GameStop stock and AMC shares experienced a significant surge on Monday, fueled by the return of Keith Gill, the catalyst behind the meme stock frenzy during the pandemic, to social media after a three-year absence. The New York Stock Exchange had to temporarily halt trading on GME stock multiple times early Monday as its value skyrocketed.
Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty on social media, made a notable comeback on Sunday night with his first post since June 2021, featuring a meme suggesting he's "getting serious."
Gill gained notoriety in 2020 and 2021 for his pivotal role in the GameStop short squeeze. As a former financial broker and analyst, he was summoned to testify before the House Financial Services Committee in February 2021 as part of an investigation into potential market manipulation.
Retail investors welcomed Gill's return with enthusiasm, expressing sentiments like "he's back," "game on," or "just in time for the memecoin supercycle," referring to the surge in prices of smaller cryptocurrencies.
GME stock surged approximately 74.5% on Monday following Gill's post, prompting the NYSE to briefly pause trading multiple times in the first hour of trading due to extreme volatility.
