The House Financial Services Committee is holding a virtual hearing Feb. 18 as part of her investigation into the concerted effort of the Reddit stock trading community to drive up the price of GameStop stock as a big middle finger for hedge fund managers.
The witness list includes some of the key players involved the GameStonks saga, including Robinhood co-CEO Vlad Tenev, Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman, Melvin Capital CEO Gabriel Plotkin and Keith Gill (also known as Roaring Kitty), a Reddit user and YouTuber who reportedly helped spark the shopping frenzy, per a press release from Friday of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Rep. Maxine Waters. More witnesses may be mentioned, the press release says.
Last month, small investors on the WallStreetBets subreddit gathered to buy up GameStop shares, in part to beat hedge funds that had made significant bets against the beleaguered game retailer. Their plan worked, and the value of GameStop’s stock skyrocketed by at least 500% while short sellers like Melvin billions bled in estimated losses. According to the New York Times, Gill played a pivotal role in getting the campaign off the ground by regularly tweeting and making videos about his investment in GameStop stock. At some point his the original investment of $ 53,000 in 2019 reportedly worth about $ 48 million.
Gill and his fellow Reddit users flocked to the free online trading platform Robinhood to buy up GameStop stock before turning their eyes to other floundering companies favored by WallStreetBets. Robinhood stares down multiple lawsuits and allegations of stock market manipulation after it abruptly blocked users from buying so-called “YOLO shares” during the height of the social media-driven stock market frenzy.
In JanuaryWaters said the House hearing “will examine the recent activity around GameStop (GME) stocks and other affected stocks with a focus on short selling, online trading platforms, gamification and their systemic impact on our capital markets and private investors.”
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The Senate Banking Committee has also announced plans to hold a hearing “on the current state of the stock market” in the wake of the GameStonks saga. You can attend the House hearing live on its website from noon ET on Feb. 18.