GameStop Reddit army trolls Wall Street billionaires with billboards and plane banners gloating over stock gains
REDDITORS took over billboards across the US to show they won’t back down from their investments in GameStop after the stock saga. The GameStop phenomenon that hijacked US markets is still grabbing the attention of investors all over the world. And the Reddit army that fueled the frenzy is gloating over their stock gains with […]
REDDITORS took over billboards across the US to show they won’t back down from their investments in GameStop after the stock saga.
The GameStop phenomenon that hijacked US markets is still grabbing the attention of investors all over the world.
And the Reddit army that fueled the frenzy is gloating over their stock gains with billboards and even plane banners, paid for by their investment cash.
The billboards show a unified support for the investors who have driven up the price of GameStop – which was at $2.57 at its lowest point last year – to over $483 a share.
“$GME GO BRRR” read a digital billboard in New York City, with brrr referring to the sound a money-printing machine makes.
The West Coast similarly joined in, with an airplane flying over Santa Monica reading “WE ARE ALL GAMESTOP WALLSTREETBETS.”
Another banner flying from a plane in San Francisco read “SUCK MY NUTS ROBINHOOD.”
Matei Psatta, who created the billboard in New York, said it cost him only $18 since it was a one-hour purchase from his own company.
“Did it purely to support the movement and make some people smile,” he told the New York Post. “I’m considering running another but want to see how the sentiment is on Monday.”
Another digital ad was seen in Oklahoma reading “We’re not leaving! GME.”
The push to send GameStop’s stock from just around $40 in early January to more than 1700 percent its value was an organized effort from investors on the subreddit WallStreetBets.
Investors were able to pump up GameStop’s stock prices to mess with hedge funds who were selling the stock short, and wanted to profit from its failure.
Because of the new investors pumping money into the stock, those hedge funds were losing millions of dollars.
“For the first time, it is almost as if God gave a reason for all us to band together to battle corruption and stand for what is clearly right,” wrote a user on Reddit.
“I have never experienced unity like this before, regardless of where you belong in the political spectrum, everyone is unified in what needs to be done.”
One hedge fund, Melvin Capital, required a $2 billion bailout from its boss and now Mets owner, Steve Cohen.
Robin Hood, the investing app with which many Redditors made their investments, removed GameStop from its platform, setting off a class action lawsuit against the company.
The company has been accused of bowing to Wall Street after amateur traders caused mayhem in the markets and cost big investors a fortune.
Some critics focused on the fact Robinhood sells trading data to the hedge fund Citadel, which injected billions into another fund that racked up huge losses on GameStop short positions.
But the boss of Robinhood has denied a “conspiracy theory” claiming hedge funds forced it to block users from buying shares in GameStop.
CEO Vlad Tenev rubbished the idea that Citadel or any other firm had twisted his arm.
He told Yahoo Finance: “On that conspiracy theory, I think I’ve over and over again said it’s not true.
“Our decision to temporarily restrict customers from buying certain securities had nothing to do with a market maker or a market participant or anyone like that putting pressure on us or asking us to do that.
“It was entirely about market dynamics and clearing house deposit requirements as per regulations.”
Strict regulations dictate the level of collateral brokers need to cover customers’ trades while they “settle” in a so-called clearing house.
WeBull, a Chinese-owned rival platform, gave a similar reason for why it also briefly suspended trades in GameStop, AMC and Koss.
Robinhood’s decision to suspend trades sparked angry protests in Wall St and condemnation from politicians in Washington.
Donald Trump Jr tweeted: “I don’t recall the part of the story when Robin Hood sells out and starts to be a mercenary for the crown.
“Apparently everyone has a price.”
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Lefty congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “This is unacceptable.
“We now need to know more about @RobinhoodApp’s decision to block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it is investigating the actions of all “regulated partipants” involved in the GameStop row.
Matei Psatta, who created the billboard in New York, said it cost him only $18 since it was a one-hour purchase from his own company.
“Did it purely to support the movement and make some people smile,” he told the New York Post. “I’m considering running another but want to see how the sentiment is on Monday.”
Another digital ad was seen in Oklahoma reading “We’re not leaving! GME.”