GameStop Turns Bitcoin Into an Options-Income Strategy

GameStop pledged most of its 4,710 BTC to Coinbase as collateral for a covered-call strategy, shifting accounting to receivables and derivatives.

Rich by Coin

2026-03-27

Paragraph 1
GameStop disclosed that nearly all of its 4,710 bitcoin were pledged to Coinbase as collateral for a covered-call strategy, rather than being sold. The company wrote short-dated call options with strike prices between $105,000 and $110,000 to generate premium income, capping its upside on bitcoin, while maintaining exposure. As a result of the maneuver, GameStop no longer holds its bitcoin and now records it as a receivable rather than as a directly held asset.

Paragraph 2
The disclosure offers a clearer explanation for a January wallet that showed GameStop shifting nearly its entire bitcoin position to Coinbase Prime. What happened instead is that the company has written short-dated call options on its bitcoin, with strike prices between $105,000 and $110,000 and expiries through late March. The trade was aimed at generating income from option premiums, while limiting gains above those levels.

Paragraph 3
The filing shows a $0.7 million liability linked to the options and a $2.3 million unrealized gain. It also said that after the fiscal year ending on January 31, a portion of the covered-call contracts expired unexercised, while the related collateral remained with Coinbase Credit. The structure also changed how GameStop accounts for its holdings.

Paragraph 4
Because Coinbase can rehypothecate or redeploy the pledged bitcoin, the company no longer classifies the assets as directly held. It now records a receivable, the right to reclaim equivalent BTC later. That is a notable shift from its buy-and-hold strategy.

Paragraph 5
While GameStop said its economic exposure remains similar to holding bitcoin outright, the position is no longer unencumbered. It sits with a counterparty and is tied to derivatives.

Paragraph 6
The firm reported that receivables linked to the pledged bitcoin were worth $368.3 million at fiscal year-end. It also booked a $59.7 million unrealized loss tied to bitcoin’s price decline. The disclosure shows 4,709 BTC – out of its 4,710 coins – had been pledged to crypto exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) as part of an over-the-counter covered-call strategy.