EBay rejects GameStop’s $56 billion bid, putting bitcoin exposure back in focus

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email EBay rejects GameStop’s $56 billion bid, putting bitcoin exposure back in focus The online marketplace's board called the half-cash, half-stock offer "neither credible nor attractive" Tuesday. By Shaurya Malwa | Edited by Oliver Knight May 12, 2026, 1:35 p.m. 2 min read Make preferred on A GameStop store (CoinDesk Archive) What to know : EBay’s board rejected GameStop’s $56 billion half-cash, half-stock takeover bid as “neither credible nor attractive,” citing financing concerns and confidence in its current strategy. The market signaled skepticism that the deal will close, with eBay shares trading well below GameStop’s $125-per-share offer and both stocks slipping after the rejection. GameStop’s sizable bitcoin options position and limited discretionary assets, along with warnings from investor Michael Burry about debt and dilution, raise questions about how it would fund a higher or hostile bid. Shopping giant eBay has rejected video game retailer GameStop’s ambitious $56 billion takeover offer, leaving the latter to decide whether it wants to walk away, raise the bid or take the fight directly to shareholders. EBay’s board called the half-cash, half-stock offer “neither credible nor attractive” on Tuesday, per Reuters , citing doubts around financing and arguing the company is better positioned under its current management. The rejection was widely expected. EBay has traded well below GameStop’s $125-per-share bid since the offer surfaced, a sign investors were not convinced the deal could close. That puts GameStop’s bitcoin position back in the conversation, as CoinDesk reported earlier this month . The cultish firm holds roughly $368 million worth of bitcoin exposure via a covered-call options strategy. It shifted nearly all of its 4,709 BTC to institutional brokerage Coinbase Prime, as a filing showed in March , turning the position into a receivable rather than directly held bitcoin. GameStop’s offer was built around $9.4 billion of cash and liquid investments, plus up to $20 billion in debt financing from TD Bank. But that financing is contingent on the combined company maintaining an investment-grade rating, and Moody’s has already warned the deal would be credit negative for eBay. Raising the offer or going hostile would likely make the financing math more challenging. Cohen has previously framed the eBay deal as “way more compelling than bitcoin,” leaving open the question of whether GameStop’s BTC position could be unwound if more cash is needed. Selling it would not fund the deal by itself, but it is one of the few discretionary assets GameStop can point to as it tries to convince investors the bid is real. The market remains skeptical, however. EBay shares slipped about 1% to $107 before the bell Tuesday, still far below the offer price, while GameStop fell 4%. The deal previously drew pushback from parts of GameStop’s own investor base. Michael Burry, the investor made famous by The Big Short , sold his stake after the bid and warned that buying eBay could saddle GameStop with debt and dilute shareholders. GameStop More For You Hot inflation data pours cold water on Federal Reserve rate cut hopes By James Van Straten | Edited by Shaurya Malwa 48 minutes ago Bitcoin was trading at $80,814 following the news, down 1.2% over the past 24 hours. What to know : April CPI rose 0.6% for the month and 3.8% year-over-year. Markets continues to price in no Fed rate cuts for the June 17 meeting. Bitcoin was trading at $80,600 following the report. Read full story Latest Crypto News Kraken parent, Franklin Templeton to develop onchain investment products 6 minutes ago Elliptic raises $120 million backed by Nasdaq, Deutsche Bank as AI reshapes crypto security 6 minutes ago CoinDesk 20 performance update: SUI drops 4.9%, as index trades lower 19 minutes ago Hot inflation data pours cold water on Federal Reserve rate cut hopes 48 minutes ago CleanSpark stock slides 9% as quarterly earnings miss estimates on bitcoin holdings loss 1 hour ago DTCC builds out blockchain-based collateral system with Chainlink integration 1 hour ago Top Stories 'Bitcoin transactions can be monitored’: Ray Dalio explains why central banks won’t touch BTC 7 hours ago Clarity Act, in the flesh, unveiled by U.S. Senate Banking Committee before hearing 9 hours ago Bitcoin will 'explode' past $90,000 and hit $126,000, Arthur Hayes says 2 hours ago 'A big nothing burger': A Q&A with Strategy's Michael Saylor on selling bitcoin 17 hours ago ETH/BTC ratio falls to 10-month low as ether continues to underperform bitcoin 3 hours ago Bitcoin miner MARA sold $1.5 billion of bitcoin as it shifts toward AI infrastructure 5 hours ago