Bad news for Trump Media and GameStop: The power of the “pivot to bitcoin” might be wearing off

The “pivot to” is one of the most tried-and-true ways for existing companies to ride the wave of a new mania and attract fresh investors.

It can be as simple as a name change: Ping Shan Tea Group Limited, which sold (you guessed it) traditional Chinese tea, magically became Blockchain Group Co Ltd. back in 2016. Or it can be more in the framing, like how banks tried to get everyone to think of them as tech companies. We’ve seen it over the past few years when executives tout their company’s AI capabilities regardless of how developed those are or their pertinence to business operations.

While an earlier wave of companies tried to pull off a pivot to blockchain through name changes alone, lately there’s been a more concrete way of tying your stock to bitcoin: by buying it. But this week suggests the power of a bitcoin treasury may be losing its luster.

Usually in journalism we wait for three examples before attempting a trend piece, but two in two days should suffice:

• On Tuesday, Trump Media & Technology Group surged in premarket trading after raising billions to establish a bitcoin treasury before an about-face in early trading saw the stock close down 10%.

• Today, GameStop was up as much as 7% in the premarket after its first bitcoin purchase before going down double digits a couple hours after the open.

My best guess: if you want to buy what’s effectively a leveraged bitcoin holding company, well... Strategy exists. There was a first-mover advantage here, and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to wrap your stock more thoroughly in bitcoin than what Michael Saylor’s already done. Open to any alternative suggestions!