created by Shiggymana on 02/04/2023 at 08:47 UTC*
3526 upvotes, 56 top-level comments (showing 25)
​
In June 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[1] 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[2] 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[3] 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[4] 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[5].
3: https://www.newsweek.com/robinhood-stops-gamestop-amc-stock-trading-1565122
4: https://www.sec.gov/files/staff-report-equity-options-market-struction-conditions-early-2021.pdf
5: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nakedshorting.asp
Following the so-called short squeeze, Keith Gill had a lawsuit[6] 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[7] in regard to his role in the volatility of the Gamestop stock price, immortalizing the phrase "I like the stock."[8] in his defense against accusations of market manipulation as a mere retail investor with a meager following on social media.
7: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BA/BA00/20210218/111207/HHRG-117-BA00-Wstate-GillK-20210218.pdf
8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukXQGBpXaVM
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[9] 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[10] 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[11] 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!!"[12] 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.
12: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1354174279894642703
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/[13][14] and The DD Library[15].
15: https://fliphtml5.com/bookcase/kosyg
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 will explain."[16] Citron held a short position on GME, and planned a live stream to "explain". The stream was delayed for a few days, and rescheduled for 1/21. Annoyed by his arrogance, users bought shares out of spite to pump the share price during the stream to embarrass him, but the stock price just continued to rise, perfectly timing, or igniting, the beginning of the squeeze. Citron ended up closing nearly all short positions on Gamestop at a 100% loss[17], and sorely told household investors to pay their taxes. They later enacted a policy to delete all of their tweets after a certain amount of time, conveniently erasing its poorly-aged Gamestop predictions.
Edit 4: The date is May 15th, 2024, and a new chapter of the GameStop Saga has begun. DFV has returned to social media, tweeting for the first time in three years, just before the GME stock sporadically rose 250%, from $15 to $55 ($79 in pre-market) in a matter of two days. Since his return, DFV has been posting memes that show without a doubt that he still supports Gamestop. Within only a few days upon his return, RoaringKitty's followers have more than doubled from roughly 500 thousand to 1.2 million. The stock is currently volatile, and it seems that this story, as many have believed, is not over yet. Please visit the subreddits above in Edit 2 to follow the incredible saga as it continues in real time. This sub is committed to historic posts of Reddit, therefore, unless there is more to be added to the events of 2021, this will likely be the final edit. It has been an honor to be a part of this history, and I eagerly await reading this story in its entirety some day; the greatest underdog tale of all time.
Comment by oldkstand at 02/04/2023 at 15:21 UTC
252 upvotes, 4 direct replies
But did he ever cash out and how much?
Comment by ludololl at 02/04/2023 at 16:21 UTC
132 upvotes, 3 direct replies
I'm one of the few who made out from this whole thing but had an ENORMOUS unexpected tax bill last year because I'm also a fucking idiot.
Comment by -SuperTrooper- at 02/04/2023 at 13:37 UTC
75 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Ok, but do we know whether or not he is a cat?
Comment by IllegalFisherman at 02/04/2023 at 16:03 UTC
21 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Can someone explain to me what exactly the "final update" message tells? That he had 31 million in those shares and decided to buy 3.5 million worth of shares more?
Comment by Real_CatMan at 04/04/2023 at 02:02 UTC
13 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I did the math, man got 57 years of r/lounge access from his final post, and more coins than I can bother to count.
Comment by flipkev at 02/04/2023 at 13:10 UTC
77 upvotes, 1 direct replies
You’re missing some key components here, please look into Andrew left and the citron group, his initial tweet that he delayed and Elon musks tweet. Before you call me a shill, feel free to look through my profile history and see that I walked away with 100k after the whole GameStop saga and I was a part of wallstreetbets way before the meme stock craze.
Comment by Crazy-Ad-7869 at 02/04/2023 at 12:03 UTC
226 upvotes, 11 direct replies
Now that GameStop posted Q4 postive earnings, has no meaningful debt (a small $40 million loan associated with the French gov't response to COVID), $1.2 billion in cash on hand, positive cash flow, and an NFT marketplace ready to capture traffic once web 3 video games are ready to roll over the next 2-4 years ... it's hard not to call it Deep Fucking Value. Keith Gill is a legend, for good reason.
Comment by NHMKo at 05/04/2023 at 18:16 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Bruh Robinhood screwed up so hard that some how they manage to put AOC and Ted Cruz on the same side.
Comment by hodlwaffle at 02/04/2023 at 18:13 UTC
18 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is significant because Reddit culture crossed over into IRL. Life imitated art and art imitated life. Many, myself included, were first drawn to Reddit because of curiosity related to this. I feel honored to be an early commenter on the post that memorializes this event in the Musuem.
Comment by DDRExtremist247 at 03/04/2023 at 00:52 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'd also mention that the pandemic with people working from home and the government handing out $2400 lead to funds being available to the masses that wouldn't have previously been possible. WSB membership at the time was 500k (I think) and ballooned to 3mil during that week long saga. 3mil x 2400 = a small hedge fund. That combined with the short squeeze pressure created the unprecedented scenario.
Comment by HipHopGrandpa at 02/04/2023 at 12:09 UTC
25 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Well written synopsis.
Comment by ieraaa at 15/09/2023 at 04:49 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
When he doubled down, almost 'during' the hearing... Internet top 5 moments of all time. I have never seen such gigantic balls on display
Comment by not_czarbob at 03/04/2023 at 03:34 UTC
6 upvotes, 2 direct replies
It’s worth noting that the current share price of GME is $23.
Comment by BarkerDrums at 03/04/2023 at 16:18 UTC
3 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Why wouldn't he cash out?
Comment by Harley-northwest at 27/06/2023 at 21:37 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I'm interested in seeing how the movie they're making about it, will portrait both him (Keith Gill) and this whole story
Comment by Different_Ad_6380 at 01/12/2023 at 12:27 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
One of the greatest stories of big Corp getting a taste of their own medicine.
Comment by NostraSkolMus at 02/04/2023 at 19:26 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
If UBs fails after taking ownership of Credit Suisses GameStop short bags, apes going to get real loud…
Comment by cirespieler at 05/04/2023 at 05:16 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
MOASS any day now.....
Comment by koreamax at 05/04/2023 at 05:54 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I feel like this just happened.
Comment by livinIife at 15/05/2024 at 15:11 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Are you gonna update this now that he’s back?
Comment by vidathan at 07/06/2024 at 12:38 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Sounds like it may be time to revisit this post and edit it again
Comment by duck95 at 02/04/2023 at 18:36 UTC
12 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Should probably mention /r/superstonk one of the most active subreddits in the entire reddit world...the story isn't over
Comment by Beamazedbyme at 02/04/2023 at 15:05 UTC
7 upvotes, 3 direct replies
The share price plummeted from the market manipulation
Who manipulated the market? Hopefully nobody says robinhood
Comment by skyhai- at 02/04/2023 at 19:36 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Thank you for taking the time to write this. I'll never get tired of hearing about his story, and i still believe the best is yet to come!
Comment by democritusparadise at 02/04/2023 at 19:49 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
A magnificent time on reddit indeed, I am so happy to have been a part of it. It is worth noting that due to the mathematically impossible short interest (significantly more shares had been sold short than existed), which deserves a post on it's own, this event could have actually brought down the US stock market, which is why the powers that be stepped in to restrict buying. Even with this emergency measure, reddit and DFV cost hedge funds something like $6 billion in losses, and the major market maker had to bail out a major hedge fund to prop up the entire market.
