A real rumble about GameStop between Wall Street and Main Street broke out Thursday between hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen and day trader Dave Portnoy.
The back-and-forth started when Portnoy, founder of blog site Barstool Sports, condemned Cohen, the billionaire owner of the Mets, for restrictions on trading apps like Robinhood that hurt budding investors behind the spectacular small rally. stocks such as Gamestop.
“JAIL TIME,” Portnoy said in a tweet related to Cohen, founder of Point72 Capital, and Citadel, a hedge fund of billionaire Ken Griffin.
“Dems and Republicans haven’t agreed on one issue so far. That is how blatant, illegal, inscrutable today’s events are. It also shows how untouchable @RobinhoodApp @ StevenACohen2C Citadel Point72 all think so. Fines are not enough. Jail or arrest. ”
Portnoy made the comment while linking to a news article reporting anger from lawmakers over Robinhood’s trading restrictions that prohibit users from buying certain stock, including GameStop.
Cohen snapped back, “Hey Dave, what’s your problem with me. I’m just trying to make a living, just like you. I am happy to take this offline. ”
“I don’t do offline. That’s where dark sex happens. ”
Dave Portnoy
“I don’t do offline. That’s where dark sex happens, ‘Portnoy said.
He then accused Cohen of being involved in controversial restrictions on trading apps like Robinhood that hurt budding investors behind the spectacular rally in small stocks like Gamestop. Hedge funds have lost billions in the rally by shorting these stocks, including Cohen’s Point72, which is down more than 10 percent.
‘I think you’ve had a strong hand in today’s criminal events to save hedge funds at the expense of ordinary people. Do you unequivocally deny that? Portnoy said.
He cited as evidence Cohen’s recent efforts to save fellow hedge fund Melvin Capital Management from the losses suffered by gambling on stocks like GameStop, also known as ‘shorting’.
Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management together with Griffin’s Citadel jointly invested $ 2.75 billion in Melvin, run by Cohen’s former protégé Gabe Plotkin. Citadel also executes orders to trade on behalf of Robinood.
“You saved Melvin because he’s a boy with Citadel,” he replied.
Cohen defended himself by saying, ‘What are you talking about? I unequivocally deny that charge. I had nothing to do with what happened today … chili out. “
Portnoy continued, “Then why was trading on your professional option? $ amc $ gme $ ridge $ sndl $ nakd ? I would be very curious? “
“Good question,” Cohen retorted. “Those questions should be addressed to Robin Hood etc. I’m a trader, just like you. When you find out, give me a scream. ”
‘I think the brokers should make a statement. Seems reasonable, ”he added.
The two men then seemed to make it up with Portnoy applauding Cohen for speaking out. ‘At least you speak and try to answer. That is appreciated. ”
But elsewhere, the feud between Main Street and Wall Street continued to simmer with much of the outrage directed against Citadel, the largest buyer of Robinhood’s order flow.
Citadel’s deal with Robinhood, which pays the app to conduct user transactions, has long sparked concern on Wall Street that it gives the hedge fund part of the company special insight into the market – something Citadel has long denied.
The company insisted on Thursday that it would keep its market-making securities business and hedge fund trading business separate – and said it had nothing to do with Robinhood’s trading restrictions, which saw GameStop’s stock drop 44 percent.
“Citadel Securities has not instructed or otherwise induced any brokerage firm to stop, suspend, restrict or otherwise refuse to do business,” the company said in a statement.
That didn’t stop angry investors from lashing out.
“We just witnessed Ken Griffin meddling in the markets to limit losses. This was a robbery. We need to investigate, ”@chitriman wrote on Twitter.
“This is actually Citadel that Robinhood is running through, they block [GamseStop], AMC and the others, ”wrote one Reddit user. “Robinhood is also a victim of the bigger fish.”