This is Financial Advice

[00:00] Like, the thing is, people don’t appreciate

[00:03] [Upbeat music]

[00:10] Diamond hands!

[00:17] Infinite means infinite!

[00:18] Infinite risk!

[00:20] Infinite reward!

[00:21] Sure my portfolio looks a lot of red, but

[00:24] Lambos or Wendy’s I’m gonna get my tendies!

[00:28] There are tens of thousands of hours of video

[00:33] what exactly happened with GameStop in January

[00:38] There are explainer videos, unhinged rants,

[00:43] documentaries all trying to tell the story

[00:48] it might mean, what it says about us, our

[00:53] The common version is that a band of plucky

[00:59] Melvin Capital in a historic short squeeze,

[01:05] The nuanced read is that it was a confluence

[01:10] squeeze but also a FOMO fuelled social media

[01:16] got wrecked as made off like bandits.

[01:19] That, however, is merely where our story starts.

[01:23] This is a story about what happened next.

[01:25] This is a story about finance, social media,

[01:30] elevated to mythological figures, and a mountain

[01:37] lies.

[01:38] This is financial advice.

[01:41] [Melancholy music]

[01:45] And a cold wind is blowing in and the children

[02:20] “Few subjects relating to exchange practices

[02:23] of opinion than that of short selling.”

[02:25] A short sale involves borrowing an asset,

[02:32] returning it later, ideally at a lower price

[02:37] Put simply, it’s selling borrowed goods

[02:42] There are some things that we need to caveat

[02:45] First and foremost is that meme stock investors,

[02:49] we’ll get into later, aren’t engaging

[02:54] You’ll hear of references to things that

[02:58] your universe, but you and Apes aren’t talking

[03:04] Your version of GameStop is an unprofitable

[03:09] towards bankruptcy due to societal shifts

[03:15] got something resembling a second chance via

[03:19] That second chance might pan out into some

[03:24] maybe, but could just as easily be squandered

[03:29] One way or another the price as it currently

[03:34] historical peak profitability during the heyday

[03:41] even a tremendous turnaround would still almost

[03:47] decline.

[03:48] The Ape version of GameStop is an apocalyptic

[03:52] the world will be reborn, a mythological entity

[03:58] delusion, and cope, obsessed with the financial

[04:05] Their version of reality is, undoubtedly,

[04:10] sensational, but the reasons for its existence

[04:15] It is tempting to say that the participants

[04:20] sticky truth is nuanced.

[04:22] There are many elements of Ape lore that are

[04:27] that persist in the collective narrative simply

[04:32] were true.

[04:33] The primary lens of ape culture, born as it

[04:38] They have cast a variety of people, businesses,

[04:44] and will often post taunting letters addressed

[04:49] broadly where they invoke their prowess in

[04:52] “Bro I play runescape.

[04:54] I literally grind for days to watch a number

[04:59] Been playing 15 years and still not lost interest.

[05:02] They think it’s going to be any different

[05:04] “I just realized how fucked shorts are.

[05:07] They picked a fight with the gaming industry.

[05:09] The same people who will grind hours on end,

[05:14] get one win.

[05:15] We refuse to end on a loss, we refuse to sell.

[05:18] “I did one of the most degenerate grinds

[05:25] This entire genre of post is profoundly sad,

[05:30] a willingness to wander in circles for hours

[05:36] skill to playing the stock market, but because

[05:42] and intentionality.

[05:43] They are based in the belief that, like in

[05:49] in a matched competition.

[05:50] But when you back up and evaluate the whole

[05:55] the game at all, assuming the ape is even

[06:01] On their forums they are winning epic battles

[06:07] tuned to drive GameStop out of business, they

[06:12] always, every single day, “getting desperate”

[06:18] In reality Apes are shadow boxing the random

[06:23] It has become a layer cake of every genre

[06:28] reheated conspiracy theories, and general

[06:34] in the form of financial woo, get-rich-quick

[06:39] A lot of their language is rooted in the culture

[06:43] They call themselves “Apes” partly in

[06:48] Troopers, but also because the other words

[06:53] the media started to pay attention.

[06:55] It is a hazily defined movement dispersed

[07:01] burdened with two years of petty drama, in-fighting,

[07:05] Due to their extreme beliefs their culture

[07:10] so their communication is predictably littered

[07:15] abbreviations, jargon, and private definitions

[07:21] which can make it understandably difficult

[07:24] We can get there, I believe in us, we can

[07:31] journey require a journey.

[07:33] The version of the story that you’re already

[07:37] tried to short squeeze some hedge funds and

[07:42] “Meanwhile the quote unquote meme stocks

[07:47] These companies pumped up by amateur traders

[07:52] purpose of forcing certain hedge funds to

[07:57] The version of the story you’re not familiar

[08:01] squeeze, Heat Lamp Theory penned by Reddit

[08:06] provider ComputerShare’s operational algorithm

[08:11] storing plan-held shares in the DTCC like

[08:16] someone made it illegal to report these heat

[08:21] the evidence that Apes own the float.

[08:24] Although that post was low effort and the

[08:29] correct, my hunch was still valid.

[08:32] It was often attacked by what I believe were

[08:37] it illegal.”

[08:38] The abuse of ComputerShare’s algorithm was

[08:44] ever since Ryan Cohen’s “I want to be

[08:49] Cohen was signalling for Apes to terminate

[08:53] their shares.

[08:54] What was not obvious was the reaction of the

[08:58] - revealing themselves to be paid shills,

[09:03] to distract from Heat Lamp.

[09:05] “Censorship of Heat Lamp DD shows we are

[09:08] “What the fuck is this shit?

[09:11] So we still get pushback for Heat Lamp at

[09:15] DD that is literally the definition of FUD

[09:21] and MOASS will not happen.”

[09:23] “THE HEAT LAMP THEORY dd to me is as impressive

[09:28] It’s like the dd’s from the beginning

[09:31] So, yeah, there’s a lot of ground to cover

[09:37] [orchestal music]

[09:50] The wheels of finance spin beneath the surface

[09:55] Everywhere you look the impact can be felt.

[09:58] The modern corporation consists of many moving

[10:03] to communications.

[10:05] Likewise the finances behind the corporation

[10:11] dance of equity and credit that facilitates

[10:15] One of the most misunderstood and contentious

[10:19] a “short sale.”

[10:21] “Few subjects relating to exchange practices

[10:25] of opinion than that of short selling.”

[10:29] Though many characterize shorting as a toxic

[10:34] And it has polarized people for as long as

[10:38] But what is a short sale?

[10:40] A short sale involves borrowing an asset,

[10:45] returning it later, ideally at a lower price

[10:50] Put simply, it’s selling borrowed goods

[10:54] Two things happen with this arrangement.

[10:56] First is that the short seller gets to hold

[11:01] the asset is returned, providing them with

[11:05] Second is that when the asset is returned

[11:09] seller makes money, but merely when they lock

[11:13] The risk/reward proposition of short selling

[11:18] time of borrowing.

[11:19] If an asset is borrowed at $5 then the absolute

[11:26] interest, of course.)

[11:28] On the flip side is the risk profile.

[11:30] The maximum losses of a short sale are effectively

[11:36] to 100% or even 10,000% of the original sale

[11:39] As the trend for the economy as a whole is

[11:45] more common than stocks going from $5 to $0.

[11:48] In addition the borrower is expected to pay

[11:53] the value of the asset, similar to interest

[11:58] or CTB.

[11:59] However unlike a personal loan that you might

[12:03] where the payments encompasses both interest

[12:07] loan is eventually paid off, the cost to borrow

[12:12] no cap, thus borrowing an asset for long periods

[12:17] or even exceed the original value of the asset

[12:20] For these reasons it is uncommon to hold a

[12:24] Even though the name “short-selling” comes

[12:28] or “fall short,” it is coincidentally

[12:32] short time frames of weeks or months rather

[12:36] However this short timeframe leaves the borrower

[12:41] Disruptions that might temporarily set a company

[12:45] of the business can benefit short-sellers

[12:50] a surge of excitement about a company that

[12:55] pressuring them to return the asset or incur

[12:58] At the most extreme, lenders can compel the

[13:03] of the cost to the borrower.

[13:05] When short sellers are impelled to return

[13:10] buying pressure can further potentiate upwards

[13:15] further margin pressures to other existing

[13:18] This situation is commonly referred to as

[13:23] are squeezed out of their positions by the

[13:27] “I mean they can try, they can try as hard

[13:34] say: no cell, no sell.

[13:35] I’m not selling.

[13:36] Power to the player.

[13:37] Power to the shareholders.

[13:39] Power to the individual investor each choosing

[13:48] In late January 2021 video game retailer GameStop

[13:54] stock rose from $20 to just shy of $500 over

[14:00] The exact confluence of events that led to

[14:05] won’t drag the point out here, but the critical

[14:10] event that hinged off multiple specific coincidences.

[14:16] The pandemic made the situation for brick-and-mortar

[14:21] many hedge funds had taken out short positions

[14:26] in revenue and thus share price

[14:32] in an attempt at offsetting the economic impact

[14:37] There was a zeitgeist of futility in the air,

[14:43] the stimulus package wasn’t enough to fix

[14:47] something reckless

[14:49] In specific, hedge fund Melvin Capital holds

[14:54] that left the fund extremely exposed if the

[14:59] see this as an opportunity and begin promoting

[15:04] As the idea of getting in on a potential GameStop

[15:09] in late 2020 the messaging gets flattened.

[15:12] New people are flooding into Reddit’s Wall

[15:16] them their own ideas, their own politics,

[15:20] The thing that really speaks to people, and

[15:25] that this is a chance to hurt Wall Street.

[15:27] As more and more people pile in the experienced

[15:32] and over, thus new people are being on-boarded

[15:39] career best measured in hours.

[15:42] These are users who jumped onto forums and

[15:47] as fast as possible?”

[15:48] They’re not getting a lecture on risk management,

[15:54] that Wall Street Bets would ever be a good

[15:59] speech about revenge for 2008 and a bare-bones

[16:06] push.

[16:07] Potentiating that, any large, leaderless movement

[16:12] whole slew of political opportunists from

[16:18] the tsunami in their preferred direction.

[16:21] These people, trying to transform it into

[16:26] amplify a lot of narrative about solidarity

[16:30] Ape together strong.

[16:33] That’s the kerosene that primes this whole

[16:39] cult.

[16:40] [match lighting]

[16:41] This is a bold claim, and it’s basically

[16:46] to the match, the event that really, truly

[16:52] permanent root in Ape culture, and that’s

[16:59] an app-based free brokerage, disabled the

[17:05] stocks.

[17:06] “Just this morning Robinhood, which is really

[17:11] lot of those younger investors said that in

[17:16] transactions for certain securities to position-close-only.

[17:19] And to be clear that means you can sell names

[17:24] That was the day the price hit its all-time-high,

[17:29] on the cusp of, like, total revolution, the

[17:36] were about to be crowned victors over Wall

[17:39] Robinhood turning off the buy button was,

[17:44] of targeted disruption.

[17:46] The reality is far more mundane, Robinhood

[17:52] tech-bro “it’s better to ask for forgiveness

[17:56] In a nutshell the idea is that they run all

[18:02] margin account that they call “instant deposits.”

[18:05] You make an account, start to transfer money

[18:10] arrived yet, but Robinhood lets you act like

[18:14] You want to buy a stock, Robinhood pays for

[18:18] when it finally arrives.

[18:20] This undeniably speeds things up and makes

[18:26] who want to get in on this opportunity to

[18:31] it’s too late, but exposes Robinhood to

[18:35] If a million new users all sign up on the

[18:41] at $300 a share via “instant deposits”,

[18:49] So the mundane reality is that the influx

[18:54] plays in a specific basket of stocks stressed

[18:59] across the board, so they shut down buying

[19:05] In the aftermath the CEO of Robinhood, Vlad

[19:11] basically run out of money which may or may

[19:16] of the threat.

[19:18] “We’re really in unprecedented times,

[19:23] our customers we had to limit buying in these,

[19:31] “It sounds to me as though there was a liquidity

[19:38] Turns out giving everyone a margin account

[19:43] But that’s boring.

[19:45] You know what’s exciting?

[19:46] They turned off the buy button specifically

[19:51] They want you to sell!

[19:52] That’s an exciting idea!

[19:54] The funny thing is that it didn’t even kill

[19:57] Sure, Robinhood and a few other app-based

[20:02] but cash-account brokers were trading just

[20:07] next day, peaking back over $400.

[20:10] The buy button was maybe a wake up call, a

[20:15] stop and you should cash out while you can,

[20:20] the weekend.

[20:22] When the smoke clears there’s a congressional

[20:27] actually a ton of scrutiny in and around the

[20:31] Melvin Capital eats some truly staggering

[20:36] for a bailout to avoid closing entirely.

[20:40] Regulators are worried about how well they’re

[20:44] are worried social media influencers aren’t

[20:48] Everyone knows that a charismatic figure can

[20:52] stock, but do the events of January suggest

[20:57] to the market itself?

[21:00] Who, if anyone, was responsible for January?

[21:05] Thing is that while a bunch of people made

[21:10] money has to come from somewhere.

[21:13] In an actual short squeeze the idea is that

[21:18] the ones buying vastly overpriced GameStop

[21:22] So if this was a squeeze that’s simple,

[21:30] The SEC report didn’t come out until fall

[21:35] it does try to engage with the general public

[21:40] aren’t deep in the weeds.

[21:41] It’s not flawless, but the conclusions are

[21:45] GameStop was a complicated mix of activities

[21:49] There was a short squeeze in the mix, a bunch

[21:53] to pump at the beginning of the week was driven

[21:58] but the main body of it all, the buyers who

[22:04] was overwhelmingly retail buyers.

[22:07] The people left holding the bag when the music

[22:13] wasn’t Vanguard, wasn’t BlackRock, it

[22:18] recruits whose first day of stock trading

[22:24] and buying GME that week.

[22:27] The story of Apes post-squeeze is a bunch

[22:32] room at 5am asking when the party is supposed

[22:38] trying to manifest another even larger squeeze

[22:44] money off their $420 GME shares is if it somehow

[22:51] Everything becomes fodder for theories about

[22:56] just keep going up.

[22:58] Direct share registration, naked shorts, RegSHO,

[23:01] none of these mattered to Apes at all in January,

[23:08] get injected as explanations for why the squeeze

[23:13] They will, in the months that follow, re-cast

[23:18] that not only was it not the main event, it

[23:24] true squeeze, the mother of all short squeezes:

[23:29] “I’d like to welcome you all to the Bellagio

[23:38] We’re just enjoying some early tendies.

[23:44] There’s some news on the wind that big things

[23:51] as this weekend, and Bobby’s pumping.

[23:54] I don’t think anything could really go wrong.

[23:57] I think there’s a lot of people who want

[24:02] I hold for the infinity pool.

[24:04] I just I buy I hold I DRS.

[24:09] MOASS is a tricky thing to talk about.

[24:11] First of all it is a pure financial conspiracy

[24:15] We’re used to conspiracy theories that intersect

[24:20] of international bankers eventually, but those

[24:26] or politics and then expand to cover finance

[24:32] MOASS starts in finance with the operations

[24:37] go the subject is already inundated with unfamiliar

[24:45] This is all compounded by the fact that the

[24:50] MOASS is a vessel conspiracy containing many

[24:56] These theories are disparate, obtuse, self-referential,

[25:03] It is, as a whole, a theory that resists critical

[25:08] If you try to formulate an all-encompassing

[25:14] The jar, MOASS itself, is the belief that

[25:20] other meme stock company is going to skyrocket

[25:26] unfathomably rich in the blink of an eye.

[25:29] Everything inside the jar is the how and why.

[25:34] Taken as a whole MOASS is many things: it’s

[25:39] glitch, it’s revenge against Wall Street,

[25:44] their savings, but above all MOASS is a story,

[25:52] this.

[25:53] ”What you need to know before the MOASS,

[25:57] So let’s start by chugging this bitch and

[26:01] We know we own the float.

[26:03] So if they have to cover, that means that

[26:07] Now if we hold to ten million, that’s what

[26:11] So if it goes to a hundred thousand, if it

[26:15] to one thousand, if it goes to five hundred,

[26:19] the squeeze.

[26:20] What’s the squeeze is once it’s past ten

[26:23] Then we’re squeezing!

[26:24] “Some point in the near future, in my opinion,

[26:29] we survived all the FUD, we survived the short

[26:34] And then we pass our floor of 10 million or

[26:40] let's say, $420 million a share.

[26:42] And if you're raising your eyebrows, saying,

[26:44] The whole economy will be ruined."

[26:46] Shut up!

[26:47] You don't know what you're talking about.

[26:48] Do your research.!

[26:50] “500 million per share is not a meme, I

[26:54] Major financial firms, most notably hedge

[26:58] their profits to massive volumes of fraudulent

[27:03] phantom shares that suppress the price of

[27:08] Bed Bath & Beyond.

[27:10] This scheme has generated unfathomable amounts

[27:15] pay back, hundreds of billions of shares owed

[27:20] be returned adding up to trillions of dollars

[27:25] company goes out of business entirely allowing

[27:32] The risk is so extreme that it justifies every

[27:37] the media, the government, and the courts

[27:42] wraps.

[27:43] But if that scheme were to be revealed, if

[27:48] of billions of shares, it would trigger a

[27:52] share value into phone number prices and create

[27:58] economy.

[27:59] Because there are so many fake shares Apes

[28:03] to exist, they own the float, and have thus

[28:09] of that apocalyptic unravelling as long as

[28:14] their shares.

[28:15] If no one sells then the supply is zero and

[28:20] Then Apes can dictate not only the price,

[28:25] If Ken Griffin isn’t sent to prison for

[28:32] As the evidence of the fraud ripples through

[28:36] revealed to be a sham, faith in institutions

[28:42] the government will be forced to make Apes

[28:47] the greatest transfer of wealth in human history.

[28:51] And then, when the flames of MOASS have cleansed

[28:55] humanity stewarded by the true diamond-handed

[29:01] 1000% gains, did not become paper-handed bitches

[29:07] hodled in the face of Fear, hodled in the

[29:12] Doubt.

[29:14] “So what happens in theory when they can’t

[29:20] the millions)?

[29:21] “The price goes to the tens of millions.

[29:23] Then hundreds of millions.

[29:24] Billions if it has to.

[29:26] Price is just supply and demand.”

[29:29] “All I have to do is buy one stock

[29:31] Buy one stock

[29:34] GameStop

[29:35] Feel good about it, and watch the world crumble”

[29:39] A thing that’s kinda beautiful about a short

[29:43] do anything, you just need to be in the right

[29:48] marbles the whole subject of memestocks is

[29:54] This is a characteristic of all get rich quick

[29:58] as Apes build this complex theory, as they

[30:04] irate when MOASS fails to materialize, that

[30:09] done, is press a “buy” button.

[30:12] As Marantz said, all he has to do is buy one

[30:18] crumble.

[30:19] It’s just Reddit’s version of the Rapture.

[30:21] Now, in these sample narratives of MOASS we’ve

[30:25] pin down the specifics in some coherent way.

[30:29] A critical element of talking about MOASS

[30:34] - the jar, the part where Apes get rich, is

[30:38] Any specific belief can be readily discarded

[30:44] of the structure as a whole.

[30:46] For example many MOASS theories cite the idea

[30:51] on any gains from short positions if the victim

[30:56] This makes narrative sense but just isn’t

[31:00] Like, there’s not much else that needs to

[31:05] But removing it from the jar doesn’t really

[31:11] if you debunk it because Apes will just put

[31:15] As a result the memestock belief system has

[31:20] misinformation, willful ignorance, and reheated

[31:25] of which has been constantly adjusted to compensate

[31:32] it.

[31:33] It’s a mess.

[31:34] So how does a philosophy like MOASS develop?

[31:38] That is actually a shockingly long explanation.

[31:41] A major problem here, as I said, is that a

[31:46] a pile of half-baked theories cooked up piecemeal

[31:52] subject working specifically to find a thing

[31:59] the conspiracy cascade.

[32:01] The only reason they believe there are hundreds

[32:05] is because that’s the thing that needs to

[32:10] shorts never closed in 2021, and they believe

[32:16] the thing that needs to be true in order for

[32:21] squeeze needs to still be on the table because

[32:26] Why are you here?

[32:27] But also a lot of these specific ideas, they

[32:32] that somewhere just opens up a rabbit hole

[32:36] pre-existing conspiracy theories that have

[32:42] movement.

[32:43] February 2021, following the price of GameStop

[32:48] in late or held through it were extremely

[32:53] that wasn’t just, you know, making a poor

[32:59] The fiasco with Robinhood turning off the

[33:04] there are, even in our reality, some questions

[33:10] business model that are very much worth asking.

[33:13] Apes of course care about none of that.

[33:15] All the talk about market reform is just smoke,

[33:19] rich.

[33:20] So what they see in the Robinhood fiasco is

[33:24] Someone pulled strings to turn off the buy

[33:29] scared, the whole thing must still be primed

[33:33] Apes declare that shorts never closed, the

[33:37] of a gully and it’s going to shoot back

[33:42] back up.

[33:43] The second thing they latch onto is that Citadel

[33:46] Now, in reality this wasn’t a philanthropic

[33:51] racket shakedown because Wall Street are all

[33:56] pressure in 2022 anyway, but it gives Apes

[34:03] Apes assert that he must have personally called

[34:08] off the buy button in order to protect Citadel

[34:13] under oath that he didn’t do that!

[34:15] This seed narrative proves just sticky enough

[34:20] there Apes crowdsource the explanations, tacking

[34:26] of the complexity and obfuscation of capital

[34:31] is still primed to pop.

[34:34] Part of what makes MOASS persuasive, why people

[34:40] People come into the subject with well-founded

[34:44] The narrative that Wall Street is corrupt,

[34:48] part because it isn’t wrong.

[34:51] So memestock proselytes present themselves

[34:57] exposing the deliberately obfuscated truth

[35:02] the ivory tower of finance.

[35:04] Now, despite its reputation, finance, as a

[35:10] layperson, can learn, it is a lot less impenetrable

[35:14] Wall Street is awash with B-minus students

[35:18] too.

[35:19] But we need to be careful here because just

[35:23] you might think, that doesn’t mean it’s

[35:29] and nuance.

[35:30] Understanding how to evaluate a mutual fund

[35:35] is not that complex.

[35:37] Understanding loopholes in securities regulation

[35:42] So in the theory of MOASS we have a collision

[35:47] finance with the actual impenetrable stuff

[35:52] Street don’t bother to understand.

[35:54] And the systems of the economy are so intertwined

[35:59] almost any story one can imagine through the

[36:03] It is a perfect recipe for someone to very

[36:08] information that you have no reference point

[36:13] And if it wasn’t already clear, MOASS is

[36:19] Like think about it.

[36:21] Their theory is that Wall Street is so reckless

[36:26] keg that will allow Apes to make unfathomable

[36:30] But despite this powder keg sitting in the

[36:35] no one on Wall Street is greedy or reckless

[36:41] greater resources at their disposal to do

[36:44] And the conspiracy Apes claim to be unravelling

[36:48] material evidence, no memos, no emails, no

[36:55] But also Apes will readily discard the data

[37:00] claim the price is fake, the stock is manipulated,

[37:05] can only trust the numbers when the line goes

[37:08] Since you can’t trust news, data, or even

[37:14] at any price and hold for MOASS.

[37:17] The Mother of All Short Squeezes is a lot

[37:22] But please, if you think this is at all unfair

[37:27] own research.’

[37:28] Pursue the Superstonk Flipbook page, with

[37:32] books.

[37:33] Enjoy such critically acclaimed works as the

[37:39] Death and Divorce - The Parts of Ken Griffin’s

[37:43] War, The Final Exit DD Compilation… by gherkinit.

[37:48] Regardless of the lack of actual finance underpinning

[37:53] in order to explain why it all falls apart

[37:58] about the community that has grown up around

[38:01] So real quick, what is a stock, anyway?

[38:04] Stocks, or shares, aren’t a real thing,

[38:09] portion of a company or venture.

[38:11] They exist entirely in the realm of the social

[38:16] old as civilization.

[38:17] Somewhere in ancient history a couple people

[38:23] dig a mine, and then split the proceeds, and

[38:28] Then the second dude was like “hey, I don’t

[38:33] my share of the mine for a goat farm” and

[38:38] Today’s equity markets are a vastly more

[38:43] is in a constant state of flux, but the core

[38:49] bundle of legal rights that you can sell.

[38:51] But you’re probably thinking to yourself

[38:56] Hundreds of years ago if you wanted to sell

[39:00] the company offices where they keep the ledger

[39:03] mine, tell them “I’m selling my share

[39:09] put his name instead.”

[39:10] Upsides: the company knows exactly who owns

[39:14] Downsides: huge pain in the ass.

[39:17] To address the fact that this was a pain in

[39:21] the intangible rights into a tangible object,

[39:27] legal magic that says possession of the paper

[39:34] so that people who wanted to sell their share,

[39:38] do so by handing over the certificates.

[39:42] But that’s not a perfect system, you’ve

[39:46] once the telephone was invented it became

[39:49] What do you mean I need to actually move a

[39:55] What a waste of time.

[39:56] Glossing over one hundred years of securities

[40:01] telephone and then the computer, the model

[40:05] entitlements and beneficial ownership.

[40:08] When you buy shares via Robinhood your shares

[40:13] Trust and Clearing Corporation, or DTCC, with

[40:19] keeps their own list of which of their clients

[40:26] Now, the DTCC, the New York Stock Exchange,

[40:31] they’re private corporations that are overseen

[40:36] the SEC, which is part of the government.

[40:39] They are designed as self-regulating organizations.

[40:42] That’s a phrase that throws up some red

[40:48] Designating an organisation as self-regulating

[40:53] profit motive routine, subject to the approval

[40:58] If they want a new toy, they can have it,

[41:02] None of this means that self-regulating orgs

[41:07] but it means you can’t just claim self-regulated

[41:15] why this vast conspiracy has invisibly rampaged

[41:21] The actual stock market and its mechanics

[41:27] way.

[41:28] They carry literal centuries of bad habits,

[41:32] We didn’t end up with high-security bank

[41:37] it was the best system.

[41:39] The central depository model of clearing and

[41:43] kind of stuff that fuels beef between experts

[41:48] “Perhaps Professor Coogan's criticism of

[41:52] that they transfer the provisions on creation

[41:57] securities from article 9 to article 8.

[42:00] Practitioners under article 9 have been known

[42:05] practice which has traditionally been their

[42:09] Savage.

[42:10] All this is to say that criticisms of this

[42:15] very easy to misunderstand what you’re looking

[42:18] The primary lens that Apes view this complex

[42:24] Because it is the one thing they know about

[42:29] matters.

[42:30] It is made compelling by the fact that short

[42:34] circles and has been for a very long time.

[42:37] It’s been called “blatant thuggery”

[42:41] The Malaysian Finance Ministry wanted to cane

[42:45] punishment carried out on juveniles.”

[42:47] During World War One, the New York Stock Exchange

[42:52] out of fear that German spies would utilise

[42:57] But for Apes, who were introduced to the concept

[43:03] Short everything that guy has touched.

[43:06] I want half a billion more in swaps.

[43:09] Short sales have the unique quirk of putting

[43:14] supply, and in a sense short sales do contain

[43:19] Now, there’s a Nobel Prize in Economics

[43:24] element, but for Apes the theory alone is

[43:30] For them it goes to the furthest possible

[43:36] company stone dead.

[43:38] When taken in combination, short selling becomes

[43:44] financial terrorism.

[43:46] “Quite literally, whatever Retail buys,

[43:51] If an institution’s holding it, it’s not

[43:55] Why do you think Amazon became the most overpowered

[43:59] I work for the company - I can tell you.

[44:01] It’s because Retail wasn’t holding it.

[44:04] So then their ticker can go up because institutions

[44:07] One of the truly revolutionary moments in

[44:11] when Apes dredged up a conspiracy theory favoured

[44:17] they were being targeted for destruction by

[44:21] Naked short sales are kinda tricky to talk

[44:25] poisoned by these conspiracy theorists.

[44:28] A naked short sale is when you generate a

[44:33] first.

[44:34] It is a real thing, it is illegal and has

[44:38] for doing it, it was a historical problem,

[44:43] claim.

[44:44] The problem is compounded by the fact that

[44:50] naked short selling if you squint.

[44:52] So there’s the real thing off over in the

[44:58] like, there’s evidence of their crimes,

[45:04] by cranks where shadowy figures destroy companies

[45:09] The infuriating thing is that it really kinda

[45:14] bother to distinguish between regular short

[45:19] Apes start from “short sellers are the bad

[45:24] short selling, like stock lending which is

[45:29] you can’t borrow a share unless someone’s

[45:32] Apes only rope in a crank version of naked

[45:37] why there’s no evidence of the short position

[45:42] short squeeze to still be on the table.

[45:44] So let’s walk through it.

[45:46] In mid-March of 2021, a Reddit post on r/WallStreetBets

[45:52] the squeeze hadn’t truly ended.

[45:55] “Anybody with a brain knows that GME is

[46:00] of this post, at $215/share”

[46:03] “The main talking point across all of the

[46:08] the fact that GME’s short percentage reached

[46:12] But what does a 140% float mean?

[46:16] Did the hedge funds short/borrow more shares

[46:21] Well yes, that’s called naked shorting but

[46:26] By the standards of present day theories,

[46:30] The redditor mistakenly believed that the

[46:33] purchasing shares created by market makers,

[46:38] of whether they own the asset at the time

[46:43] selling at times.

[46:44] To the author, the excessive short interest

[46:48] of at least 40% of the entire share count.

[46:52] That isn’t sound, in fact it misunderstands

[46:58] In this instance, we’ve exceeded 100% short

[47:03] of the seller.

[47:04] No new shares have been created.

[47:06] A single share can be bought, lent, and sold

[47:11] parties willing to engage in the trade.

[47:13] Mere days later, an article would be discovered

[47:18] source for your oil and energy news.

[47:20] The article reframed the GameStop incident

[47:25] but as a skirmish between retail investors

[47:31] GameStop was the victim of a malicious short

[47:37] to the Canadian mining sector.

[47:39] This article would validate the Ape’s anxieties:

[47:44] predicated on boring details about credit

[47:49] Wall Street has been doing stuff like this

[47:54] The squeeze needed to be killed because Apes

[47:59] As a conspiracy theory these narratives of

[48:04] convenient, impossible to disprove, but there’s

[48:10] be ‘debunked’ like your typical conspiracy

[48:13] To this end Apes become very concerned about

[48:20] two separate ideas with their own implications.

[48:23] You need to have real ownership of real shares.

[48:27] As demonstrated earlier the subject of what

[48:33] built on centuries of jank, which makes it

[48:38] as fake ownership.

[48:41] Beneficial ownership via a broker is just

[48:45] shares out to short sellers, which means

[48:50] The term "fake share" refers to numerous different

[48:55] The specifics are irrelevant.

[48:56] It could be the dilutive effects of naked

[49:01] the Obligation Warehouse, the ghost of the

[49:06] to deliver - doesn’t matter, they’ve churned

[49:10] fake shares might be coming from and might

[49:13] For Apes, trading is like a video game, and

[49:18] to find an exploit to steal Ken Griffin’s

[49:21] The actual end boss that Apes are at war with

[49:25] GameStop at this point in March is still massively

[49:31] 2021 frenzy are either cashing out some sweet

[49:36] The Apes who are in really deep are convinced

[49:40] now, but it doesn’t.

[49:42] It’s volatile, it swings a lot on any given

[49:47] explanation they come up with is that clearly

[49:52] Normally short attacks are specific, identifiable

[49:57] investors and triggering a wider sell-off.

[50:00] To Apes, they are persistent, invisible, and

[50:05] as to defy all reason.

[50:07] Therefore, they must be occurring via naked

[50:11] the position… somehow.

[50:14] So logically if the only reason the price

[50:19] that must mean that GameStop is accruing more

[50:25] The actual short Interest in GameStop peaked

[50:31] situation and is the reason Melvin ate dirt,

[50:37] they valued the “true” short interest

[50:44] at this point.

[50:45] Within a year, history would be rewritten

[50:49] for the GME squeeze wasn’t FOMO or memes,

[50:57] So the idea is that there are a handful of

[51:02] shares.

[51:03] Apes need to get their hands on these “real”

[51:09] funny.

[51:10] As an example, there is a theory that stock

[51:15] share - so some Apes try to exercise out-of-the-money

[51:18] They want to buy shares for more than their

[51:23] money.

[51:24] That kind of behaviour is indicative of an

[51:28] trying to manipulate the stock price, or is

[51:33] So intermediaries won’t let you do it.

[51:36] When their request is refused, Apes go nuclear

[51:40] citizen-esque arguments as to why it’s criminal

[51:46] right to lose money on purpose.

[51:49] But above all else, “true ownership” demands

[51:54] DRS allows the investors ownership of a security

[51:59] of the issuing company’s Transfer Agent.

[52:01] It exists to make this circuitous mess more

[52:07] and it has a few legitimate functions.

[52:09] There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with DRS as

[52:14] the point of being barely recognisable.

[52:17] Apes gravitate towards it initially as a catalyst

[52:22] 9000% short interest to close, and a belief

[52:29] that direct registration is the only way they’ll

[52:34] MOASS, but it very quickly evolves into a

[52:38] “And you know it’s always tomorrow until

[52:43] until I get paid and I DRS.

[52:46] DRS.

[52:47] DRS.

[52:48] DRS.

[52:49] DRS.”

[52:50] The central depository model was built to

[52:57] quickly, it was built to be brutally efficient

[53:01] DRS, by design, reintroduces inefficiency

[53:06] It makes selling your shares more expensive,

[53:11] you to send important requests by mail.

[53:14] Like, with an envelope.

[53:18] That makes it a kind of symbolic castration.

[53:20] You’re proving your conviction to the cause

[53:24] It’s community policy to keep your entire

[53:30] it with your broker it means you’re enabling

[53:34] and commit financial terrorism, and the only

[53:38] broker is if you were planning to sell.

[53:40] You aren’t thinking of selling right?

[53:44] Having opted into DRS, the shareholder receives

[53:49] their ownership.

[53:50] These letters are regularly paraded on the

[53:55] demonstrating loyalty to the company.

[53:57] God, a lot of these have firearms.

[54:00] Somewhere within this process, the Ape ascends

[54:04] They hold real shares, entirely locked out

[54:09] So I want you to visualize this.

[54:11] You’re hooked on watching the price of GameStop

[54:14] Whenever the price goes down, which it does

[54:19] to kill the squeeze, is illegally naked shorting

[54:26] week GME continues to accumulate more and

[54:30] That means that every day the theoretical

[54:35] In fact the plausibility of Citadel ever willingly

[54:41] grows more and more impossible.

[54:43] MOASS becomes inevitable.

[54:46] Once the conspiracy is unveiled, something

[54:51] to be fake at the same time it’s revealed

[54:56] GameStop’s value worth of GME.

[54:59] The short sellers now need to buy back “real”

[55:06] This alone would be absurd, but it gets worse.

[55:09] Under the “infinity pool” theory, Apes

[55:14] The supply will literally be zero, so the

[55:18] It’s just supply and demand.

[55:20] The plan is to never let the short sellers

[55:24] in a basement and drip feed them one share

[55:29] money with each sale.

[55:31] The purported values are childish and totally

[55:36] dollars per share as we’ve seen.

[55:38] The limiter on this is naturally, you know,

[55:42] Citadel can't pay infinity dollars per share

[55:48] But don't worry: Apes have already mapped

[55:52] ““What if the unthinkable happens and

[55:56] 7 figures?

[55:57] The DTCC can only cover 67 trillion.

[56:01] What happens then?”

[56:02] “Then it goes to the Fed, Rog.

[56:03] The Fed has to turn on the printer.

[56:08] “

[56:09] Citadel will be vaporised the instant the

[56:12] to the central depository itself.

[56:14] A central depository has never defaulted before,

[56:20] But Apes have done their research and all

[56:26] bust, the first priority for compensation

[56:31] of all others.

[56:33] Like that 67 trillion figure suggests that

[56:39] portfolio to buy shares in GameStop.

[56:42] Once the depository defaults we get something

[56:46] the US government still has an obligation

[56:51] In the pure version of MOASS, Apes take up

[56:57] Their new market would be blockchain-based,

[57:02] to track down and return specific identifiable

[57:07] about being personally contacted by short

[57:12] ‘MOASS realists’ argue instead that the

[57:16] crisis, will simply cut a deal with the Apes.

[57:19] And whether Apes ought to squeeze the White

[57:24] movement.

[57:25] So, to sum up.

[57:26] MOASS is an infinite money glitch, built on

[57:31] to smother dying companies through naked short

[57:34] They do this through exploiting flaws in securities

[57:39] shares”.

[57:40] GameStop avoided its execution because redditors

[57:46] And that positions GameStop as a catalyst

[57:52] a side-effect being that the US government

[57:56] of redditors… as a down payment for their

[58:01] So, that’s the play.

[58:03] All the Apes need to do now is find evidence

[58:08] How hard can that be?

[58:09] Yeah, I’m picking up more GameStop, I’m

[58:13] I’m super excited for Bed Bath & Beyond,

[58:19] a lot of good peer reviewed theories, some

[58:22] You know, Cohen’s still in this play, Icahn’s

[58:27] between those two.

[58:28] Icahn through Newell brands buys up Bed Bath

[58:32] Spins off Buybuybaby to Cohen, he merges that

[58:37] of GMErica, which lights the fuse on the rocket

[58:41] So, how do you prove that fake shares exist?

[58:45] The company will tell you how many shares

[58:48] outstanding share count.

[58:50] For example, here’s GameStop’s 10Q from

[58:57] 131 outstanding shares.

[58:59] But that is the number that is supposed to

[59:02] If you think fake shares are being introduced

[59:07] to check your work.

[59:08] You have to do a share count.

[59:10] True, rigorous investigations of share counts

[59:15] a good comparison to draw from.

[59:17] At minimum, it’s a hugely disruptive process

[59:23] branch of the stock market.

[59:24] It’s something GameStop lacks the authority

[59:30] it might foster uh, ‘bearish sentiment’

[59:36] shares may be compromised - with no basis

[59:40] So it shouldn’t be surprising that, to be

[59:44] acknowledged any part of the MOASS conspiracy…

[59:47] directly, wink wink nudge nudge.

[59:50] This means the Apes are on their own to expose

[59:54] The method Apes first latch onto is via shareholder

[59:58] We’ve already seen the issues that can arise

[1:00:02] Totally normal business transactions can resemble

[1:00:07] to work backward to solve for the initial

[1:00:12] after contains an unknown amount of fake shares.

[1:00:15] When a shareholder loans their share for a

[1:00:19] consider themselves a shareholder, but they

[1:00:25] you’d have one share providing two separate

[1:00:29] That gives you a hint of where this is headed.

[1:00:32] One share translates to one vote.

[1:00:34] So if every shareholder is involved in a vote,

[1:00:39] of the outstanding share count.

[1:00:42] If the number exceeds 100%, that has to be

[1:00:47] or dodgy voting.

[1:00:49] Over-voting is a real thing in Corporate governance,

[1:00:54] of us want to endure.

[1:00:56] Thankfully the Ape theory is extremely simple.

[1:00:59] They aren’t trying to reveal a moderate

[1:01:03] there are dozens of times more shares in circulation

[1:01:09] bought far, far, far more than the 72 million

[1:01:15] As the phrase goes “Apes already own the

[1:01:18] “We know we own the float!”

[1:01:20] Let’s set the scene here a little.

[1:01:22] It’s April/May 2021, MOASS as a theory is

[1:01:28] corporate vote coming up on June 9th.

[1:01:31] Apes spend weeks whipping up support for the

[1:01:36] how to submit your vote to your broker, and

[1:01:41] truly, finally stick it to Wall Street, expose

[1:01:47] and trigger another squeeze.

[1:01:49] This was such a big deal that numerous Apes

[1:01:54] meeting in person, and thousands of Apes tuned

[1:01:59] this banal procedural vote with the gravitas

[1:02:06] suspense, for the results.

[1:02:08] [Rensole] Present– more than majority of

[1:02:12] Confirmed, more than majority

[1:02:14] [Atobitt] So there were more shares!

[1:02:16] [Elle] Yes!

[1:02:17] They confirmed there are more shares than...

[1:02:20] [Atobitt] That's 100%

[1:02:21] [Elle] no no no, they confirmed there are

[1:02:26] [Atobitt] That's what I'm saying, that's more

[1:02:29] If that's a direct quote, if you have that

[1:02:33] Because if we're saying "more than majority",

[1:02:37] [Elle] No no no, it wasn't majority, they

[1:02:42] shares"

[1:02:43] [Atobitt] Oh ---- that's huge!

[1:02:44] I'm waiting for that 8-K to come out and say

[1:02:48] We had hundred percent...

[1:02:49] hundreds of percent more than what

[1:02:52] I'm literally expecting hundreds of percentage

[1:02:54] [Rensole] But then in that aspect ‘more

[1:02:59] it’s still more than a majority, that’s

[1:03:02] [Atobitt] But it was more than a majority

[1:03:05] [Rensole] Yeah.

[1:03:06] So, it didn’t work, GameStop didn’t announce

[1:03:11] should have even been possible, they just

[1:03:15] was high.

[1:03:17] This is actually how DRS entered this story

[1:03:20] Dr. Susane Trimbath, or Queen Kong as the

[1:03:25] to retail investors for thirty some odd years,

[1:03:31] since the number of shares that Apes presume

[1:03:36] number it should be trivial to demonstrate,

[1:03:41] out of the picture entirely.

[1:03:43] Thus began an even more intense campaign to

[1:03:50] the number of direct registered shares.

[1:03:53] This, this was a lock.

[1:03:56] Apes own the float after all, the crime is

[1:04:00] expose some truly unreasonable numbers, 80

[1:04:07] registered shares in a company that only has

[1:04:14] then comes the reckoning.

[1:04:16] Yeah, that one didn’t pan out, either.

[1:04:22] Okay, so the headband, maybe I should explain

[1:04:28] It’s an homage.

[1:04:31] Really everything that I do is an homage to

[1:04:39] And at this point we need to talk about a

[1:04:43] in all of this who those familiar with the

[1:04:47] absent up to this point.

[1:04:50] This is Keith Gill aka DFV aka Roaring Kitty.

[1:04:54] He is simultaneously extremely important to

[1:04:59] to our story, and for that reason it is worth

[1:05:05] contradiction.

[1:05:07] To some he basically invented meme stocks,

[1:05:12] through which MOASS made itself known to the

[1:05:15] The reality, in contrast, is almost unrecognisable.

[1:05:19] In our reality he is a registered securities

[1:05:24] broker MassMutual.

[1:05:25] In his spare time he streams investment tutorials

[1:05:31] posts on Reddit under the handle DeepFuckingValue.

[1:05:34] Next slide.

[1:05:35] It is 2019 and Keith’s hope is to become

[1:05:41] on his “roaring kitty” investment philosophy

[1:05:47] strategy.

[1:05:48] Next slide.

[1:05:49] As the working subject for this Keith has

[1:05:53] by Dr. Michael Burry, that GameStop is under-valued.

[1:05:57] The idea is pretty straightforward and honestly

[1:06:02] downwards for several years, but has historically

[1:06:07] the start of a new console generation, and

[1:06:13] Next slide.

[1:06:14] While consumer habits are shifting away from

[1:06:18] distribution for games in specific, and while

[1:06:23] and developers is no longer what it once was,

[1:06:29] about how much life is left in physical media.

[1:06:32] Long term, his view is that GameStop still

[1:06:37] to something more forward-looking, especially

[1:06:42] revenue in the near future.

[1:06:44] This is an argument that GameStop is trading

[1:06:50] at $8 to $10, and has the capability of going

[1:06:56] carry the 2020 holiday season.

[1:06:58] That's what I think I think about game stop.

[1:07:00] I think it is it is at least a double I think

[1:07:06] be a 45 bagger It could be looking out.

[1:07:10] I don't know looking out six to 18 months

[1:07:20] Next slide.

[1:07:21] Of course he couldn’t have seen the coronavirus

[1:07:26] brick and mortar retail, with malls getting

[1:07:31] for both the retailers and their vendors.

[1:07:34] Next slide.

[1:07:35] Gill chips away at this thesis for over a

[1:07:40] stream highlights as standalone videos, and

[1:07:44] with other traders on Reddit, even as the

[1:07:50] as the ninth gen console launch is set to

[1:07:54] down the chain from raw materials to shipping

[1:07:58] Next slide.

[1:07:59] However as the meme stock craze takes root,

[1:08:04] unusually high short interest as a possible

[1:08:10] in on GameStop and willing to ride it out,

[1:08:16] Here is Keith on Christmas Day, 2020 discussing

[1:08:21] price target of $20.

[1:08:23] Hey, what's up everybody?

[1:08:25] Cheers!

[1:08:26] Happy Friday, happy holidays.

[1:08:27] I hope everyone's having a great week.

[1:08:30] Surprise!(...)

[1:08:31] Game stops up about 5x from when I uploaded

[1:08:37] to see.

[1:08:38] When you have a thesis and by and large it

[1:08:41] That's nice, so it shouldn't be taken for

[1:08:44] It doesn't always happen, so that's great.

[1:08:47] And yeah, it's just to clear up some potential

[1:08:51] This was a true YOLO for me.

[1:08:54] When I was building this position last year,

[1:08:59] I certainly do not drive a Lambo.

[1:09:01] We rent this house that you see, so it's been

[1:09:09] And it has been just so much fun to experience

[1:09:13] I hope you had some fun as well, and maybe

[1:09:19] elements along the way, all the better.

[1:09:21] But it has brought me tremendous joy to just

[1:09:25] bit of a case study, as some of us feel, and

[1:09:30] And if you have had a good time as well, that

[1:09:34] Next slide.

[1:09:35] When all was said and done at the end of January

[1:09:39] $25 million, for which Maxine Waters hauled

[1:09:45] questions about what the hell happened and

[1:09:51] and dump.

[1:09:52] Next slide.

[1:09:53] Keith, accurately in my opinion, insisted

[1:09:58] of the wave he was ultimately just another

[1:10:04] had been personally advocating GameStop as

[1:10:09] a year.

[1:10:10] “I also want to say that I support retail

[1:10:15] want when they want.

[1:10:17] I support the right of individuals to send

[1:10:22] As for me, I like the stock.

[1:10:24] I’m as bullish as I’ve ever been on a

[1:10:28] invested in the company.

[1:10:30] Thank you.

[1:10:32] Cheers everyone.

[1:10:33] Next slide.

[1:10:34] Apes read literally all of this as coded messaging.

[1:10:38] “I like the stock” became a shibboleth

[1:10:44] Next slide.

[1:10:45] Gill read the room and wisely peaced out.

[1:10:47] While he continued to participate in the scene

[1:10:52] mostly in the form of movie clips, the length

[1:10:58] grew increasingly disconnected from reality.

[1:11:01] Realizing that he was being elected to the

[1:11:06] any company he commented on, would be baked

[1:11:11] take action on, and that such a position posed

[1:11:16] wealth and his personal safety should he fall

[1:11:22] in late June of 2021 he unplugged his social

[1:11:27] eye.

[1:11:28] Next slide.

[1:11:30] Gill has been retroactively recruited into

[1:11:36] Everything that Apes convinced themselves

[1:11:40] of failures-to-deliver, the need to DRS, has

[1:11:45] Here, for example, is a post from 2023, just

[1:11:53] public post, that outright advocates for conspiratorial

[1:12:00] pure gold”, and assumes absolute homogeneity

[1:12:07] is to say that this poster believes DFV believes

[1:12:14] Next slide.

[1:12:15] The poster signs off, of course, with “follow

[1:12:19] Next slide

[1:12:21] Although he almost certainly sold most if

[1:12:25] off into early retirement to raise his family,

[1:12:30] there hodling to this day, cheering them on

[1:12:37] via Reddit awards.

[1:12:40] “Can you verify that that’s a thing?”

[1:12:48] “Can I prove that DRS works?”

[1:12:49] “Yeah”

[1:12:50] “Well DRS has never been disproven.

[1:12:52] We just gotta, we just gotta trust the plan.”

[1:12:56] One of the things that gets litigated repeatedly

[1:13:00] makes a meme stock.

[1:13:02] I’ve actually got a conspiracy-laden email

[1:13:06] In January 2021, there was no such thing as

[1:13:12] Despite the SEC itself putting out a report

[1:13:17] was not related to shorts closing), there

[1:13:22] stock' really is.

[1:13:24] However, examples of meme securities apparently

[1:13:31] The term 'meme stock' in reference to GME

[1:13:38] investors without directly singling out a

[1:13:43] bringing more attention to the company whose

[1:13:48] institutions.

[1:13:50] On one hand “meme stock” is basically

[1:13:54] stocks even if they aren’t penny stocks,

[1:13:59] hand is an attempt at identifying the why

[1:14:06] Bed Bath and Beyond, in an April 2023 court

[1:14:10] meme stock and why they felt it applied to

[1:14:13] The two characteristics that they identify

[1:14:18] and nostalgia value.

[1:14:20] That’s kinda a workable definition, but

[1:14:25] with trying to pin down what a meme stock

[1:14:29] A meme stock in May 2023 isn’t the same

[1:14:35] The original meme stocks in the fall of 2020,

[1:14:43] contrarianism.

[1:14:44] It’s not that there’s a narrative of a

[1:14:49] and it’s not the nostalgia value, though

[1:14:54] Those were not the leading motives; what makes

[1:15:01] buying stock in a failing company past its

[1:15:06] The thing that truly separates a meme stock

[1:15:11] act of buying in and of itself becomes the

[1:15:17] and inherently gamified exercise.

[1:15:19] As more and more people start piling in it

[1:15:21] cause and effect, as simple and abstract as

[1:15:22] In 2023, though, that wave has crested and

[1:15:26] are still around, and, as we’ll see, the

[1:15:32] stone-faced dedication to a perceived cause.

[1:15:35] So what is a meme stock?

[1:15:38] It’s a stock whose play rests entirely on

[1:15:43] company under assault that serves as a proxy

[1:15:48] economy, the vessel through which the true

[1:15:53] rebirth the world into a golden age.

[1:15:56] It is a stock that is a candidate for MOASS.

[1:15:59] While any stock with a high short interest

[1:16:04] three businesses would rise to the top to

[1:16:09] Theatres, and Bed Bath and Beyond.

[1:16:12] Now, companies tend to have high short interest

[1:16:17] market share, lacklustre product, poor reputation,

[1:16:22] one reason, they’re unprofitable and not

[1:16:26] So it’s important to note that the self-selection

[1:16:31] by the theory of MOASS, is going to intrinsically

[1:16:38] “Yeah, so I’ve thought about putting one

[1:16:42] a DD.

[1:16:43] I mean, like, check out all of these awards

[1:16:46] It’s pretty long, but that’s good, right.

[1:16:49] The longer it is the more due the diligence.”

[1:16:53] Following the vote, the Apes were faced with

[1:16:56] Either they accept the results of their own

[1:17:00] made a mistake, or they preheat the oven and

[1:17:05] overvote didn’t occur.

[1:17:07] You don’t need to be told which way they

[1:17:10] After the June 2021 shareholder meeting there

[1:17:15] - the goalposts shifted and damage control

[1:17:20] Immediately it began to circulate that an

[1:17:24] the meeting, and it was in fact foolish to

[1:17:28] Conspiracy theories formed to explain the

[1:17:32] Some Apes were prevented from voting, brokers

[1:17:36] them to GameStop.

[1:17:38] GameStop isn’t allowed to admit the overvote

[1:17:42] Whatever explains away the negative test result.

[1:17:45] The previous months of research became shockingly

[1:17:49] produced an unfavourable result.

[1:17:52] And within a few months history had just been

[1:17:56] The experiment did demonstrate the overvote,

[1:18:01] This is Ape “research”, and it’s worth

[1:18:05] Due diligence is the process of gathering

[1:18:10] that explores the whole package: the company’s

[1:18:15] likely technological or societal changes in

[1:18:20] of the company for better or worse, how many

[1:18:26] their product, it can get as intense as hiring

[1:18:32] make sure a mine actually exists.

[1:18:35] Because this is a real thing that real investors

[1:18:40] became an entire genre of post on Ape forums.

[1:18:43] There is a delicate line for us to walk here.

[1:18:47] Learning and collaboration are… good.

[1:18:50] I would love to stand here and tell you that

[1:18:54] to invest and better each other’s lives.

[1:18:56] It’s a great story, indeed that’s how

[1:19:00] But this is not that, this is something very

[1:19:05] Making money on the stock market isn’t ‘difficult’

[1:19:12] has a plan.

[1:19:13] But Apes don’t want portfolios that outperform

[1:19:18] that cripple financial institutions while

[1:19:23] Ape Due Diligence, or DD for short, is uh,

[1:19:29] It is mythology cloaked in the veil of research.

[1:19:32] At the base layer the first generation of

[1:19:36] and dump.

[1:19:37] It’s a bad starting point, because these

[1:19:42] with the subject matter and poor judgement.

[1:19:45] Like a lot of victims of stock scams, many

[1:19:49] many have a poor grasp of English.

[1:19:52] As a collective group they were weaned on

[1:19:56] threads on WallStreetBets and very simple

[1:20:00] That’s the kind of material they’re trained

[1:20:04] in by declaring “I’m just a smooth brained

[1:20:09] if my tits should be jacked?”

[1:20:11] Rhetoric and the broad strokes are what matter.

[1:20:14] You need to understand that shorts never closed,

[1:20:18] to hate Ken Griffin with every atom of your

[1:20:20] But paradoxically, Apes sincerely believe

[1:20:25] a sequel to the Big Short that has yet to

[1:20:28] So while the details are irrelevant, they

[1:20:34] their own original research.

[1:20:36] The majority of this early ‘seminal DD’

[1:20:41] well after January - many being verifiable

[1:20:46] People who would be writing essays on securities

[1:20:51] trade.

[1:20:52] We know this because the authors will just

[1:20:58] a short summary of why the author shouldn’t

[1:21:02] They will often admit that they barely understand

[1:21:07] have attempted it anyway for the benefit of

[1:21:10] The pitfalls are obvious.

[1:21:13] Like your standard breed of crackpot, Apes

[1:21:18] a big problem.

[1:21:19] They are pursuing their chicken tenders.

[1:21:22] When they skipped the first 3 textbooks on

[1:21:27] Melvin Capital, they skipped over some fundamentals.

[1:21:30] But you won’t find Ken Griffin’s secret

[1:21:35] management.

[1:21:36] Rather than backtrack, Apes forged ahead into

[1:21:41] for “the truth”.

[1:21:43] Like, some of the crap we had to read.

[1:21:46] “Furthermore the lender is being asked to

[1:21:50] the simple pledge, but one which perforce

[1:21:56] property.

[1:21:57] The history of developing new security interests

[1:22:02] might give pause to even that rara avis, the

[1:22:06] When dealing with documents this intense,

[1:22:11] way a layman can deal with it is through decoding

[1:22:16] You pull out a fragment of a lecture or thesis

[1:22:21] the diamond in the rough.

[1:22:23] The rest is interpreted through speculation

[1:22:27] It’s a very unsound way to approach research

[1:22:34] to the class.

[1:22:36] Analogy is a favourite of the Ape Author.

[1:22:38] Analogy in academia is used to bolster the

[1:22:43] to these ideas through the Big Short, analogies

[1:22:47] Essentially using the same language as Margot

[1:22:53] It’s not just lightly-informative entertainment,

[1:22:59] If the rocket is launched without preparation

[1:23:03] While the small explosives are going off and

[1:23:07] have a lot more volatility.

[1:23:08] The powers that be will try to dampen that

[1:23:13] a small ignition could set this bitch off.

[1:23:16] I believe the plan is to do controlled detonations

[1:23:22] off.

[1:23:23] ComputerShare works a bit like a heat lamp,

[1:23:28] for the reader.

[1:23:29] Their thought process is so shamefully reverse

[1:23:33] of the confirmation bias just to guard against

[1:23:38] And it needs to be repeated; an unbelievable

[1:23:41] of clearing and settlement come from random

[1:23:47] Like, even if you presume that material is

[1:23:55] a public comment on an upcoming piece of legislation

[1:24:03] legislation has been introduced.

[1:24:05] That is how you get the Apes frothing over

[1:24:09] They jumped in a time machine from the 2020s

[1:24:14] about naked short selling, which itself was

[1:24:20] subject from the 80s.

[1:24:22] This leaves… gaps.

[1:24:25] The result of all of this is a truly specular

[1:24:30] collective understanding of the thing they

[1:24:36] Despite becoming an increasingly ambitious

[1:24:41] scheme in just a few weeks.

[1:24:43] You just buy GameStop shares and hold until

[1:24:49] you become a gorillionaire.

[1:24:50] Ape DD can only function to reproduce existing

[1:24:57] to new issues.

[1:24:59] Even the papers that look like they’re doing

[1:25:03] It's bad practice to cite a date or price

[1:25:09] are 'soon' and 'infinite'.

[1:25:12] And all of this is regulated by the mechanism

[1:25:16] Some of this may be evoking memories of QAnon,

[1:25:20] is non-trivial, for the most part it is simply

[1:25:26] its ideas are shaped by populism and Reddit’s

[1:25:30] DD that the community approves of is showered

[1:25:36] there’s an incentive, emotional and in some

[1:25:43] Atobitt was a late-arrival to the squeeze,

[1:25:48] of March, and by the 14th he posted his first

[1:25:53] By April 22 he posted the first in a series

[1:25:59] to the point that it was temporarily the top

[1:26:04] And naturally it is almost entirely gawking

[1:26:09] Atobitt was conferred a level of status that

[1:26:14] herself as among the movements most prestigious

[1:26:18] He became something of an influencer, complete

[1:26:23] opus, which tragically we will never get.

[1:26:26] He didn’t acquire this reputation through

[1:26:31] what they wanted.

[1:26:33] For DD to be accepted, it needs to be simple.

[1:26:36] It can be long, but the whole thing needs

[1:26:42] Because the most important thing is that it

[1:26:47] - and no one will read your DD if you don’t

[1:26:54] All of this is enforced through the upvote

[1:26:56] DD that meets the community's criteria gets

[1:27:02] spreads fear, uncertainty, and doubt, is aggressively

[1:27:07] Regardless of the rigour of any individual

[1:27:12] It is the ideal circumstances for critical

[1:27:17] The Apes get to pick and choose what facts

[1:27:23] create mythology.

[1:27:24] This is why the MOASS theory can stand tall

[1:27:29] The actual mechanics are interchangeable.

[1:27:32] Initially they misunderstood how 140% short

[1:27:37] Stock Borrow Program, and while it proved

[1:27:42] a better alternative.

[1:27:43] Even though the stock borrow program is baked

[1:27:48] - they can substitute it with at least half

[1:27:51] The failure of the overvote just proves how

[1:27:56] Each theory is just a stepping stone to the

[1:27:59] They can never be proven wrong if they never

[1:28:04] them.

[1:28:05] Real due diligence is as much an argument

[1:28:09] argument to buy in.

[1:28:11] Good due diligence will argue the worst case

[1:28:16] what if a new product just sucks ass and no

[1:28:21] news or will it fold in half?

[1:28:24] Ape DD exists to keep MOASS alive.

[1:28:28] As time went on, decoding became a more and

[1:28:33] This started innocently enough initially.

[1:28:36] Keith Gill, Ryan Cohen and Michael Burry were

[1:28:42] Whether it was Ryan Cohen’s official statements

[1:28:46] or Gill communicating with Apes through gifs

[1:28:52] but they weren’t substantive.

[1:28:54] There was not a deep meaning to Ryan Cohen

[1:28:59] meme about himself.

[1:29:01] But this normalised the idea that these figures

[1:29:08] And since these guys were never available

[1:29:13] decoding techniques that grew more and more…

[1:29:19] let’s say ambitious.

[1:29:21] “DFV Roaring Kitty tweet Deciphered!!

[1:29:22] 1627 has to do with Naked Shorting Options

[1:29:29] SEC rule 10b-21”

[1:29:31] “Can you explain the connection just so

[1:29:35] “All I am coming up with is a couple of

[1:29:39] “Are we saying this painting is from 1627?

[1:29:42] “This painting is from a Wes Anderson movie.”

[1:29:45] “But the roman numeral on the right side

[1:29:49] “How’s that tied to naked shorting?

[1:29:51] “GME, Rick and Morty.

[1:29:53] How the show might be hinting at us about

[1:29:57] via their own greed.”

[1:29:58] “This is how the 1% sees us.”

[1:30:01] “Candidly I’ve seen no evidence so-called

[1:30:06] But many of you disagree…”

[1:30:08] “I love it.

[1:30:11] Basically saying, “Who am I to say the hedge

[1:30:15] I guess we’ll just pull back the curtain

[1:30:17] “Adam Aron saying there’s no evidence

[1:30:23] Just think about it, when he does pounce,

[1:30:27] Because he’ll have evidence of the exact

[1:30:31] “To a person with @uti$m, words mean something.

[1:30:35] Every word does.

[1:30:37] Every symbol.... every unwritten, suggestive

[1:30:41] We're really good at giving clues and seeing

[1:30:47] We notice patterns and algorithms that normal

[1:30:51] And cryptic language is often our bread and

[1:30:54] Yes, DFV, MJBurry, even Papa Cohen are communicating

[1:31:03] cryptic means.

[1:31:04] And their messages are important.

[1:31:07] Remember...

[1:31:08] every word means something to an @uti$t.”

[1:31:11] No surprise that by June, Keith Gill stopped

[1:31:16] It got to the point where AMC CEO Adam Aron

[1:31:21] “M”, and Apes became fixated on decoding

[1:31:24] Despite Aron’s efforts to dispel the fervour,

[1:31:31] that the M was significant.

[1:31:33] “Yesterday I tweeted an “M” by mistake,

[1:31:38] candid in the denial, and that the M must

[1:31:42] Nope, just a tweeting error.

[1:31:44] But today I am tweeting this, and it does

[1:31:50] “Question for the tin-foils: why did he

[1:31:57] text and "Y"?”

[1:31:58] “I think it’s 11.

[1:32:00] Can’t figure it out.”

[1:32:02] Ryan Cohen, the chairman of the board of GameStop,

[1:32:07] Carl Icahn, the guy Oliver Stone based Gordon

[1:32:12] which immediately cast Icahn as a saviour

[1:32:20] As conspiratorial techniques like this became

[1:32:25] the line between ‘vetted DD’ and ‘speculation’

[1:32:30] Now, the “solid AF DD” was already often

[1:32:36] speculation, but there was a clear shift over

[1:32:40] After the failed shareholder vote, naturally

[1:32:46] All of these exist to answer the same question,

[1:32:52] Why aren’t we seeing the answer we expect

[1:32:56] The answer is almost always that the debt

[1:33:00] previously unknown to Apes.

[1:33:02] Since the Ape understanding of the market

[1:33:06] “wrinkle brain explains short squeeze”,

[1:33:12] So we start to see more and more out-there

[1:33:16] about dark pools, options, ETFs and so on,

[1:33:22] pure thesis based on the naked short conspiracy.

[1:33:25] Maintaining a stable community built entirely

[1:33:30] is tricky.

[1:33:32] To get them through this Apes police sentiment

[1:33:36] Even crypto, a product wholly at the mercy

[1:33:42] than Apes because they are nominally willing

[1:33:48] They’ll spin bad news like the collapse

[1:33:54] pretending that it’s culling out bad actors,

[1:34:00] Since MOASS is basically a fantasy untethered

[1:34:06] to not buy in get longer and longer as time

[1:34:12] and isn’t permissible to talk about also

[1:34:17] MOASS is, when you break it down, market manipulation

[1:34:23] The big, theoretical payout only works if

[1:34:30] everyone involved has both the personal incentive

[1:34:36] and knows that everyone else has that same

[1:34:40] It is a philosophy that demands extremely

[1:34:45] You buy and you hold.

[1:34:47] Discussing exit strategy is derided as “price

[1:34:51] Remember, the gains are not theoretically

[1:34:56] This leads directly to unhinged memes about

[1:35:01] one single share.

[1:35:03] It leads to stories about the post-MOASS world

[1:35:08] shares at all ever, they just live off the

[1:35:14] lives, and for the lives of their children,

[1:35:18] where one, single share confers wife-changing

[1:35:22] Sharp eared listeners may have noticed that

[1:35:26] be asking the logical follow up question “where

[1:35:30] Don’t worry about it.

[1:35:31] In fact, why are you so concerned with what

[1:35:34] Are you just here to spread FUD and undermine

[1:35:37] I’m just an individual investor who likes

[1:35:41] and cash-flow-positive backed by an unprecedented

[1:35:46] their shares in order to combat corruption

[1:35:50] FUD is literally anything that casts any amount

[1:35:55] “I don’t believe that GME will be worth

[1:36:00] doesn’t seem possible.”

[1:36:02] FUD!

[1:36:03] “Why wouldn’t the price peak and then

[1:36:05] FUD!

[1:36:06] “I should probably set an exit threshold

[1:36:10] going to be selling, too, and I don’t want

[1:36:14] FUD!

[1:36:15] “No, but for real, where does the money

[1:36:18] FUD FUD FUD FUD!

[1:36:19] Direct registration mutated extremely quickly

[1:36:24] concrete crimes with objective numbers, a

[1:36:31] a spell that if executed correctly would create

[1:36:38] A specific quirk of the narrative of MOASS,

[1:36:43] war with the short hedge funds, leads to various

[1:36:50] like the belief that anyone who is not on

[1:36:54] opposition.

[1:36:55] The rubberneckers mocking Apes on r/GME_meltdown

[1:37:02] but hired “shills” planted in Ape communities

[1:37:07] them and convince them to sell their shares

[1:37:12] course predicated on the belief that there’s

[1:37:16] on the belief that there’s some truly unfathomable

[1:37:21] et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

[1:37:23] This is a clever word inversion.

[1:37:25] An actual shill is someone who stands off

[1:37:30] hype man.

[1:37:31] They posture as just a random independent

[1:37:36] interest in the thing that they are helping

[1:37:39] A shill wants you to buy something.

[1:37:43] Naturally, SuperStonk and the other derivative

[1:37:47] telling people to buy and promoting the virtue

[1:37:53] Here’s a DD post literally structured for

[1:37:57] The reason the DD posts have so many awards

[1:38:02] the system to shill GME to r/All.

[1:38:06] They’re not coordinating, though.

[1:38:08] They’re all just individual investors coming

[1:38:13] with their Reddit awards.

[1:38:15] In light of the community being 98% shilling

[1:38:20] to re-define the word so that all the shills

[1:38:26] So in Ape circles a “shill” is any unbeliever.

[1:38:32] Predictably this arrangement where anyone

[1:38:36] is a hired shill fosters an air of paranoia

[1:38:41] the idea of, you know, asking very reasonable

[1:38:48] any other investment forum.

[1:38:50] This paranoia extends to policing maintenance

[1:38:55] uncoordinated series of individual decisions.

[1:38:59] “Everyone’s like ‘I wanna make a lot

[1:39:01] And it’s like aye here’s what I found’

[1:39:06] me too yeah me too - and then like we realise

[1:39:11] individually then as a group confirmed and

[1:39:16] to the top and that’s how you get research,

[1:39:24] This both feeds the narrative that their behaviour

[1:39:29] the product of genuine rigour.

[1:39:31] And this has the added bonus of providing

[1:39:36] Now, while it’s true that it’s unlikely

[1:39:41] John Doe defendants- Apes seem aware that

[1:39:46] They are looking to collectively engineer

[1:39:52] get you in trouble if you did it solo, so

[1:39:57] the movement as best they can, and it’s