Michael Burry, the famed investor of 'The Big Short' fame, has sold his entire stake in GameStop (NYSE: GME), citing the company's $55.5 billion unsolicited bid for eBay as a debt-laden move that clashes with his original thesis. The exit puts a spotlight on GameStop’s Bitcoin holdings, which could be liquidated to help fund the deal.
Burry disclosed the sale Monday on his Substack, Cassandra Unchained, stating the acquisition would push GameStop’s leverage beyond acceptable levels. He had previously championed the stock as an "Instant Berkshire" — a lean, cash-rich operation — but the eBay proposal, involving $20 billion in new debt, would send the debt-to-EBITDA ratio soaring to 7.7x. "The Instant Berkshire thesis was never compatible with >5x Debt/EBITDA, never ok with interest coverage under 4.0x," Burry wrote, adding that the company's approach "could not be more pedestrian" and was "well-worn ruts on the road to capitalist Hell."
Central to the crypto angle is GameStop’s Bitcoin stash, acquired in May 2025 when it purchased 4,710 BTC for approximately $500 million. The firm later pledged 4,709 of those coins to Coinbase as collateral for a covered-call strategy, leaving the position recorded as a receivable rather than a directly held asset. With the Bitcoin now worth about $368 million (per Q4 results) — less than 1% of the eBay offer — CEO Ryan Cohen has previously refused to rule out selling the cryptocurrency to finance the deal, calling the acquisition plan "way more compelling than Bitcoin."
Burry’s departure signals skepticism about the financial engineering behind the eBay bid. Analysts like Ryan Yoon of Tiger Research called it "a cold reminder that the eBay deal is a debt-driven disaster rather than a visionary move." The exit also raises fears that GameStop may dump its remaining Bitcoin onto the market, adding sell pressure to a market that is still absorbing institutional moves. While the Bitcoin amount is relatively small compared to daily trading volumes, any forced liquidation could create short-term headwinds for BTC.
