GameStop + Bitcoin = ???

The meme stock GameStop is making waves once again.

This time, because of a photo that’s gone viral on X:

Ryan Cohen, CEO of GameStop, is pictured with Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy.

Look, I get it… GameStop and Bitcoin might not be your cup of tea.

But this photo could be the canary in the coal mine for a much broader shift in financial markets. In fact, this photo could re-shape financial markets completely.

Today, we’ll cover:

• The history of GameStop and the meme stock mania of 2021

• MicroStrategy’s bold Bitcoin balance sheet strategy

• What this photo suggests and why it could reshape financial markets

• How it might influence your investment decisions today

And as always, you can watch the video version here:

Let’s dive in.

GameStop: More Than Just a Meme

Remember GameStop?

Allow me to jog your memory. In January 2021, GameStop became the center of the meme stock craze.

What happened exactly?

GameStop was a failing retail business that was close to bankruptcy due to Covid lockdowns. Because of this, hedge funds and large financial institutions were shorting it heavily, meaning that hedge funds were betting on GameStop to fail.

Then, a Reddit user that goes by Roaring Kitty / DeepF*ckingValue noticed that there were more shares short on GameStop than shares existed… 

He had already been all-in on $GME stock since September 2019 but this is when his thesis started to get attention on Reddit, and started going viral.

GameStop effectively became the first “meme stock”. The business fundamentals were not great, but retail investors saw an opportunity to execute a short squeeze which would force the hedge funds to cover their shorts, resulting in a meteoric increase in price.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets took the stock from $20 to $483, fueled by anger at hedge funds betting against it.

It is estimated that the hedge funds betting against GameStop lost over $5 billion dollars.

As mentioned, GameStop stock was not a “smart” investment.

Because it wasn’t about the business at all. It was a protest against the existing financial system that benefits hedge funds and bankers at the expense of regular people.

And this is where we need to shift gears and get to know our other protagonist in the story, Michael Saylor.

Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Epiphany

Covid wasn’t just hurting brick-and-mortar retailers…

MicroStrategy was in a life-or-death situation.

As a somewhat mediocre but long-tenured software company, it was sitting on billions in cash. And that cash was losing value.

And as we’ve discussed many times here on Wealth Potion, inflation was eroding the purchasing power of MicroStrategy’s cash reserves.

Saylor started to look for places to put his cash to earn a return.

Saylor saw the writing on the wall. So he made a radical move.

Instead of watching his company of >30 years die a slow, quiet death… he converted billions of dollars of cash reserves into Bitcoin.

Since 2020, MicroStrategy has grown its Bitcoin stack to over 190,000 BTC, worth more than $9 billion today.

This bold move completely transformed the company. It would be more accurate to call MicroStrategy a Bitcoin holding company than a software company in 2025.

And the crazy part?

It worked!

Since adopting its Bitcoin strategy, MicroStrategy’s stock (MSTR) has outperformed even tech giants like Apple and Microsoft. In 2024 alone, $MSTR stock increased >400%.

Now, Saylor is one of Bitcoin’s loudest corporate advocate. He believes companies and even nations will inevitably follow suit.

In fact, Saylor has a section on the MicroStrategy website fully dedicated to helping other CEOs navigate similar legal and regulatory hurdles to hold Bitcoin on their companies’ balance sheets.

See where this is going?

What the Ryan Cohen / Michael Saylor Meeting Could Mean

Ryan Cohen joined GameStop’s board just before the massive run-up in January 2021. He became CEO in 2023.

Prior to GameStop, Cohen was known for transforming the pet e-commerce retailer Chewy and turning around that business.

Now, he’s faced with a very similar situation to Saylor’s in 2020: GameStop is a struggling business with lots of cash on its balance sheet.

So it should be no surprise that this meeting between Ryan Cohen and Michael Saylor has the market speculating that GameStop will be following the MicroStrategy playbook.

Ever since MicroStrategy pursued its Bitcoin treasury strategy, not too many companies have followed suit.

MicroStrategy has 10x more Bitcoin than any other company. And if you exclude Bitcoin mining companies (which naturally hold Bitcoin as part of their operations), then MicroStrategy holds >40x more Bitcoin than the next company on the list (Tesla).

But if GameStop puts Bitcoin on its balance sheet, it could be a watershed moment for both the company and the broader financial markets.

Why?

Because GameStop isn’t just any stock—it’s a symbol of retail investor power.

If Cohen embraces Bitcoin, it could rally millions of GameStop shareholders behind it.

A company that represents a rebellion against Wall Street would now be aligning with the ultimate alternative to traditional finance.

Unfortunately, most people still align Bitcoin with crypto — they see Bitcoin as nothing more than a speculative asset with no intrinsic value.

But the GameStop crowd would see Bitcoin for what it is: a protest against the existing financial system that benefits hedge funds and bankers at the expense of regular people.

What This Means for You as an Investor

So, what does all this mean for your portfolio?

As a disclaimer, none of this is financial advice nor a recommendation — this is simply what I’ll be watching in the coming weeks and months as it pertains to my investment portfolio:

1️⃣ More Corporations Adopting Bitcoin

• If GameStop adopts Bitcoin, expect more companies to follow suit.

• We’re already seeing signs of this trend from Tesla, Square, BlackRock, etc. But GameStop would draw a lot more attention.

2️⃣ Retail Investors Flock to Bitcoin

• GameStop’s 1.1 million cult-like following has proven its ability to move markets.

• Will they rally behind Bitcoin in the same way? Or will it be a “sell-the-news” event? No one knows.

3️⃣ GameStop Stock Repeats 2021? (Not Financial Advice!)

• GameStop does not have the short interest it did back in 2021, but a major decision like this could activate even more retail and institutional investment.

• Or does GameStop stock have so much of a retail following that announcing a Bitcoin treasury strategy will be a drop in the bucket?

I don’t have a crystal ball.

For all we know, the meeting between Saylor and Cohen could’ve concluded with Cohen realizing that a Bitcoin treasury strategy is not the right move for GameStop.

Nevertheless, this is a big story in the finance world that I’ll be watching develop. And it could make international headlines, even if you aren’t a fan of GameStop or Bitcoin.

This story isn’t over yet, and we’ll be watching.

To your prosperity,

Brandon @ Wealth Potion

Build in Public Update

I’m on vacation this week, soaking up the sun and enjoying some much-needed Vitamin D.

The Build in Public Update (and the 5 Levels of Investing Series) will continue next week. I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting and journaling on the beach, and I intend on sharing my thoughts with you all.

Have a great week, everyone.