Who is Roaring Kitty, and what does his return mean for Crypto?

Financial analyst turned to stock and meme influencer Roaring Kitty ran to social media. His return to Twitter on Sunday didn't directly mention GameStop — the stock whose rollercoaster ride has sparked international headlines and a documentary — but did cause GME's stock to briefly double and the Solana-based tax coin to surge 1,900%. Also named as GME.

What is the connection between Roaring Kitty – real name Keith Gill – a failed video game retailer and meme coins?

Gill is not a space character. He was the subject of the 2023 film “Letter Money,” a short story about GameStop's 2021 squeeze, stock analysis, and the fire that set Wall Street on fire in 2021 after launching a campaign to promote GameStop stock — and get him to testify. On Capitol Hill.

A tweet on Sunday announced the return of a man sitting in his chair holding a video game controller with an eager expression on his face.

It's his first tweet in over 150 weeks. And it was enough to ignite another maelstrom in both crypto and traditional investment circles.

Who is Roaring Kitty?

Before taking on the financial sector as Roaring Kitty (or DeepFuckingValue on Reddit), Gill dreamed of becoming a track and field star and was featured in an issue of Sports Illustrated, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gill's first start to creating content on YouTube was a 4:33 mile run, and he lost a bet to beat 4:30.

When his dream of competing in the All-Star race was thwarted after an injury, Gill turned his attention to the stock market. In the year In 2019, Gill became director of financial security at life insurance company MassMutual. That same year, he joined Reddit and started posting on the WallStreetsBets subreddit.

Gill gained wide fame for his role in the GameStop short that aired on January 27, 2021. Through his “DeepFuckingValue” account on Reddit, he has gained a following for his investment in GameStop stock, his advocacy for the property on social media. His Roaring Kitty YouTube channel.

“FYI these positions are in March,” Gill wrote in a 2020 Reddit post. “GME has been relatively crushing the market.

The stage is set.

Stop the game

At the time, the game retailer was struggling financially, and many institutional investors and hedge funds believed that GME stock was overvalued, holding short positions on GameStop stock. Short positions are an investment activity in which investors borrow and sell stocks, pocketing the difference in hopes of buying them back at a lower price.

At the time, GME's stock was about $5.16 a share. Before GameStop's rampage began, its stock price had fallen from its previous high.

Users on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, including Gill, have noticed an increase in the number of short positions being placed on GME, potentially triggering a short squeeze. A “short squeeze” is when an asset's price rises sharply, prompting traders who have argued over the price to fall or “short” their positions.

While not single-handedly behind GameStop's short squeeze, Gill has previously been a prominent figure in the conversation, going against the grain and deeming GameStop worthless.

People are talking about the demise of GameStop, but here they are going to spend over $2 billion. [revenue] At the tail end of the console cycle in a quarter,” Gill wrote on Reddit, writing as DeepFuckingValue. “The ‘digital transition' thesis is overblown. This business model has legs and the new consoles will be a huge tailwind.

As GME's value soared, several firms that had bet on GameStop were forced to close their positions, including Melvin Capital, which lost about $3 billion on GameStop's brief loss. Anthony Scaramucci, CEO of SkyBridge Capital, compared GameStop's short squeeze to the French Revolution.

The day after GameStop's short squeeze on Jan. 28, Robinhood — the platform of choice for retail investors — was hit with two lawsuits after the trading platform blocked customers from buying more GameStop stock during a historic one-day run. .

When Robinhood blocked its purchase of GameStop, the stock hit $492 — but soon fell to $193.

The one after

In the year Joining him at the hearing were the CEOs of Robinhood and multinational hedge fund Citadel.

“It is true that the value of my investment in that company has increased many times. I am very lucky for that. Gill said during the mock trial. “I believe the current stock price shows I was right about the company.”

Dismissing any suggestion that he was a cat, Gill also told members of Congress that he is not an institutional investor or a hedge fund.

“I do not have clients, and I do not provide personal investment advice for fees or commissions,” he said. “I am an individual invested in GameStop and the posts on social media are based on my own research and analysis.”

Gill called out the idea that GameStop could use social media to promote its stock and influence the market.

“My post did not result in billions of dollars moving into Gamestop stock,” Gill said. “It's sad that some people are losing money and my heart goes out to them. But what happened in January shows once again that investing in public safety is too risky.

Gill's last Reddit post was dated April 16, 2021. He quietly left social media on June 18, 2021 after posting a video of sleeping cats on Twitter.

It will be another 151 weeks before Roaring Kitty returns.

After the frenzy surrounding GameStop's short squeeze died down, its stock price came back down to earth. It is currently trading at $36.90.

GameStop has tried to capitalize on the renewed interest in its business, even pushing into cryptocurrency and NFTs. But the company's crypto ambitions were short-lived as the company closed its NFT wallet in August 2023 citing regulatory uncertainty and closing its NFT marketplace in January this year.

GameStop's short squeeze and part in Roaring Kitty Chaos was the focus of a documentary and feature film. In the year In September 2022, Netflix premiered the 2023 miniseries “Eat Rich: The Game Saga,” which was followed by the feature-length film “Bear Money” in 2023, starring Paul Dano as Roaring Kitty and Pete Davidson as Gil's brother, Kevin.

Return

News of Roaring Kitty's return has prompted social media influencers like Andrew Tate to dump Bitcoin to invest their money in GameStop and meme coins. Tat, on the other hand, revealed that he will sell $500,000 worth of bitcoins.

“I'm bringing down Wall Street, look at me,” Tate said. “Let them go. Fuck you all.”

“Hey bro, what are we going to buy?” Crypto Influencer Ansem asked for Roaring Kitty's Twitter response.

Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy was also ready to jump in.

“You want to get nuts [Roaring Kitty] Let's get nuts!” Portnoy wrote on Twitter. “Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back!” He said, quoting the third line of The Father of God.

It's unclear why Gill chose to return to Twitter Sunday—his Reddit and YouTube accounts are still intact as of this writing—and it's unclear whether he'll continue to tweet after posting a dozen times as of Monday night at 8 p.m. Decrypt did not respond to requests for comment.

But the resurgence sparked the meme coin market, which rose 5.4% on the day, with several meme coins Dogecoin, Shibu Inu and Pepe up 5.7%, 5.0% and 15.4% respectively.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.