Market history · Equities ·
GameStop and the retail short squeeze
In January 2021 retail traders organised online piled into GameStop, a heavily shorted retailer. Shares rose from under $20 at the start of the month to an intraday high of about $483 on 28 January, forcing short-sellers to buy back stock and adding to the surge.
Brokers including Robinhood restricted buying that day, prompting regulatory scrutiny of market structure, payment for order flow and clearing collateral.
The takeaway
Prices can disconnect from fundamentals for long enough to hurt anyone on the wrong side, especially when leveraged.
This is a retrospective about a past event, provided for general information. It is not investment advice, does not describe RockLake's positioning at the time, and past performance is not a guide to future performance. Read the risk warning.