Robinhood Implements Buying Restrictions on GameStop As Roaring Kitty Discloses $175M Bet

2024-06-02 22:49:11

Shalini Nagarajan

Last updated:

June 3, 2024 02:49 EDT | 1 min read

Robinhood limited purchases of GameStop shares late Sunday following a surge in the meme stock’s value. It came after speculation arose that Keith Gill, the figure behind the notable short squeeze in 2021, could hold a substantial position in the video game retailer.

The brokerage said Blue Ocean ATS, the platform that facilitates overnight trades for certain stocks, would only accept orders within 20% above or below a reference price of $22.99. So, if traders wanted to buy GME above $27.59 or sell below $18.39 during the night, their order would likely be rejected.

This restriction was meant to allow limited trading during extended hours. But some Robinhood users reported being completely blocked from buying GME overnight.

Robinhood didn’t return Cryptonews’ request for comment by press time.

RobinHood has added a warning for anyone trying to buy GameStop pic.twitter.com/sTJtBoLLJj

— wallstreetbets (@wallstreetbets) June 3, 2024

Robinhood Restricts Trading After Gill’s GameStop Investment Fuels Overnight Price Jump

Robinhood’s warning follows a Reddit post from Gill, who goes by “Roaring Kitty” on YouTube. The post marks Gill’s first since April 21. He’s known as a key figure in the 2021 GameStop short squeeze thanks to his online influence.

A screenshot indicated he purchased 5m GME shares for $115.7m. He also allocated $65.7m towards call options. It also indicated his bet that GME would reach at least $20 per share by June 21.

The screenshot further showed he accrued a profit exceeding $9.3m from his GME holdings. Still, he sustained a loss of almost $2.5m on his call options.

In Robinhood’s overnight markets, GME surged nearly 20% in just 20 minutes to reach $27.58 following Gill’s Reddit post.

GameStop closed at $23.14 on Friday, May 31, marking a 38.8% increase in shares for the year. This increase appears to have been influenced by Gill’s comeback.

Roaring Kitty’s Return Fuels Market Speculation

Gill also shared a green UNO reverse card on X on the same day as his Reddit post. This has added to the series of mysterious posts and memes he’s been sharing since his return in May. The latest post attracted nearly 50,000 likes as of early Monday.

pic.twitter.com/zUuccrKWZr

— Roaring Kitty (@TheRoaringKitty) June 3, 2024

Three weeks ago, Gill’s initial return to social media ignited a remarkable surge in GameStop, with shares doubling in value in May alone. At the same time, Ethereum-based meme coins showed renewed optimism, including one named GME.

GME tickers have become big players in the meme coin market since Roaring Kitty reemerged to guide the next bullish phase.

MEME-2,83%

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