Robinhood Limits GameStop Trading After $175M ‘Roaring Kitty’ Bet

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) imposed buying restrictions on GameStop (NYSE:GME) shares late Sunday after the meme stock’s value surged following speculation that Keith Gill, known as “Roaring Kitty,” might hold a substantial position in the company.

The brokerage stated that Blue Ocean ATS, the platform facilitating overnight trades, would only accept orders within 20% above or below a reference price of $22.99. Thus, orders to buy GME above $27.59 or sell below $18.39 during the night would likely be rejected. Despite this, some Robinhood users reported being completely blocked from purchasing GME overnight.

Robinhood did not respond to Cryptonews’ request for comment by press time.

The trading restriction followed a Reddit post by Keith Gill, aka “Roaring Kitty” on YouTube. The post, Gill’s first since April 21, indicated he bought 5 million GME shares for $115.7 million and invested $65.7 million in call options, betting that GME would reach at least $20 per share by June 21. The screenshot also showed he had accrued over $9.3 million in profits from his GME holdings but sustained a loss of nearly $2.5 million on his call options.

In Robinhood’s overnight markets, GME surged nearly 20% in 20 minutes to reach $27.58 following Gill’s Reddit post. GameStop closed at $23.14 on Friday, May 31, marking a 38.8% increase in shares for the year, seemingly influenced by Gill’s return.

On the same day as his Reddit post, Gill shared a green UNO reverse card on X, adding to a series of cryptic posts and memes since his return in May. The latest post garnered nearly 50,000 likes by early Monday. Gill’s reemergence three weeks ago sparked a significant surge in GameStop shares, doubling their value in May alone. Additionally, Ethereum-based meme coins, including one named GME, showed renewed optimism with the reappearance of Roaring Kitty guiding the next bullish phase.

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