Roaring Kitty to testify on GameStop alongside hedge fund managers
Send a link to a friend
[February 13, 2021] (Reuters)
- The YouTube streamer known as Roaring
Kitty, who helped drive a surge of interest in GameStop Corp, will
testify before a House panel on Thursday alongside top hedge fund
managers.
The House Financial Services Committee is examining how an apparent
flood of retail trading drove GameStop and other shares to extreme
highs, squeezing hedge funds like Melvin Capital that had bet against
it.
The witness list was announced on Friday by Congresswoman Maxine Waters
and includes Keith Gill, who also goes by Roaring Kitty, Robinhood chief
executive Vlad Tenev, Citadel chief executive Kenneth Griffin, Melvin
chief executive Gabriel Plotkin and Reddit chief executive Steve
Huffman.

The virtual hearing, entitled “Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When
Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide," will take
place on Feb. 18 at 1200 ET (1700 GMT), according to the press release
and will be livestreamed here , a Democrat, is Chair of the House
Committee on Financial Services.
Robinhood, Reddit, Melvin and Citadel have been at the center of the
GameStop saga, which saw retail traders promote GameStop on the Reddit
forum WallStreetBets. Robinhood emerged as a popular venue to trade the
stocks but was criticized for temporarily restricting trading in the hot
stock.
[to top of second column] |

A GameStop store is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York
City, New York, U.S., January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File
Photo

The GameStop surge resulted in massive losses for Melvin, after the hedge fund
bet the retailer’s stock price would tumble. Citadel’s hedge funds, along with
founder Griffin and firm partners, put $2 billion into Melvin.
Democrats and Republicans are united in their outrage by Robinhood's decision to
suspend trading in the so-called "meme stocks" on Jan. 28. Tenev said the
company had to impose the restrictions after wild trading in the stocks
triggered a $3 billion margin call by Robinhood's clearing house, straining the
company's balance sheet.
Massachusetts securities regulators have also issued a subpoena seeking Gill's
testimony.
(Reporting by Michelle Price, additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss;
writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |