GameStop, a household name, is making its debut into the blockchain sphere. Popularized by Keith Gill, alias “The Roaring Kitty,” and his cult-like following on YouTube and the sub-Reddit “WallStreetBets,” the gaming company is creating shockwaves in finance once again.
Under the stewardship of the charismatic Ryan Cohen, GameStop achieved a feat many companies could only dream of; beating Wall Street at their own game.
For those unfamiliar with the GameStop saga, it’s the perfect David and Goliath story. In 2020, the public became aware of significant stock market manipulation by power players. While GameStop’s fundamentals were strong, and the CEO was revitalizing the company, the stock was still heavily sold down. This manipulation also impacted companies like Tesla, Chewy, BlackBerry, and Nokia.
Enter Keith Gill, known as the Roaring Kitty, with just a positive investment thesis, a large following on social media, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), and countless memes. His consistent posting on “WallStreetBets” and meme-sharing on Twitter turned regular retail investors into a formidable force that would shake the financial markets.
The momentum spread like wildfire, making GameStop a household name. People learned about Wall Street’s operations, corruption, and false narratives aimed at profiting from falling stock prices.
Embodying the slogan “Power to the Players,” the rigging of the system against GameStop resonated with the average person, leading to massive buying of the stock. This caused the GME stock price to rally from $4 to an all-time high of $485 per share in January 2021.
Wall Street’s response was drastic; they disabled the sell button on popular exchanges like Robinhood and even halted trading on major exchanges, but the damage was done. Hedge funds went bankrupt, requiring bank bailouts. For the first time in eons, the small player had up-ended the power players, in this case the powerful machine called Wall Street.
Millionaires were made from the “Short Squeeze,” and the term ‘Meme Stocks’ was coined to represent stocks that didn’t follow the traditional financial patterns. Little known to the public is that the GameStop squeeze also sparked the cryptocurrency rally in 2020-2021.
Fast forward to May 2024, Roaring Kitty returned to X after silence since the saga. A GameStop token had just been launched two days prior to his return, on the Ethereum blockchain, with hints suggesting Keith’s involvement through contract code links to his posts.
His return had a butterfly effect; GameStop-related tokens surged nearly 100%, and the stock itself jumped from $16 to $120. His comeback was so impactful that trading was halted seven times during his YouTube livestream.
Though GameStop officials haven’t claimed the token, Roaring Kitty’s posts subtly suggest otherwise. The Crypto Twitter and Telegram communities have rallied behind this token, building momentum akin to 2020. With the investment now on a decentralized network, there’s assurance against trading manipulation.
Will we witness another mass movement? With developments ongoing, all eyes are on the GameStop token as the bull run approaches. If GameStop announces a move towards blockchain decentralization, unprecedented price movements could follow.
Power to the players!
How far do you think GameStop’s crypto leap will go? Could this be the next big market disruptor? Share your thoughts below and visit PodiunExpress.com for more exclusive insights on GameStop, crypto trends, and the evolving world of finance!
