GameStop logo is seen in this illustration taken February 2, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -GameStop has purchased bitcoin worth about $513 million, the company said on Wednesday as the ailing video game retailer looks to capitalize on the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies globally.
GameStop said in a filing it acquired 4,710 bitcoins, although it did not disclose the period for the purchases. The world's largest cryptocurrency was trading down 0.7% at $108,903 by 7 a.m. ET.
The purchases are GameStop's first bitcoin purchase since unveiling its plans in March to invest in the digital asset, adopting a strategy pioneered by Michael Saylor's Strategy, an enterprise software company and the largest corporate holder of bitcoin.
Strategy's stock has seen significant gains alongside the rising price of bitcoin, attracting investors seeking exposure to the digital asset without directly investing in it.
For GameStop, which was at the center of 2021's meme-stock frenzy, the move could boost investor interest at a time it is struggling to turn around its mainstay business of selling video games through brick-and-mortar stores in the digital age.
Shares of the Dallas, Texas-based company were 4.4% higher in pre-market trading.
The company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $4.78 billion as of Feb. 1.
The announcement comes a day after Trump Media and Technology Group, U.S. President Donald Trump's social media firm, said it would raise $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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