion, the stock price would need to increase 8.7 times.

Cohen has ambitious plans for this. To achieve this goal, he is considering acquiring a publicly traded company.

As the tide recedes

Let's zoom out a bit.

Saylor believes that Bitcoin is the most important asset innovation in human history, and the decline is just noise; he will buy until the very last drop.

Cohen said, "Thank you, but I see something more appealing."

If Bitcoin reaches $500,000 in five years, Saylor will be hailed as a legend, and Cohen will be known as "the one who sold at the bottom."

If Bitcoin enters a prolonged bear market, Cohen's timely exit is seen as wise, while Saylor needs to pay approximately $700 million annually in preferred stock dividends and bond interest.

Who is right and who is wrong?

Time will tell.

But one thing is certain: GameStop's Bitcoin experiment will most likely become a footnote. Years later, when people look back on this history, they will remember Saylor, and those true believers who persisted in buying during the darkest times.

As for those bandwagoners who come and go in a hurry?

The market is never short of such players. When the tide goes out, they are always among the first to run away.