GameStop chief Ryan Cohen said Tuesday his video game retailer is using crypto as inflation protection, and not trying to mimic others in becoming a large holder of digital tokens. "I look at it as a hedge against inflation and global money printing and and we'll see what happens," Cohen said on CNBC's " Squawk Box ." In late May, GameStop bought 4,710 bitcoins , worth more than half a billion dollars. The world's largest cryptocurrency has been on a tear, hitting a record high and topping $120,000. Software company MicroStrategy, now known as Strategy , bought billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in recent years to become the largest corporate holder of the flagship cryptocurrency. That decision prompted a rapid, but volatile, rise in Strategy's stock. Cohen said GameStop is not following MicroStrategy's model. "We have our own unique strategy, and we have a very strong balance sheet, over $9 billion of cash and marketable securities," he said. GameStop's foray into cryptocurrencies marks the latest effort by Cohen to revive the struggling brick-and-mortar business. Under Cohen's leadership, GameStop has focused on cutting costs and streamlining operations to ensure the company's profitability. "We will deploy that capital responsibly as I would my own capital, and only look for opportunities where the downside is limited and there's a lot of upside," Cohen said. "We'll be opportunistic when we see those opportunities." Cohen, co-founder of trendy pet food supplier Chewy , bought shares in GameStop in 2020 and joined the board in 2021 just as GameStop became one of the key meme stocks in the Covid-inspired trading mania. His e-commerce experience gave rise to hopes that he would modernize the retailer. The CEO said GameStop has shifted its reliance on hardware and software to a "significant" focus on trading cards and collectibles. Shares of GameStop have fallen about 24% this year after soaring 79% in 2024.
