jackscarab:

Okay, so.

I believe I understand the Gamestop story now.

Perhaps it’s news to you! It goes like this.

One can bet against the future value of a company’s stock. A couple of very large investment firms bet that GameStop’s stock would be at or below a certain low level. Perhaps this was some standard amoral investor machination, but they were surely doing harm to the company for money by insisting through the power of their opinion – because the value of any stock is based entirely on the opinion of the investor – that GameStop stock is cheap. 

So Reddit gets wind of this.

They think, “fuck capitalism, let’s set some Boomer wealth on fire while also saving GameStop from hedge fund depredation.” So, en masse, they take their $600 stimulus checks, run them through a free-stock-trade app, and buy as much GameStop stock as they can for as much as they can.

This drives up the price of all GameStop stock.

This obliterates the money of investors who had invested in the idea that GameStop’s stock price will be below a certain level at a certain period.

And so:

It’s hilarious. It’s turning the legalized gambling of Wall Street stock market manipulation against it.