--- title: GameStop's Ryan Cohen Turns Failed eBay Bid Into Prediction-Market Frenzy description: GameStop's failed bid to acquire eBay quickly spilled into prediction markets, where Ryan Cohen's comments helped move odds on Kalshi and Polymarket. canonical: https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/gamestops-ebay-bid-failed-but-ryan-cohen-still-moved-markets/ author: Annie Nader article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-05-19T07:41:26.884Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-19T07:41:25.769Z og:title: GameStop's Ryan Cohen Turns Failed eBay Bid Into Prediction-Market Frenzy og:description: GameStop's failed bid to acquire eBay quickly spilled into prediction markets, where Ryan Cohen's comments helped move odds on Kalshi and Polymarket. og:url: https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/gamestops-ebay-bid-failed-but-ryan-cohen-still-moved-markets/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2083826e95c634e/6a034407a1d260d4b5a37da6/GameStop_eBay.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: GameStop_eBay.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GameStop's Ryan Cohen Turns Failed eBay Bid Into Prediction-Market Frenzy twitter:description: GameStop's failed bid to acquire eBay quickly spilled into prediction markets, where Ryan Cohen's comments helped move odds on Kalshi and Polymarket. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb2083826e95c634e/6a034407a1d260d4b5a37da6/GameStop_eBay.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- The information presented here is created independently from the TIME editorial staff.  * [Prediction Market](/partner-content/prediction-markets/) # GameStop's eBay Bid Failed, But Ryan Cohen Still Moved Markets by [Annie Nader](https://time.com/author/annie-nader/) Prediction Markets Analyst May 19, 2026 7:41 AM UTC  GameStop proposes to buy eBay for approximately $56 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, with CEO Ryan Cohen stating he is prepared to take the bid directly to shareholders if eBay's board is unreceptive. GameStop proposes to buy eBay for approximately $56 billion in a cash-and-stock deal, with CEO Ryan Cohen stating he is prepared to take the bid directly to shareholders if eBay's board is unreceptive.Nikolas Kokovlis—Getty Images by [Annie Nader](https://time.com/author/annie-nader/) Prediction Markets Analyst May 19, 2026 7:41 AM UTC An unsolicited bid for a company worth roughly four times as much, scant financing details, spooked shareholders, and a swift rejection would typically trigger a crisis of confidence. For GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen, it seemed to barely register. On May 3, [GameStop proposed](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/business/gamestop-ebay-acquisition-offer.html) buying eBay for $56 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Early this morning, eBay [rejected](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/business/ebay-gamestop-takeover.html) GameStop's bid, calling the proposal "neither credible nor attractive." What took place in the interim, though, was a lesson in how one executive's voice can influence trading decisions on prediction-market platforms. ## GameStop's eBay Bid Falls Short When Cohen announced GameStop's audacious ploy to take over eBay, Wall Street asked the obvious question: how does a company valued at roughly $10 billion plan to acquire one valued at roughly $48 billion? The next day, Cohen appeared on CNBC's _Squawk Box_ in a now-viral [interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmj2PaxX24E) with Andrew Ross Sorkin. When pressed for information on how GameStop would finance the $56 billion bid, Cohen was evasive: "It's on our website. It's half cash, half stock. But the details are on our website." The leather-jacket-wearing executive's curt answers and disaffected tone—reminiscent of a student who didn't complete the summer reading assignment—left Sorkin speechless, and slightly amused, throughout the segment. The fallout from the bizarre CNBC appearance was immediate: GameStop's [stock dropped](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/gamestop-stock-plummeting-ceos-bizarre-160259447.html) by more than 10%, and key investor Michael Burry revealed he had [sold his entire stake](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-big-short-michael-burry-sold-gamestop-ryan-cohen-ebay-2026-5) in the company. Cohen doubled down on his theatrics, announcing in an X post that he was selling stuff on eBay to pay for eBay. > [](https://twitter.com/ryancohen/status/2052077872135704802?s=10) The eBay auction fits a well-established pattern of Cohen's. The Chewy co-founder [bought a 13% stake](https://www.forbes.com/profile/ryan-cohen/) in GameStop in 2020 before joining the company's board in 2021, helping spark the [GameStop short squeeze](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-13/heavily-shorted-gamestop-soars-most-ever-as-day-traders-circle) in January of that year. The subreddit [r/WallStreetBets](https://www.reddit.com/r/wallstreetbets/), which gave rise to the meme-stock phenomenon and later inspired the film [_Dumb Money_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13957560/), dubbed Cohen the "[Meme King](https://www.cnbc.com/making-of-the-meme-king/)." Some retail investors treated Cohen with near-religious reverence, often sifting through his posts for hidden meaning and treating cryptic one-liners as market signals. The same cult following now has the Meme King wondering if he should turn his eBay auctioneer side hustle into a full-time gig: Cohen's 36 [eBay items](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?%5Fdkr=1&iconV2Request=true&%5Fblrs=recall%5Ffiltering&%5Fssn=ryan%5F5050&%5Foac=1) have amassed more than $125K in bids. While he's auctioning a few items with legitimate value, such as signed Randy Johnson and Willie Mays baseball cards, the majority of the listings look straight out of a hoarder's closet. One user even placed a [$4,950 bid ](https://www.ebay.com/itm/336571088498?itmmeta=01KREXY9ZB04Y1X7TYZAM5CF3F&hash=item4e5d333e72:g:dKIAAeSwS1dp-2pD)on a plain GameStop hat. So, when Cohen announced plans to acquire eBay, his meme-stock faithful naturally bought in—this time on prediction markets. On May 4, the day after GameStop's proposal was announced, markets titled "Will GameStop acquire eBay this year?" opened on [Kalshi](https://kalshi.com/markets/kxacqannounceebay/will-gamestop-acquire-ebay/kxacqannounceebay-27jan01) and [Polymarket](https://polymarket.com/event/will-gamestop-acquire-ebay). The next morning, despite glaring acquisition obstacles, Kalshi's market was pricing the outcome with a 36.4% implied probability. The odds plummeted to as low as a 16.8% chance in the aftermath of that day's CNBC interview before settling back at 33.8% by night, with some speculating whether the Meme King's off-putting comments were yet another strategic move. Kalshi and Polymarket closed the eBay acquisition markets following today's rejected bid, but not before attracting more than $1.4 million in trading volume. It's another measure of Cohen's market-moving power. Even after Wall Street insiders dismissed the bid as implausible, traders were still willing to place real-money wagers behind GameStop's success. The deal never came close, but for one week, Cohen managed to do, to some, what he's become notorious for: making speculation look like conviction. --- ## Read more from Prediction Markets [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/) [Open article: Prediction Markets Called Spider-Man's Box Office Record](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/prediction-markets-saw-spider-man-s-box-office-record-coming/)  ### Prediction Markets Called Spider-Man's Box Office Record [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/prediction-markets-saw-spider-man-s-box-office-record-coming/) [Open article: Why Big Brother Works as a Prediction Market](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/big-brother-may-be-the-perfect-reality-show-for-prediction-markets/)  ### Why Big Brother Works as a Prediction Market [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/big-brother-may-be-the-perfect-reality-show-for-prediction-markets/) [Open article: Pete Crow-Armstrong Crashes the Ohtani MVP Market](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/pete-crow-armstrong-crashes-the-nl-mvp-market/)  ### Pete Crow-Armstrong Crashes the Ohtani MVP Market [READ MORE](https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/pete-crow-armstrong-crashes-the-nl-mvp-market/) --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/gamestops-ebay-bid-failed-but-ryan-cohen-still-moved-markets/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/partner-content/prediction-markets/gamestops-ebay-bid-failed-but-ryan-cohen-still-moved-markets/"},"headline":"GameStop's eBay Bid Failed, But Ryan Cohen Still Moved Markets","datePublished":"2026-05-19T07:41:26.884Z","dateModified":"2026-05-19T07:41:25.769Z","description":"GameStop's bid for eBay looked implausible from the start. 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