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GameStop Trader’s ‘Roaring Kitty’ Return Fuels Crypto Memecoin Frenzy
(Bloomberg) — Trader euphoria over the long-awaited return to social media of Keith Gill, the investor known for leading the 2021 memestock rally under the name “Roaring Kitty,” has spread to the world of cryptocurrencies.
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A cryptocurrency created in late January using GameStop’s name, logo and ticker rose more than 1,400% on Monday, according to data from CoinGecko, despite having no legitimate affiliation with the company. GameStop, a video game retailer that has become one of the most recognized memestocks, was Gill’s target when he rallied day traders on Reddit in an effort to squeeze the company’s short sellers more than two years ago.
Gill’s account posted an image to X on Monday, showing a man leaning forward in his chair while holding a video game controller. Speculators on social media interpreted the post as an indication that Gill could soon return to day trading, with his account remaining silent on X since June 2021.
Read More: GameStop Surges as ‘Roaring Kitty’ Return Adds Fuel to Rally (2)
Just like its stock counterparts, a memecoin’s success is determined by its popularity on social media. Trading them, however, couldn’t be more different: easy to set up in a matter of minutes, the tokens are capable of generating astonishing hourly gains due to their tiny size and limited market liquidity. GME coin, for example, is worth just $0.008212.
Demand for memecoins has soared since late February as traders sought new ways to make money, flush with cash from the meteoric rise in prices of larger tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether. Coins like WIF from Dogwifhat, Pepe and Bonk are among the most notable risers.
Read more: Memecoin billionaires return with bets on being the ‘first idiot in’
Another token called Roaring Kitty, created in December, rose more than 700% on Monday, according to CoinGecko. GameStop shares more than doubled on Gill’s post.
A similar trajectory, in which traders moved from stocks to cryptocurrencies, occurred in 2021, during the first memestock craze. Dogecoin rose as much as 15,444% to a peak of 73 cents in May 2021, up from $0.0047 earlier that year, after Tesla boss Elon Musk repeatedly praised it on social media.
(Updates to add context and pricing starting in fourth paragraph.)
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