Remember Bill Gross? The guy they call the “Bond King” who basically built PIMCO into a $270 billion empire? Yeah, that guy just dropped some spicy takes about GameStop that’ll make your head spin.
So here’s the tea: Gross made absolute bank betting against GameStop during the 2021 meme stock madness. We’re talking $15-20 million in profits from essentially saying “nah, this is ridiculous” while Reddit was losing its collective mind. The man was $15 million in the red at one point and couldn’t sleep, but he doubled down like a true degenerate. Respect.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Gross is now saying GameStop isn’t acting like a meme stock anymore. Instead, he thinks it’s “mimicking bitcoin.” And honestly? The comparison is chef’s kiss perfect.
Think about it: Both have cult-like followings that would probably tattoo diamond hands on their foreheads. Both swing wildly based on vibes rather than fundamentals. And both just announced they’re basically married now – GameStop bought 4,710 bitcoins worth around $537 million. It’s like when two chaotic friends start dating and you know it’s either going to be amazing or a complete disaster.
The numbers back up Gross’s bitcoin comparison too. GameStop went from $1 to $121 during its 2021 rocket ship moment, then settled into a much tighter $20-35 range over the past year. Bitcoin? It dropped 25% between January and April, then rallied to record highs above $110,000. Both followed similar patterns – big Q4 2024 gains, spring slumps, then summer rebounds. GameStop just face-planted after disappointing earnings while bitcoin kept moonwalking to new highs.
What’s really wild is that Gross isn’t interested in the new crop of meme stocks like Opendoor, Kohl’s, or American Eagle. His reasoning? Day traders have Microsoft and Meta to play with now, both up 25-30% this year thanks to AI hype. Why mess with small-time chaos when you can ride the big tech wave?
But he’s still eyeing GameStop as a “good candidate for option selling.” Translation: he thinks the stock is still volatile enough to make money off people buying overpriced bets. Classic Gross move – the man once said meme stock buyers are “fish at the poker table,” and he’s not wrong.
The real kicker? Gross had access to real-time options data on his Bloomberg terminal during the 2021 madness, giving him a massive edge over retail traders. “I knew I had an advantage over Reddit and the boys,” he said. It’s like bringing a calculator to a math test while everyone else is using their fingers.
So what’s the takeaway? GameStop has evolved from pure meme stock chaos into something more like bitcoin – still volatile, still driven by passionate believers, but with more predictable patterns. Whether that makes it a better or worse investment is up to you. Just remember: when billionaire bond kings start comparing your favorite stock to crypto, things are about to get interesting.