Ryan Cohen was not invited $55.5 billion unclaimed eBay’s take on GameStop is a corporate world that is doing two things. Cohen’s words seem attractive on paper: he promises to spend $ 2 billion on the swelling head and at the same time destroy eBay’s GAAP profit per share from $ 4.26 to $ 7.79 in the first year.
But behind the show is a bigger problem: a highly speculative money-and-stock deal that seeks to take on $20 billion in new debt from TD Securities and severely dilute GameStop’s stock to buy a company four times its size. Analysts and investors are very skeptical, which is why eBay’s stock continues to trade below Cohen’s $125 price target.
eBay doesn’t want a small, meme-backed seller to come in and blow his budget to get it right. Instead, they can look at real-world platforms that prove that real functionality isn’t found by advertising, it’s found by upgrading the payment section.
By removing a page from the digital content and seeing how the history is Steak ‘n Shake Just by changing its business model, eBay can open up a big win in its operations.
Proof of Concept: The Steak ‘n Shake Case Study
When the world’s burger chain Steak ‘n Shake introduced Bitcoin Lightning Network payment in its territories, it was not a marketing gimmick. Most of the world’s most updated documents on corporate finance:
Opportunity Cost: What the Math Means on eBay
The Payments Blindspot
eBay is an e-commerce titan, which supports a huge growth in the global market. In its fiscal year 2025 financial results, eBay reported that it is improving, but remains focused on traditional payments. Because eBay manages its own internal payments (eBay Managed Payments), it is forced to absorb the large fees from credit card transactions, passing the fees on to sellers through a higher rate of ~13.25%.
While eBay controls its fees, traditional credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) pay large digital merchants international exchange and exchange between 2.5% and 3.5%.
Assuming only a 3% interest rate on eBay’s $80 billion in retail volume, Steak ‘n Shake’s 50% confirmed decline reflects the staggering annual cost to the bank.
- $80B (Annual GMV) x 3% (Inheritance Replacement Fee) = $2.4B in Friction
- $2.4B x 50% (Lightning Performance) = $1.2B per year
The Treasury Blindspot
Even though eBay has been allowing its $2.92B in savings to be in low-cost stocks (creating an initial yield of 12.23%), the opportunity cost of ignoring Bitcoin over the past three years has turned into a multi-billion dollar mistake.
If eBay had committed 100% of its reserves to Bitcoin instead of cash, that wealth would have grown by 1,406%. This represents a $5.02B unrealized profit that eBay completely left on the table.
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Legacy Credit Card Rails vs. Bitcoin Lightning Network
Instead of letting the high-value purchases dictate its future, the native crypto community also transforms eBay’s wealth on behalf of its 135 million users (1.1).
| Metric | Methods of Payment of Inheritance | Bitcoin Lightning Layer | The Operation Impact |
| Pulling Up the Preparation | ~$2.4 billion | ~$1.2 billion | At the same time they open $ 1.2 billionwhich can be given directly to retailers to increase their margins. |
| Quick Fix | 2 to 5 Business Days (1.1) | Instant (seconds) (1.4) | It breaks the financial lock-in of millions of small businesses around the world. |
| Chargeback Fraud Liability | Millions of people lost the “illusion of friendship” | $0.00 (Unedited Notes) (1.5) | Totally reduce the loss of traders by using the bank loan. |
| Cross-Border FX Penalty | 3% to 5% conflict payment (4.2) | 0% (Unified Settlement Asset) (1.5) | Conflict-free international trade without banking borders. |
3 Reasons Why the Payroll Game Wins Cohen’s Takeover
1. Protects Shareholders from Bad Corporate Debts
GameStop’s proposal hinges on the combination of an uncertain $20 billion offer letter and the unpredictability of the meme-stock to meet the target. Integrating a standard payment method, by comparison, costs eBay almost nothing to do. It naturally increases profit margins without adding a single toxic corporate dollar to the base pages.
2. Strengthens the Life of eBay: Sellers
Ryan Cohen wants to eliminate profits by aggressively cutting $1.2 billion from eBay sales and marketing. Tech-forward payment integration takes a different approach: it extracts value from banks. Lower interest rates for electronics sellers give them more incentive to list their best items on eBay instead of going to a retail store or Amazon.
3. Dominates the Self-Assembly Market
A key pillar of GameStop’s buyout logic is using its 1,600 brick-and-mortar stores as proof-of-concept trading cards and premium products. However, the most advanced integrated market has already been closely linked to the digital economy. Allowing consumers around the world to buy a luxury watch or an exotic comic book through Bitcoin opens up a vast pool of liquid assets around the world that retail stores can’t match.
The Ultimate Counter-Punch
GameStop is looking to eBay because it sees the platform as a major revenue engine that has grown in technology. Instead of allowing a smaller company to spend money on a takeover, eBay’s board could make GameStop’s decision to cut costs obsolete.
By using the trading company’s policy to fix its payments, reduce the bank’s expenses, and return $1.2 billion in annual savings to the market, eBay can manage its history of increasing revenue, proving that it does not need a savior to control the future of digital sales.
Disclaimer: This was prepared in lieu of Bitcoin For Business only for details. It reflects the author’s analysis and opinion and should not be relied upon as financial advice. Nothing in this article shall constitute an offer, invitation, or solicitation to buy, sell, or subscribe to receive any security or financial product.
References
- (1.1) GameStop Investor Relations. (2026). GameStop Wants to Acquire eBay for $125.00 Per Unit. GameStop Investor Relations
- (1.2) Articles about ANI. (2026). GameStop wants to acquire ebay for USD 125 per share in cash and stock. Articles about ANI
- (1.3) Bitcoin Magazine. (2026). Steak ‘n Shake Says Bitcoin Payments Cut Maintenance Costs by 50%, Save $6 Million a Year. Bitcoin Magazine
- (1.4) CoinoMedia via Binance Square. (2025). Steak ‘n Shake Saves Big with Bitcoin Payments. Binance Square
- (1.5) Reddit r/Bitcoin. (2026). Steak ‘n Shake Says Bitcoin Payments Cut Maintenance Costs by 50%, Save $6 Million a Year. Reddit
- (2.1) My city. (2026). GameStop’s Insane Demand to Buy eBay for $56 Billion Sounds Bad. My city
- (2.2) Digital Activities. (2026). How Steak ‘n Shake Has Reduced Cost With Crypto. Digital Activities
- (2.3) MyBroadband. (2026). GameStop is offering R930 billion to eBay. MyBroadband
- (2.4) Reddit r/Bitcoin. (2026). Beginning March 1, Steak n Shake will offer all hourly employees at its company-operated restaurants a Bitcoin bonus.. Reddit
- (3.1) Bitcoin Magazine. (2026). Steak ‘n Shake Teases “Bitcoin Milkshake” At Bitcoin Summit 2026. Bitcoin Magazine
- (4.1) eBay Inc. Investor Relations. (2026). eBay Inc. It Reports in the Fourth Quarter and Full Years 2025. eBay Investor Relations
- (4.2) Value Added Resource. (2026). eBay Q4 2025 Profits: GMV Growth & Depop Acquisition Surprise. Value Added Resource
