Against all odds, this week’s hottest story involves Reddit, GameStop, Robinhood and even meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin. It’s the kind of once-in-a-lifetime news that slowly brewed from the depths of the WallStreetBets subreddit and one that even prompted Jon Stewart to share his thoughts on such improbable events.
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It only started a few days ago when the WallStreetBets group started driving up the price of GameStop’s stock after noticing several hedge funds were betting heavily on the shares’ price falling. Since then, GameStop’s stock has gone from around $20 per share to over $340 at its peak, with the Reddit day traders also deploying the same strategy to pump the price of other ailing businesses like AMC Theatres, Nokia, clothing retailer Express and even Blockbuster video.
RELATED: GameStop's Odd Stock Situation Explained
As Reddit traders continue to wreak havoc among Wall Street funds and traditional finance, yesterday Jon Stewart took the time to finally open a Twitter account in order to voice his thoughts on the matter. Stewart is by no means a fan of Wall Street, as he often reminded viewers when he hosted The Daily Show, especially around the time the Occupy Wall Street protests were unfolding in 2011.
This is bullshit. The Redditors aren't cheating, they're joining a party Wall Street insiders have been enjoying for years. Don't shut them down...maybe sue them for copyright infringement instead!!
We've learned nothing from 2008.
Love
StewBeef
Stewart strongly condemned the actions taken by several Wall Street firms and even the Robinhood app -a go-to option for small individual investors- after they delisted or started blocking them from buying the controversial shares in order to generate sell pressure that would again lower the price. The way Stewart and many other politicians and prominent figures see it, the WallStreetBets gang’s actions are no different from the usual business investors and traders engage in all the time.
The true fallout from the WallStreetBets affair is yet to be seen, but already the likes of Robinhood are already facing backlash and legal threats, after the company outright blocked trading activity for GameStop and other stocks, as well as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, after the Shiba Inu-themed Dogecoin soared nearly 1,000% in the past 24 hours. The move clearly favors traditional finance, whose world was suddenly rocked by thousands of savvy Redditors playing the same game, under the same rules.
Jon Stewart Twitter Trump
Though WallStreetBets briefly went down and even got banned from Discord, the community’s efforts are already being felt across the nation, as even New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went live on Twitch to debate on the stock market’s current state. Meanwhile, the war between Reddit Main Street traders and Wall Street veterans rages on.
MORE: AOC is Returning to Twitch to Discuss GameStop Stock Situation
Source: @jon_actual|Twitter
Jon Stewart, who just recently joined Twitter, has praised a group of small investors on Reddit for taking on Wall Street by causing GameStop's shares to skyrocket over the past few days.
The Reddit group called WallStreetBets that boasts some 4.7 million members has been an online rallying spot for those urging people to buy and hold GameStop shares, punishing short sellers by sending prices soaring.
It was then that Robinhood and Interactive Brokers restricted trading in GameStop stocks, which dealt a blow to the Reddit investors.
In response to the controversy, the former Daily Show host, who is a verified Twitter user under the name @Jon_Actual, wrote in his first tweet: 'This is bullsh-t. The Redditors aren't cheating, they're joining a party Wall Street insiders have been enjoying for years.
© Provided by Daily Mail Jon Stewart, who just recently joined Twitter, has praised a group of small investors on Reddit for taking on Wall Street by causing GameStop's shares to skyrocket over the past few days © Provided by Daily Mail In response to the controversy, the former Daily Show host, who is a verified Twitter user under the name @Jon_Actual, wrote in his first tweet: 'This is bullsh-t. The Redditors aren't cheating, they're joining a party Wall Street insiders have been enjoying for years''Don't shut them down…maybe sue them for copyright infringement instead!! We've learned nothing from 2008. Love, StewBeef.'
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert responded to Stewart with: 'Well, one thing changed since 2008- a friend of mine joined Twitter.'
Just hours later, Stewart followed up his first tweet with: 'Thanks for the warm welcome! I promise to only use this app in a sporadic and ineffective manner.'
Stewart's tweet came the same day as Robinhood and Interactive Brokers restricted trading in GameStop and other stocks that had soared this week.
The restrictions from Robinhood and Interactive Brokers caused GameStop's shares to plummet on Thursday and prompted policymakers to voice their concern.
Lawmakers from both main parties in Congress, including Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Republican Ted Cruz, criticized the decision by Robinhood to restrict retail trading. Robinhood did not respond to requests for comment.
© Provided by Daily Mail Stewart's tweet came the same day as Robinhood and Interactive Brokers restricted trading in GameStop stocks. That dealt a blow to the army of retail investors taking on Wall Street professionals and prompted several lawmakers to voice their concernJon Stewart Twitter
US Senator Sherrod Brown, incoming Democratic chairman of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, said he will hold a hearing on the current state of the stock market.
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'People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they're the ones getting hurt,' Brown said in a statement.
Retail investors and celebrities also denounced the restrictions and participants in online forums seethed, accusing the trading platforms of seeking to protect Wall Street's interests at the expense of smaller investors.
And after the backlash, the GameStop's shares rebounded in after hours trading when Robinhood and Interactive Brokers said they planned to lift the restrictions on Friday.
Coordinating on forums such as Reddit's Wallstreetbets, the small investors forced hedge funds to unwind short positions that had bet on the decline of shares in companies such as GameStop and American Airlines. That activity resulted in a short squeeze that sent the shares soaring.
GameStop, the video game retailer whose 1,700 per cent rally has been at the heart of the slugfest in the past week, initially rallied to more than $480 a share on Thursday, Refinitiv data showed. It closed down around 44 per cent at $193.60
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