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The original was posted on /r/MuseumOfReddit by /u/Shiggymana on 2023-04-02 08:47:14+00:00.
In September of 2019, Keith Gill, AKA u/DeepFuckingValue (DFV) and “Roaring Kitty” from his YouTube Channel, invested roughly $53,000 into Gamestop common stock and far-dated long options, and made a post on r/wallstreetbets reporting his position; a common practice in the sub. Gamestop was a struggling business at the time, and most saw this “YOLO” investment as foolish, to say the least. He met criticism with light-hearted humor, curious disagreement, and due diligence (DD) about the company. DFV continued with regular updates on his position on Reddit and further analysis through his YouTube channel, often citing the abnormally high short-interest for a stock that, he argued, had deep fundamental value.
As time went on, some users posted that they would be joining him in investing in Gamestop; A company that, at this point, was labeled as a business doomed for bankruptcy by many mainstream news and financial outlets. In August of 2020, Ryan Cohen, a billionaire famous for his success with the business Chewy, bought 9 million shares (12.9% of the company), and later became chairman for the company. As a notoriously successful investor, Cohen’s buy-in changed sentiments about the underlying value of the stock, and even more fellow investors began to join DFV in his risky play. With the scent of a short squeeze in the air, more from wallstreetbets and hedge funds alike began to buy GME stock and options in droves, further driving the price upward.
Despite DFV’s already massive return on investment, he chose to exercise his options around $40 (acquiring more shares instead of taking the return in cash), doubling down on his position, strapping in his seat belt, and solidifying his reputation for “diamond hands”. On January 27th, 2021 the price of Gamestop soared to a pre-market valuation of over $500, a *3000%* increase within two weeks. DFV’s original investment was over $48 million at its highest point and had amassed 200,000 shares of the company - an unfathomable position for an individual investor. DFV further solidified his reputation for diamond hands by not selling a single share, despite price swings of $15 million in a single day.
The ‘squeeze’ was cut short, however, as multiple brokers (Robinhood catching the most heat) for restricting investors from purchasing stocks that threatened hedge funds that had sold the stock short, and were threatened with substantial financial loss, or even bankruptcy. The share price plummeted from the market manipulation, and the curtain had been opened for all eyes to see into the world of corruption that resides in the stock market. Months later, the SEC released a report on the Gamestop incident, reporting that it was not a short squeeze, and showed a short interest of 122% (more than all existing stock). Outrage and skepticism continued to increase in regards to Naked Shorting.
Following the so-called short squeeze, Keith Gill had a lawsuit filed against him alleging fraud and misleading investors. Gill became the target of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, and gave a testimony in regard to his role in the volatility of the Gamestop stock price, immortalizing the phrase “I like the stock.” in his defense against accusations of market manipulation as a mere retail investor with a meager following on social media.
Following the events of the “sneeze” as many call the Gamestop Short-Squeeze, DFV found mass support across the internet, and anger rose from the masses in defense of an underdog being targeted by larger powers. Despite Keith Gill repeatedly declaring he had no intention of social change, to ‘punish’ short hedge funds, nor that he was a leader of anything, the story caught the interest of many. It brought on a large movement of individuals to look more deeply into the stock market, as well as the influence and incentive of powerful hedge funds, market makers, banks, news outlets, and the U.S. Government.
r/SubredditDrama had a few posts covering the waves made my r/wallstreetbets in regard to Gamestop, and other “meme stocks” as the term was coined following the event. Suits from accredited financial organizations were forced to discuss a silly forum where users constantly referred to themselves as “retarded” as the harbinger of financial destitution for the “big boys” of the financial world. Needless to say, people swarmed WSB to find answers and discuss what exactly happened with Gamestop. subredditdrama covered another debacle happening in WSB, where mods were accused of conflict of interest for suppressing posts about Gamestop. Users decried the mods as “shills”; insiders paid off by hedge funds and other conflicted interests to discredit and suppress information and ongoing discussion about the past and future of the stock. A multitude of new subreddits were created to find a new place to discuss the stock market, Gamestop, and other stocks.
A few months later, Keith Gill, the legendary DeepFuckingValue, signed off for good with a final update on his investment. This final update is the most awarded post in Reddit’s history, and is covered in congratulations honoring him for the legendary investment. Most agree it was in Gill’s best interest to commence radio silence, but he is likely still among us, watching, waiting, and (hopefully) shit-posting. It was a historic underdog tale that ushered in a newfound attention to the inner-workings of the U.S. stock market among the larger population, and has gone down as one of the most spectacular events connected to an internet forum.
The topic continues today in various subreddits, and I am sure there are others that could cover the story of DFV better than I. I welcome anyone to post a better overview of the events on this sub, and I will gladly delete my post in deference.
Edit 1: An important event that should have been included: Following the price increase of Gamestop’s pre-split share price from roughly $20 to $60 between January 12th and January 25th, Elon Musk tweeted on January 26th “Gamestonk!!” Gamestop had been trending on Twitter in tandem with the sudden rise of share price, but this tweet was attributed to the further sporadic increase in price the following two days. The price propelled from $68 on market-open on 1/25, to the all-time high of $347 on 1/27; a 500% increase within two days, and a 1700% increase within two weeks. There are many other important tweets, from celebrities to financial analysts, sharing their bearish or bullish sentiments on the stock during the sudden price increase that I’m sure others believe are important in the timeline of events. I don’t mind adding additional edits for other important timeline events I may have failed to include.
Edit 2: I was tentative to link to the other GME related subs with ongoing accusations of brigading, as well as trying to keep it restricted to the actual event of the squeeze as a ‘historical’ synopsis and retain objectivity. I admit it is far too relevant to not mention r/Superstonk, r/GME, r/GMEJungle (a few of the subs that were created following the controversy at r/wallstreetbets) when discussing DFV and the Gamestop Saga. If you are interested in the topic of overall stock market research and analysis, investigation of financial corruption, and specifically, Gamestop news and related information to the business and GME ticker, please give them a visit. People far more knowledgeable than me put outstanding effort and quality into the DD there, and most are worth a read, regardless of your opinion. A collection of well-respected DD can be found at https://www.gmedd.com/ and The DD Library.
Edit 3: u/flipkev mentions the importance of Andrew Left of Citron Research after claims that the stock would be ["…back to $20. We understand short interest better than you and wil…
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