GameStop, the video game retailer whose stock became a symbol of the meme stock frenzy, is reportedly exploring investments in alternative asset classes, with a particular focus on bitcoin.

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has reported a significant surge in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Leading stablecoin issuer Tether could face significant challenges if proposed U.S. stablecoin regulations become law, according to a research report published by JPMorgan Chase.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• GameStop Eyes Crypto Investments
• Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase Posts Record $2.3 Billion Revenue
• Tether May Need to Liquidate Bitcoin Reserves to Comply with New Rules: JPMorgan

GameStop Eyes Crypto Investments

GameStop, the video game retailer whose stock became a symbol of the meme stock frenzy, is reportedly exploring investments in alternative asset classes, with a particular focus on bitcoin.

The retailer, however, could  ultimately decide against such an investment and is still in the process of evaluating the potential benefits for its business. 

Last week GameStop’s CEO Ryan Cohen posted on social media a picture with the co-founder and chairman of Strategy, the largest corporate holder of bitcoin. Saylor, however, is reportedly not involved in GameStop’s crypto investment discussions at this time, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Investing in cryptocurrency would represent a significant move for GameStop, which has struggled to reinvent itself. While the firm has launched digital asset wallets in 2022 for users to manage crypto holdings, it shuttered the service last year over regulatory uncertainty.

GameStop has, under Cohen, amassed a $4.6 billion cash pile and has been actively pursuing investment opportunities. 

Cryptocurrency Exchange Coinbase Posts Record $2.3 Billion Revenue

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has reported a significant surge in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The company posted net income of $579 million while revenue reached $2.3 billion, surpassing estimates by approximately $430 million. The figure is more than double the $1.13 billion it reported in the third quarter of the year.

Coinbase’s fourth-quarter transaction revenue soared 172% quarter-over-quarter to $1.6 billion, up from $529 million in the same period last year. For the full year, its revenue was $6.6 billion, more than double the $3.1 billion recorded in 2023.

The company ended the fourth quarter of the year with $9.3 billion in U.S. dollar resources, up from $8.2 billion in the previous quarter.

Tether May Need to Liquidate Bitcoin Reserves to Comply with New Rules: JPMorgan

Leading stablecoin issuer Tether could face significant challenges if proposed U.S. stablecoin regulations become law, according to a research report published by JPMorgan Chase.

Two bills, the Senate's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and the House of Representatives STABLE Act, are currently under consideration.  Both bills aim to regulate stablecoins, but they differ in their approach as the former focuses on federal regulation for stablecoins with a market cap over $10 billion, while the latter focuses on state-level regulations.

The report suggests that the company may need to liquidate a portion of its bitcoin reserves to comply with the new rules. 

"Reserve requirements under the STABLE Act are stricter, allowing insured deposits, U.S. T-bills, treasury short-term repo and central banks reserves," the analysts wrote. "Both bills allow only high quality and liquid assets as reserves.”

According to JPMorgan’s report, Tether’s reserves are “only 66% compliant under the STABLE Act and 83% under the GENIUS Act," and its compliance ratio has been declining since the middle of last year.

The firm would have to replace non-compliant assets with compliant ones, which could mean “sales of their non-compliant assets (such as precious metals, bitcoin (BTC), corporate paper, secured loans and other investments) and purchases of compliant assets such as T-bills."

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