Buy This, Not That: The Bitcoin Treasury Play That Actually Makes Sense

Shah Gilani|July 2, 2025

MicroStrategy holders think they’re getting smart Bitcoin exposure.

Instead, they’re getting fleeced by Michael Saylor’s expensive strategy…

You’re paying a massive 75% premium just to own Bitcoin through the stock market.

That’s like paying $180,000 for $107,000 worth of Bitcoin. It makes no sense.

But there’s a smarter Bitcoin treasury play that just emerged… one that doesn’t punish you with premiums.

This company has a real business, real revenue, AND 20% short interest that could trigger a major squeeze.

Click on the thumbnail below to see which Bitcoin treasury play actually makes sense.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, everybody. Shah Gilani here with your weekly BTNT, as in Buy This, Not That.

Today, I want to talk about two Bitcoin holders because I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about GameStop (GME), which has acquired lots of Bitcoin, versus MicroStrategy, now called Strategy (MSTR).

So I’m going to start with GameStop and give you some general ideas about what I think of the stock vis-à-vis the company and what they do.

Well, the big deal with GameStop recently in terms of news is the acquisition of a bunch of Bitcoin. A total amount of 4,710 Bitcoin, which has a price base at about $107,000 per coin. Of course, the price fluctuates… but we’re looking at roughly $513 million.

Now they’re putting that Bitcoin in their treasury. That means that in the cash position that the company currently has, which is over $6.39 billion. $513 million of that is Bitcoin. So they’re holding it in the treasury, which is also what MicroStrategy says they’re doing – they just hold it in their treasury.

So what does it really do for GameStop? I think it draws attention to them, and we know GameStop is a meme stock because there’s always a considerable amount of shares that have been shorted.

The short float position on GameStop right now is just shy of 20% of the floating shares. That’s a pretty big position. It gets up there considerably higher at times, which makes it a meme stock because at certain levels, narrative stories get put out there on the likes of Reddit, then the shorts have to cover. And when the shorts cover, the stock screams higher. Hence, it’s noteworthy that it is a meme stock.

But it does have a real business, and it’s in the gaming platform business. Used to be bricks-and-mortar stores where they would sell games. Now they’re really going online. So their core business – they’ve been enhancing it with their e-commerce platforms that have gotten a lot better, and they cater to the growing digital game download business, which they’re doing pretty decently at.

So, yes, it does have a real business. So it’s not about the Bitcoin. Bitcoin, I think, again, is just a little bit of advertising, a little bit of, “Hey, we’re also in that game, and, you know, take a look at our stock.”

Does it add any value to GameStop? No. But, again, it’s an attention getter. And I think for that reason – that is the reason why we’re talking about it because a lot of people are saying, “Oh, are they going to be the next MicroStrategy?”

No. They’re not going to be the next MicroStrategy.

So before I tell you whether I like it or not, I’m going to go to MicroStrategy. This is Michael Saylor’s company, which essentially started out as an enterprise company that created enterprise software for companies. McDonald’s was once a big customer.

And so that’s their business, really. But then at some point, I think it was by 2020, Michael Saylor decided he’s going to start to transform the company from an enterprise software company, selling business intelligence tools, into a Bitcoin holder. In other words, they’ll raise cash, use whatever cash they had, to buy Bitcoin. They raise cash by selling convertible securities – convertible into their equity. Now a lot of these securities are zero coupon, which means they’re not paying any interest. But they do convert into shares of MicroStrategy.

So, it’s an interesting financing model. It’s clever, but the problem with MicroStrategy that I see is its enterprise business is nothing. I mean, the revenue for last trailing 12 months revenue was $463 million. That’s nothing.

The market cap for MicroStrategy is $112 billion. Now that’s not based on the fact that $463 million in revenue from enterprise software sales and service. The margin in that business should be pretty high. I’m talking 50%, 60%, 70%-plus depending how well the business is run.

We don’t know because the operating margin at MicroStrategy is, like, minus 1,200%. That’s minus. And that’s because of the debt that they have, and the way the balance sheet is structured with the debt being used and also share sales being used to buy more Bitcoin.

So MicroStrategy, last count that I could come up with has 597,325 Bitcoin. I’m going to round up the approximate value of that at $107,000. Based on some round numbers, I’m going to jack it up just a little bit. We’ll call that $64 billion.

Here’s the thing about MicroStrategy. So the holdings are worth $64 billion. Again, I’m rounding up a little bit. But the market cap is $112 billion. So wait a second. They’re not really making money on the enterprise software business that they started with. So it’s just really about Bitcoin speculation.

Yes. They’re sitting on a nice profit unrealized on the Bitcoin, because I think the acquisition price was probably close to, I’m going to say, $66,000-$67,000 a coin. So, yes, with it at $107,000, they’ve got a pretty nice built-in profit in there, but it’s unrealized. They still have to manage that debt. And when Bitcoin goes into some of these crypto winters and the price drops, well, guess what? People panic and sell the stock because the value of the underlying holdings really is not about the enterprise company. It’s about the holdings themselves, the treasury holdings.

So MicroStrategy – Michael Saylor now calls it a Bitcoin treasury company. So here’s the thing I don’t like, really dislike, about MicroStrategy. I don’t get this strategy, people, because at the current market cap for the stock, this is the equity value of the company for shareholders, $112 billion. Well, really, what is the value of the asset? So it’s really the Bitcoin. Let’s call that $64 billion. So the equity value is $112 billion, and the Bitcoin value underlying that is $64 billion. Guess what? If you buy shares, you’re paying approximately 75%, depending on the price of Bitcoin moving up, percent premium to own Bitcoin in the form of MicroStrategy shares. And the underlying value there is the value of Bitcoin.

So why would you pay a 75%-plus percent premium to own Bitcoin in the form of MicroStrategy shares? So, no, MicroStrategy is not a buy, in my opinion, period. There are much better ways with far less premium to own Bitcoin. Right? Hint, hint… Grayscale.

But relative to GameStop, I’ll take GameStop over MicroStrategy any day. So, yes, I would buy GameStop. As a meme stock, with 20% short float, yes, they can pop. Yes. Are they trying to draw attention to themselves to get that pop in stock? Yes. They do that. Can’t fault them for that. That’s just smart. So, yeah, I do like the business that they’re in. I think they’re getting better at it, and that’s a real core business. And adding some Bitcoin to your treasury, that’s not going to hurt matters whatsoever. Just another holding. And if it appreciates, it increases your cash position.

So GameStop versus MicroStrategy, take GameStop any day over MicroStrategy.

Catch you guys next week. Cheers.

---