GameStop pivot: Ryan Cohen highlights upside after taking over a ‘piece of crap’

GameStop (NYSE:GME) is being closely watched as the company’s pivot away from being a pure retailer to being an investment vehicle takes form.

CEO Ryan Cohen was interviewed by BTC Inc. following the company’s disclosure that it now holds Bitcoin (BTC-USD).

Cohen started off by noting that GameStop (NYSE:GME) was a “piece of crap” and losing a lot of money when he took over. He said financial discipline, cost-cutting measures, and shifting the business model away from solely selling video games to the collectibles business has paid off.

Looking to the past, Cohen said former executives of the company and the board directors were very short-sighted.

As for Bitcoin, Cohen said the purchase of 4,710 Bitcoin was a hedge against currency risk. He also noted that the cryptocurrency has advantages over gold. Looking ahead, Cohen said he would not call out GameStop’s (GME) crypto strategy in advance, but would follow its own path instead of copying an existing player such as MicroStrategy (MSTR).

Shares of GameStop (GME) reversed themselves after an initial premarket rally and were down 7.9% at 1:18 p.m.

The last two Seeking Alpha articles on GameStop (GME) have been bearish, while the only Wall Street firm to cover GME has a Sell rating on the books.