Would GameStop buying Bitcoin help BTC price hit $200K?

Regardless of robust institutional demand, Bitcoin (BTC) has struggled to reclaim the $100,000 stage for the previous 50 days, main buyers to query the explanations behind the bearishness regardless of a seemingly optimistic atmosphere. 

This worth weak point is especially intriguing given the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve govt order issued by President Donald Trump on March 6, which permits BTC acquisitions so long as they observe “budget-neutral” methods.

Bitcoin fails to maintain up with gold’s returns regardless of optimistic information move

On March 26, GameStop Company (GME), the North American online game and client electronics retailer, introduced plans to allocate a portion of its company reserves to Bitcoin. The corporate, which was on the verge of chapter in 2021, efficiently capitalized on a historic brief squeeze and managed to safe a formidable $4.77 billion in money and equivalents by February 2025.

A rising variety of US-based and worldwide firms have adopted Michael Saylor’s Technique (MSTR) playbook, together with the Japanese agency Metaplanet, which not too long ago appointed Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump, to its newly established strategic board of advisers. Equally, the mining conglomerate MARA Holdings (MARA) adopted a Bitcoin treasury coverage to “retain all BTC” and enhance its publicity via debt choices.

There should be a robust purpose for Bitcoin buyers to promote their holdings, particularly as gold is buying and selling simply 1.3% under its all-time excessive of $3,057. For instance, whereas the US administration adopted a pro-crypto stance following Trump’s election, the infrastructure wanted for Bitcoin to function collateral and combine into conventional monetary methods stays largely undeveloped.

The US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is proscribed to money settlement, stopping in-kind deposits and withdrawals. Happily, a possible rule change, at the moment beneath assessment by the US Securities and Change Fee, may scale back capital achieve distributions and improve tax effectivity, in keeping with Bitseeker Consulting chief architect Chris J. Terry.

Regulation and Bitcoin integration into TradFi stays a problem 

Banks like JPMorgan primarily function intermediaries or custodians for cryptocurrency-related devices equivalent to derivatives and spot Bitcoin ETFs. The repeal of the SAB 121 accounting rule on Jan. 23—an SEC ruling that imposed strict capital necessities on digital property—doesn’t essentially assure broader adoption.

For instance, some conventional funding corporations, like Vanguard, nonetheless prohibit shoppers from buying and selling or holding shares of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, whereas directors like BNY Mellon have reportedly restricted mutual funds’ publicity to those merchandise. In actual fact, a major variety of wealth managers and advisers stay unable to supply any cryptocurrency investments to their shoppers, even when listed on US exchanges.

The Bitcoin derivatives market lacks regulatory readability, with most exchanges opting to ban North American individuals and selecting to register their firms in fiscal havens. Regardless of the expansion of the Chicago Mercantile Change (CME) through the years, it nonetheless accounts for under 23% of Bitcoin’s $56.4 billion futures open curiosity, whereas opponents profit from fewer capital restrictions, simpler consumer onboarding, and fewer regulatory oversight on buying and selling.

Associated: SEC plans 4 extra crypto roundtables on buying and selling, custody, tokenization, DeFi

Institutional buyers stay hesitant to realize publicity to Bitcoin markets as a result of considerations about market manipulation and an absence of transparency amongst main exchanges. The truth that Binance, KuCoin, OK and Kraken have paid vital fines to US authorities for potential anti-money laundering violations and unlicensed operations additional fuels the adverse sentiment towards the sector.

Finally, the shopping for curiosity from a small variety of firms isn’t sufficient to push Bitcoin’s worth to $200,000, and extra integration with the banking sector stays unsure, regardless of extra favorable regulatory circumstances. 

Till then, Bitcoin’s upside potential will proceed to be restricted as danger notion stays elevated, particularly throughout the institutional funding group.

This text is for common data functions and isn’t meant to be and shouldn’t be taken as authorized or funding recommendation. The views, ideas, and opinions expressed listed below are the creator’s alone and don’t essentially mirror or signify the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.