GameStop has revealed in its fiscal 2025 annual report that it pledged 4,709 of its 4,710 bitcoin to Coinbase Credit as collateral for an over-the-counter covered call strategy, offering fresh clarity on a transfer that had previously fueled speculation the company might be exiting its bitcoin position. According to the filing, the move was operational rather than a liquidation, meaning the company retained economic exposure to bitcoin instead of simply selling the asset.
Transfer to Coinbase Prime Was Not a Sale
The disclosure appeared in GameStop’s Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 24, 2026, covering the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026. The company stated that it transferred its entire bitcoin portfolio to Coinbase Prime around January 16, 2026. That transfer had sparked broad rumors in the market that GameStop was unloading its crypto holdings, but the filing clarified that the movement of coins was tied to treasury and derivatives operations rather than a spot sale.
Under a collateral agreement with Coinbase Credit, Inc., GameStop sold OTC covered call options on 4,709 BTC, representing 99.98% of its total bitcoin holdings. The contracts carried strike prices ranging from $105,000 to $110,000 per BTC, with expirations extending through March 27, 2026. Only one bitcoin remained directly on the company’s balance sheet.
How the Covered Call Structure Works
A covered call strategy allows a holder of an underlying asset to collect option premium upfront while capping some upside if the asset’s price rises above the strike price. In this case, GameStop continued to maintain economic exposure to bitcoin below the strike levels while earning premium income from the options it sold. If bitcoin stayed below the strike prices into expiration, the calls would expire worthless and the company would keep the premium. If bitcoin moved above those levels, the options could be exercised, limiting GameStop’s maximum gain to the strike price plus the premium received.
The structure stands out because it differs from the straightforward buy-and-hold approach seen at some other public companies with bitcoin treasury exposure. Rather than focusing solely on long-term accumulation, GameStop appears to have adopted a more income-oriented strategy that seeks to monetize its holdings through options while still maintaining directional exposure.
Original Purchase and Treasury Policy Shift
GameStop originally purchased its 4,710 BTC in May 2025 for approximately $500 million in cash. The company’s average acquisition cost was reported at roughly $106,000 to $107,900 per coin. The purchase followed a treasury policy update approved by the board in March 2025, when GameStop amended its investment guidelines to allow bitcoin and U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins to be held as reserve treasury assets.
That policy change placed GameStop among a growing number of public companies experimenting with crypto as part of corporate treasury management. However, the latest filing suggests the company’s approach may be more tactical and structured than a simple reserve allocation.
Why the Bitcoin Left the Balance Sheet
One of the most notable aspects of the filing is the accounting treatment. Because Coinbase Credit had the right to rehypothecate, commingle, or sell the pledged bitcoin, GameStop determined that control over those assets had been transferred. Under U.S. GAAP, that meant the company had to derecognize the 4,709 BTC from its balance sheet and instead record a digital asset receivable.
GameStop said that receivable was valued at $428 million at the time of derecognition and had fallen to $368.3 million as of January 31, 2026. This accounting outcome had a visible effect on bitcoin treasury rankings, pushing the company from around 21st globally to roughly 190th among corporate bitcoin holders. Even so, GameStop emphasized that its economic exposure remained broadly consistent with direct ownership of the underlying bitcoin.
Losses, Premiums, and Price Context
For fiscal 2025, GameStop reported a total loss of $131.6 million tied to digital assets and related receivables, equivalent to about 3.6% of net sales. The figure included a $71.8 million realized loss tied to derecognition, a $59.7 million unrealized loss on the digital asset receivable reflecting the decline in bitcoin’s price, and a $0.1 million remeasurement loss on the coin it retained directly. The options position generated an unrealized gain of $2.3 million, though this was partially offset by a $0.7 million derivative liability.
At the time of the filing, bitcoin was trading around $68,000 to $69,000, well below the options’ strike prices of $105,000 to $110,000. That meant the calls were out of the money, putting GameStop in a position to likely retain the option premiums as income if the market stayed below those strike levels through expiration.
Key Risks Flagged in the Filing
The 10-K also outlined several risks linked to the strategy. These included bitcoin price volatility, counterparty credit exposure in the event of a Coinbase default, and the legal and operational uncertainty that can arise when pledged collateral may be rehypothecated. The filing further noted broader regulatory and accounting uncertainty surrounding cryptoassets in general.
These risks are especially important because the strategy depends not only on bitcoin’s market direction, but also on the legal and operational framework governing custody, collateral use, and derivatives execution. Even where the economic exposure remains similar to direct ownership, the accounting and risk profile can look materially different.
No Press Release, No New BTC Update Yet
GameStop did not issue a separate press release about the pledge arrangement. Instead, the details emerged through the SEC filing and on-chain monitoring conducted earlier in the year. As of the latest disclosure, the company had not announced any additional bitcoin purchases, nor had it provided further information on whether it entered into new call-option positions after the initial contracts approached expiration.
The lack of follow-up disclosure leaves open questions about how GameStop intends to manage its bitcoin treasury strategy going forward. What is clear from the filing, however, is that the company did not simply dump its holdings. Instead, it used nearly all of them in a structured options strategy designed to generate premium income while preserving at least some of the economics of holding bitcoin.
In that sense, GameStop’s approach offers a different model for public companies exploring crypto treasury management. Rather than pure accumulation, it points to a more hybrid playbook—one that mixes balance-sheet exposure, collateralized financing relationships, derivatives, and accounting trade-offs in pursuit of yield and market participation.