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Downloaded from
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♪ What happened
to my greenback dollar ♪
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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX
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Stocks. Never in a million years
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did I think I'd be making a film
about the stock market.
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It's certainly
not a documentary.
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That's me, by the way.
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I spend most of my time writing,
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not poetry or anything fancy
but screenplays.
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I fucking love screenplays.
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I've got a twin brother.
That's us.
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He's a musician, mostly.
A damn good one.
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And loves hanging out
with this pug in his dark room.
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Like most millennials,
we grew up in a golden age
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of video games
and action movies,
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which helped as we were to
experience the war on drugs...
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- Just say no.
- ...9/11, war on terror,
The Great Recession,
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insurmountable college debt,
a housing crisis,
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a global pandemic,
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unprecedented credit card debt,
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and all the while
the media bitched at us
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about avocado toast
and entitlement.
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I just want to afford
a house and groceries.
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Fuck me, right?
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So in January 2021,
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- we bought into GameStop.
- We like the Stop.
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You maybe heard a bit on
the news about this crazy thing
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that happened where all these
basement-dwelling neckbeards
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on Reddit decided
to take down some hedge funds.
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- Yeah, that's part of it,
but only part.
- Hey, bro.
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- We just need a little intro.
That's all.
- That's what I'm doing.
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- I'm in the middle of it.
- Okay. Just get
to the point, though.
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I am.
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Let me fucking finish!
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Okay.
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What happened in January of 2021
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was just the tip of the iceberg.
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The whole story is much worse
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and it affects
every single one of you.
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So the movie's called
Apes Together Strong.
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But what is an ape?
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Apes, man, are just regular,
everyday people.
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To me, an ape is someone...
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A person that doesn't go
to a broker to seek advice
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on what they should invest in.
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...someone that has
diamond hands.
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This is a movie.
We're doing all right.
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Uh, you know, the apes
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are a fascinating community.
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So, an ape, essentially,
is just, uh, a retail investor.
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People from all walks
of life, for sure,
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from every part
of the political spectrum.
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They want more transparency
in the market
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and they're really battling for
more of a fair playing field.
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We're not doing
anything malicious.
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We're just trying to get
a fair marketplace.
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This community has formed
on its own using technology
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both to organize itself
and to access markets.
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I definitely think
this is creating
a new breed of investors.
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And it really embodies
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this retail investment ethos.
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You're in charge
of your financial future.
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That is a thing that Wall Street
has never seen before.
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An ape is somebody
that took a bet on themselves.
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"I'm already struggling.
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What do I have to lose?"
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Okay, bro, where do you want
to start?
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Let's start with just
some clean drone footage.
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Yeah, like, floating through a,
a big, expensive city.
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Or just, just
some dude barefoot,
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on a log, in the middle
of nowhere.
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Yeah, that's super artsy
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and, and we have
some piano music going.
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It's definitely a documentary.
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And some guys just staring
at the, the stock market.
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Everyone can conjure up images
of the Great Depression.
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We have this abstract idea
that a bunch of people were poor
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and that the stock market crashed.
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But we're too far removed
to remember
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that much of this was caused
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by the ultra-wealthy gambling
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with other people's money.
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Giant commercial banks
were out of control.
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The Glass-Steagall Act
was a direct response to this.
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The act enforced banks
to only use depositors' money
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in safe investments.
And it worked.
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For nearly 40 years, the US
financial system prospered
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without a single crisis.
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Regulation was protecting
the real economy.
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That is until this guy
came along.
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B-movie actor Ronald Reagan
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- was elected president in 1980.
-"I, Ronald Reagan"...
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And along with the help
from his treasury secretary,
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former Merrill Lynch CEO
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Donald Regan, Reagan proceeded
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to free Wall Street
from the shackles of regulation.
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A year later,
the Garn-St Germain Depository
Institutions Act of 1982...
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That's the short title.
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...deregulated
the mortgage industry,
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allowing banks to provide
adjustable-rate mortgage loans.
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But, of course,
it didn't stop there.
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The Clinton administration,
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with Larry Summers
as his treasury secretary,
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signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act into law,
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gutting the Glass-Steagall Act
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and taking away
the SEC's authority to regulate
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large investment bank holding
companies, like Goldman Sachs,
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Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch,
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Lehman Brothers
and Bear Stearns.
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The next guy
didn't do any better.
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Some of these products
were used irresponsibly.
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Some lenders made loans that
borrowers did not understand,
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especially in
the subprime sector.
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I, uh, was foreclosed on in 2008
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after returning back from Iraq.
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I got a terrible
subprime mortgage.
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Um, I just...
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...really wanted
a place to feel safe.
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But I didn't really know
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that I was a victim
of something that
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millions of other Americans
have been a victim of.
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Major financial institutions
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have teetered
on the edge of collapse
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and some have failed.
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In 2008, the global economy
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was thrown into a recession
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by the unbridled greed
of Wall Street's biggest firms.
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Make no mistake, this crisis
was the direct result
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of decades of deregulation
in our capital markets.
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We've been on a 40-year tear
to dismantle oversight, regulation
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and accountability
in our financial systems.
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All for the pursuit
of abstract wealth
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made off the backs of people
like you and me.
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Only if our government
grows less
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will our economy grow more.
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This ever-growing hydra
of red and blue oligarchs,
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threatens not only
our retirements
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but our flailing democracy.
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This became
all too painfully clear
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as the bottom 99% of us suffered
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through the worst pandemic
in a century
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while the top 1%
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added trillions to their wealth.
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That money didn't come
from nowhere.
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It came from you.
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A Washington State resident
fell ill after returning
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from Wuhan, China,
where the outbreak began.
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Officials now say
more than 400...
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You know, during the pandemic,
I was, uh, really struggling,
for sure.
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I just graduated college
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and was embarking
on this journey of the military,
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which is something
that I never saw for myself
a couple years ago.
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From 2016 to 2020,
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I was serving in the Air Force.
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There is a certain mindset
that you get into
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when you have to carry a gun
with you everywhere
for your own safety.
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And, at all times,
you have to be
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like, having your wits
about you.
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Being in an environment
where you're constantly at war,
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it, uh, gives you
a new perspective on life.
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Right now, at the time
of filming, I'm, like,
30 years old.
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It took me a second to think
about that. I don't know.
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I kind of stopped counting
after 21.
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Um, I want to say
I'm, I'm too outgoing.
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When I-- like I said,
I, I'm more of a homebody.
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Like, I, I work a lot.
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My family comes
from Mexico. Um...
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My dad, he came here
pretty young,
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worked here a couple of years
until, I guess,
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he was able to get,
um, his-- the amnesty
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and become a resident.
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My name's Kat Stryker.
I'm a bartender.
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H-- how would I describe myself?
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Very outgoing.
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I was a troublemaker.
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I went to juvenile hall twice.
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What saved me was my son.
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I was 16 when I got pregnant,
17 when I had him.
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It changed my outlook.
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I needed to change everything
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and focus on raising a human.
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When I started investing,
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I, uh, got into it
eight years ago.
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My adopted dad, he told me
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that I should invest
in my future
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and he told me
to get into stocks.
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So this is the fun part
about this grill.
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This kind of funnels
all the heat into one place.
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Dad passed away when I was four.
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Um, my mom, my grandmother
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and my two brothers
and my sisters
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b-- basically raised me. Um...
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We didn't have much,
but at the same time,
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we were rich with love,
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like my grandmother
used to say.
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So we, uh, we kind of-- we kind
of made do with what we had.
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We are in Baton Rouge
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at the first house
I ever bought.
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My house.
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This would be considered...
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...North Baton Rouge, um,
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it would be, you know,
they would say it's
a high-crime area and all that,
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but I've never experienced
any of that that here.
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My neighbor across the street,
right there,
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I still take her vegetables.
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Cousin, he stays right there.
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She makes the best gumbo
in the world.
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I've watched
all these people pass on
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and their children
take the houses.
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This is just a newer suburb
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than the one
that I used to live in.
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Because at the end of the day,
you are what you are.
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Try to make the best out of it.
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Good afternoon,
you bunch of beautiful
freaking chickens!
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It is your boy Trey
coming back here again.
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00:10:01,166 --> 00:10:02,708
What is up, everybody?
Welcome to TreysTrades.
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We freaking talk fast,
and don't skip class, baby.
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Like a brother of mine said, I'm
not a financial advisor expert.
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So take what I say
with a grain of salt.
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Let's get into the video.
So, today, my friends...
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I grew up in a small town
freaking hillbilly Minnesota.
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Uh, the town was called Bowlus.
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So I was super passionate
about running.
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The thing that I wanted
to do with my life
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was qualify for the Olympic
trials in the marathon.
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When my dad died,
uh, he had a heart attack
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and that's scary for me
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because I have a genetic defect.
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It's a heart shunt. I've got
scar tissue on my, on my heart,
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uh, from lateral infarctions,
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which is a fancy doctor bullshit
for heart attack.
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Uh, so that hits home.
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It, it definitely
hits home. Um...
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For a lot of us,
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the pandemic was terrifying.
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It was isolating...
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00:11:03,125 --> 00:11:04,166
...and difficult.
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00:11:05,375 --> 00:11:07,750
But for the first time
in a long time,
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00:11:08,416 --> 00:11:10,250
working-class people
had a chance
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00:11:10,416 --> 00:11:12,500
to pull their heads
out of the grind
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00:11:13,291 --> 00:11:14,791
and maybe learn something new.
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Like, figuring out
the fucking stock market.
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In April of 2020,
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00:11:29,333 --> 00:11:31,125
every eligible adult
in the US received
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00:11:31,291 --> 00:11:33,333
$1200 in the form
of a stimulus check.
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00:11:34,375 --> 00:11:36,500
This came
as the trading app Robinhood,
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made the market accessible,
simple and cheap
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00:11:39,250 --> 00:11:41,375
for anyone with a cell phone
and cash to burn.
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00:11:41,916 --> 00:11:44,166
Vlad Tenev, who is
the CEO of Robinhood,
250
00:11:44,333 --> 00:11:47,083
that you may have used
to trade stocks
251
00:11:47,250 --> 00:11:49,083
for free, without commissions.
252
00:11:49,250 --> 00:11:52,291
In 2019 to 2021,
Robinhood's user base grew
253
00:11:52,458 --> 00:11:54,875
from ten million to more
than 20 million people...
254
00:11:55,416 --> 00:11:58,041
People have been super
distrustful of Wall Street.
255
00:11:58,583 --> 00:12:00,083
...with working-class folks
looking to cash in
256
00:12:00,250 --> 00:12:02,666
on what felt like
an invincible economy.
257
00:12:02,833 --> 00:12:06,625
It's felt like a rigged system
for them.
258
00:12:07,291 --> 00:12:10,750
Retail investors were primed
to take the market by storm.
259
00:12:10,916 --> 00:12:12,958
The rocket ship was built.
260
00:12:13,125 --> 00:12:15,041
All that needed was fuel.
261
00:12:16,708 --> 00:12:20,875
So, Reddit itself is
this online community
262
00:12:21,041 --> 00:12:23,750
where anybody with computer
access and Internet access
263
00:12:23,916 --> 00:12:26,166
can go on there, make an account
and they can talk.
264
00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:28,583
All of a sudden,
you had a lot of people
with nothing better to do
265
00:12:28,750 --> 00:12:30,500
other than getting
some stimi checks,
266
00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:32,583
you know, looking around
at the-- at the stock market.
267
00:12:32,750 --> 00:12:36,000
I was not one for social media.
268
00:12:36,166 --> 00:12:38,875
I was on Reddit maybe,
like, occasionally, just,
just for the social aspect.
269
00:12:39,041 --> 00:12:40,666
If you love bread,
270
00:12:40,833 --> 00:12:42,250
you can find a community
271
00:12:42,416 --> 00:12:44,416
dedicated to just bread.
272
00:12:44,583 --> 00:12:45,958
I think it's called Reddit.
273
00:12:46,458 --> 00:12:48,416
The pandemic allowed
for a lot of people
274
00:12:48,583 --> 00:12:50,750
to connect with people
like they haven't done before.
275
00:12:50,916 --> 00:12:53,791
I am pretty sure
I found wallstreetbets
276
00:12:53,958 --> 00:12:56,583
in 2018 or 2019.
277
00:12:56,750 --> 00:12:58,875
On one hand, it's kind of,
278
00:12:59,041 --> 00:13:01,541
"Oh, yeah, we love stocks
and we love making money."
279
00:13:01,708 --> 00:13:03,000
But on the other hand,
it's also like,
280
00:13:03,166 --> 00:13:04,833
"Yeah!"
281
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:06,583
I, I found my people.
282
00:13:08,291 --> 00:13:10,416
The gift and the curse
of, of the pandemic
283
00:13:10,583 --> 00:13:15,083
is that it allowed people
to figure out what to do
284
00:13:15,250 --> 00:13:18,208
it, it took away
the, the family outing,
285
00:13:18,375 --> 00:13:20,875
it took away, you know,
the eating out every day.
286
00:13:21,041 --> 00:13:22,791
You had people that had
a couple of extra bucks
287
00:13:22,958 --> 00:13:24,750
and you also had a lot of people
288
00:13:24,916 --> 00:13:26,208
looking at this
all at the same time.
289
00:13:26,375 --> 00:13:28,208
And it was on Reddit,
which was free.
290
00:13:28,375 --> 00:13:31,125
There was an online community,
291
00:13:31,291 --> 00:13:32,833
with this drumbeat,
292
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,041
um, that was so loud.
293
00:13:35,208 --> 00:13:39,916
And one of my friends fatefully
told me about GameStop,
294
00:13:40,083 --> 00:13:42,291
The first thing that resonated
to me about GameStop
295
00:13:42,458 --> 00:13:43,875
was just the David
versus Goliath,
296
00:13:44,041 --> 00:13:47,416
retail investors
versus hedge funds story.
297
00:13:47,583 --> 00:13:51,083
Like, I get this.
People are breaking this down
in ways that I can understand,
298
00:13:51,250 --> 00:13:53,625
and a lot of people were
doing that at the same time.
299
00:13:53,791 --> 00:13:56,541
So I, I bought my table stakes.
I got in--
300
00:13:56,708 --> 00:13:58,458
- Hang on, stop.
- What?
301
00:13:58,625 --> 00:14:00,333
We can't get
into Keith Gill and GameStop
302
00:14:00,500 --> 00:14:03,083
until I've covered
some basic shit first.
303
00:14:03,250 --> 00:14:06,458
Like, short selling
and what are markets for.
Like, that kind of stuff.
304
00:14:06,625 --> 00:14:09,416
Yeah, like everything
that this story involves.
305
00:14:09,583 --> 00:14:11,875
- Okay,
that's fair enough.
- Basic shit.
306
00:14:12,041 --> 00:14:14,125
"By 'basic shit,' we,
the filmmakers mean
all the rudimentary information
307
00:14:14,291 --> 00:14:16,083
about the stock market that we
think you should probably know
308
00:14:16,250 --> 00:14:18,000
before moving on in this story.
After all, these subjects are
309
00:14:18,166 --> 00:14:19,791
intentionally complicated
to get the average person
310
00:14:19,958 --> 00:14:21,416
from understanding enough
to know that the market
311
00:14:21,583 --> 00:14:23,083
is built to profit from
and extract wealth
312
00:14:23,250 --> 00:14:24,291
from your current
and future prosperity.
313
00:14:24,458 --> 00:14:25,375
This is not financial advice,
314
00:14:25,541 --> 00:14:26,333
we are not financial advisors."
315
00:14:28,958 --> 00:14:32,083
My name's Lisa Bragança and I'm
a former SEC Branch Chief.
316
00:14:32,416 --> 00:14:34,625
I handled lots of investigations
317
00:14:34,791 --> 00:14:37,375
and then supervised people
handling investigations
318
00:14:37,541 --> 00:14:40,708
of potential violations
of securities laws.
319
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,208
I'm David Lauer.
320
00:14:42,375 --> 00:14:44,125
Uh, I used to be
a quantitative analyst
321
00:14:44,291 --> 00:14:45,916
at Citadel Investment Group.
322
00:14:46,083 --> 00:14:48,791
Through a long and sort of
convoluted series of events,
323
00:14:48,958 --> 00:14:51,083
I ended up, uh, testifying
before the US Senate
324
00:14:51,250 --> 00:14:53,125
Banking Committee
on high-frequency trading
325
00:14:53,291 --> 00:14:56,208
and I saw that there was
a serious problem
326
00:14:56,375 --> 00:14:58,000
in terms of the access
327
00:14:58,166 --> 00:15:01,208
that the retail investor
has to data and tools
328
00:15:01,375 --> 00:15:03,875
and decided, you know, that
that was something I could fix.
329
00:15:04,041 --> 00:15:05,541
I'm Dennis Kelleher.
I'm the cofounder,
330
00:15:05,708 --> 00:15:07,291
president and CEO
331
00:15:07,458 --> 00:15:09,916
of a nonprofit organization
called Better Markets.
332
00:15:10,083 --> 00:15:13,000
Thank you for the invitation to
Better Markets to testify today.
333
00:15:13,166 --> 00:15:15,958
It is unacceptable
that brokers and others today
334
00:15:16,125 --> 00:15:18,416
are allowed to put
their economic interests
335
00:15:18,583 --> 00:15:20,208
above their client's
best interest.
336
00:15:20,375 --> 00:15:23,333
We have about 15 staff
who promote the public interest
337
00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:28,041
in the financial markets
throughout the policymaking
process in Washington, D.C.
338
00:15:30,083 --> 00:15:32,250
We have a stock market
339
00:15:32,416 --> 00:15:36,291
so that individuals
who want to make something,
340
00:15:36,458 --> 00:15:37,875
want to offer services,
341
00:15:38,041 --> 00:15:39,708
want to create a business,
342
00:15:39,875 --> 00:15:44,041
can raise capital
to fund their growth.
343
00:15:44,875 --> 00:15:48,958
That is the fundamental purpose
of having a stock market.
344
00:15:49,125 --> 00:15:51,583
Capitalism only functions
345
00:15:51,750 --> 00:15:53,458
when you have markets
346
00:15:53,625 --> 00:15:58,250
that can adequately provide
capital and price discovery.
347
00:15:58,416 --> 00:16:00,541
Let's break this down
with an example.
348
00:16:00,708 --> 00:16:02,583
Company A wants
to grow their business.
349
00:16:02,750 --> 00:16:04,416
They need money to do so.
350
00:16:04,583 --> 00:16:06,125
So they go to the stock market
351
00:16:06,291 --> 00:16:08,666
and sell 100 shares
to the general public.
352
00:16:09,125 --> 00:16:10,916
These shares
are called the float.
353
00:16:11,500 --> 00:16:13,708
Individual investors
who want to grow their money
354
00:16:13,875 --> 00:16:15,416
bring it to the stock market,
355
00:16:15,583 --> 00:16:17,708
where they invest in companies
like Company A.
356
00:16:18,666 --> 00:16:20,291
They fight over how much
that company is worth
357
00:16:20,458 --> 00:16:22,083
until the price is discovered.
358
00:16:22,625 --> 00:16:25,000
- This is called price discovery.
359
00:16:25,958 --> 00:16:28,833
At its most basic level,
the price of these shares
360
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,166
is determined by both supply,
or how many there are,
361
00:16:32,333 --> 00:16:35,583
and demand, or how badly
people want them.
362
00:16:38,208 --> 00:16:40,125
Realistically, there won't
always be someone
363
00:16:40,291 --> 00:16:42,291
willing to buy or sell
a share from you
364
00:16:42,458 --> 00:16:44,583
when you want
to buy or sell your shares,
365
00:16:44,750 --> 00:16:47,250
which is why we have
market makers.
366
00:16:47,833 --> 00:16:50,625
A market maker's function
is to provide liquidity.
367
00:16:50,791 --> 00:16:52,333
And liquidity is like
368
00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:56,166
oil in the gears of a machine.
It keeps it moving.
369
00:16:56,333 --> 00:16:58,791
Oftentimes, you have
more buy orders
370
00:16:58,958 --> 00:17:01,666
than you have sell orders
or more sell orders
than you have by orders.
371
00:17:01,833 --> 00:17:04,416
It's rare that you're going
to have it be perfectly equal.
372
00:17:04,583 --> 00:17:06,750
So the market maker is
373
00:17:06,916 --> 00:17:08,875
somebody who, kind of,
stands in the middle,
374
00:17:09,041 --> 00:17:12,500
prepared to be
the other side of a trade
375
00:17:12,666 --> 00:17:16,041
when there isn't somebody
in the marketplace
at that moment.
376
00:17:16,583 --> 00:17:18,791
Let's say you want to buy
a share of GameStop.
377
00:17:18,958 --> 00:17:21,750
You can't just walk
into the stock market
and buy that share.
378
00:17:21,916 --> 00:17:25,416
You have to go through
a licensed broker
like Robinhood.
379
00:17:28,583 --> 00:17:31,208
Retail investors have
never had it this easy.
380
00:17:31,375 --> 00:17:33,375
You can be pretty much anywhere.
381
00:17:33,541 --> 00:17:35,458
Open up your phone,
put in your order
382
00:17:35,625 --> 00:17:36,958
and hit "Buy."
383
00:17:37,125 --> 00:17:38,500
When you hear
the mission of Robinhood,
384
00:17:38,666 --> 00:17:40,375
"To democratize
finance for all,"
385
00:17:40,541 --> 00:17:44,250
it's really about giving access
to everyone
386
00:17:44,416 --> 00:17:46,958
what was once reserved
for the 1%
387
00:17:47,125 --> 00:17:48,500
or the, the very wealthy.
388
00:17:48,666 --> 00:17:51,000
I wanted to play more
of a principal role
389
00:17:51,166 --> 00:17:52,375
in my financial future
390
00:17:52,541 --> 00:17:53,750
and the financial future
of my family.
391
00:17:53,916 --> 00:17:55,916
But what I think
we all have in common
392
00:17:56,083 --> 00:17:57,583
is that is enough.
393
00:17:59,083 --> 00:18:00,250
People are tired.
394
00:18:00,791 --> 00:18:02,333
People are frustrated.
People are angry.
395
00:18:02,500 --> 00:18:05,666
People are, are mad
at just surviving.
396
00:18:06,125 --> 00:18:07,791
And no matter
what class you're in,
397
00:18:07,958 --> 00:18:09,833
if you're lower class,
398
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,750
if you're lower middle class,
if you're upper middle class,
399
00:18:12,916 --> 00:18:14,958
if you're not
in that 1% bracket,
400
00:18:15,125 --> 00:18:16,458
that high tax bracket...
401
00:18:18,333 --> 00:18:20,166
...you're a second away.
402
00:18:21,750 --> 00:18:23,958
You, uh, slip and fall at work
403
00:18:24,666 --> 00:18:26,500
with no medical leave.
404
00:18:27,458 --> 00:18:30,083
Blood pressure medication
needs to be taken every day.
405
00:18:30,791 --> 00:18:33,458
Lights need to be on,
running water needs to be on,
406
00:18:33,625 --> 00:18:34,958
gas needs to be there for a few.
407
00:18:35,541 --> 00:18:36,958
People have come together
408
00:18:37,125 --> 00:18:38,791
and united over so many things
409
00:18:38,958 --> 00:18:40,500
because we're regular people
410
00:18:40,666 --> 00:18:43,083
that deal with traumatic shit
every day.
411
00:18:45,083 --> 00:18:47,500
On one side of the trade,
you got the retail investor
412
00:18:47,666 --> 00:18:49,916
that decided to take
a bet on themselves.
413
00:18:51,125 --> 00:18:52,958
And then on the other side,
you got...
414
00:18:54,166 --> 00:18:55,083
...the rich...
415
00:18:56,166 --> 00:18:59,125
...covering themselves
by laws that said it's legal.
416
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,333
The one thing
you have to know is that,
417
00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:06,458
with every trade,
there's a financial intermediary
418
00:19:06,625 --> 00:19:07,875
making a killing.
419
00:19:08,583 --> 00:19:11,416
And that's coming
out of the pockets
of the retail traders.
420
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,333
Now, most of us think
that when we buy a stock
through our broker...
421
00:19:14,500 --> 00:19:16,666
- ...we're buying it
on the stock exchange.
422
00:19:16,833 --> 00:19:17,916
But the truth is,
423
00:19:18,083 --> 00:19:19,791
almost none of our retail trades
424
00:19:19,958 --> 00:19:21,166
ever see the light of day.
425
00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:22,916
Because our capital markets
426
00:19:23,083 --> 00:19:24,583
have become far more fragmented
427
00:19:24,750 --> 00:19:26,541
and complicated
than they need to be.
428
00:19:27,041 --> 00:19:30,041
We have many places where
stocks can be bought or sold.
429
00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:32,083
These are called venues.
430
00:19:32,250 --> 00:19:34,125
So, venues is
a very generic term
431
00:19:34,291 --> 00:19:36,333
to refer to any kind
of trading venue.
432
00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:40,625
So, any place where a buy order
can find a sell order
433
00:19:40,791 --> 00:19:42,083
and result in a trade.
434
00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:43,625
These include lit markets
435
00:19:43,791 --> 00:19:45,291
like the New York
Stock Exchange,
436
00:19:45,458 --> 00:19:47,458
where you can see everything
that's going on,
437
00:19:47,625 --> 00:19:49,833
or dark pools, where large
institutional orders
438
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:51,333
are executed in secret
439
00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:53,166
so as not to affect
the stock price.
440
00:19:54,208 --> 00:19:57,916
Retail, uh,
executes off-exchange.
441
00:19:58,375 --> 00:20:02,500
Because retail orders are bought
by Citadel and Virtu
442
00:20:02,666 --> 00:20:05,583
and they execute in
their internalization systems.
443
00:20:05,750 --> 00:20:09,291
That's the area that
other countries have outlawed.
444
00:20:09,458 --> 00:20:13,125
Because they understand
that large trades
happening off-exchange
445
00:20:13,291 --> 00:20:15,625
are fine and often,
a good outcome.
446
00:20:15,791 --> 00:20:19,333
Small trades happening
off-exchange are not.
447
00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:21,708
So why aren't
our retail trades executed
448
00:20:21,875 --> 00:20:24,583
on lit exchanges like
the New York Stock Exchange
449
00:20:24,750 --> 00:20:29,375
and instead deep in the halls
of giant firms like Citadel?
450
00:20:30,375 --> 00:20:32,958
Payment for order flow
is a practice
451
00:20:33,125 --> 00:20:35,916
that was, uh, popularized
by Bernie Madoff.
452
00:20:36,083 --> 00:20:38,291
Bernard Madoff
has just been sentenced
453
00:20:38,458 --> 00:20:41,250
for the biggest investment fraud
in Wall Street history.
454
00:20:41,416 --> 00:20:43,250
What he found was that
455
00:20:43,416 --> 00:20:45,000
- as a market maker--
- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Pause it, please.
456
00:20:45,166 --> 00:20:46,458
- Yeah?
457
00:20:46,625 --> 00:20:48,166
Bernie Madoff? Like,
458
00:20:48,333 --> 00:20:50,083
worst financial criminal
in history?
459
00:20:50,250 --> 00:20:52,833
Yeah, that's the guy.
That Bernie Madoff is the one
460
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:54,458
that invented
payment for order flow.
461
00:20:54,625 --> 00:20:56,583
Oh, my God! Dude, that's so bad.
462
00:20:56,750 --> 00:20:58,041
And we're still using that?
463
00:20:58,208 --> 00:21:00,333
Yeah. I mean, it's,
it's a solid scam.
464
00:21:01,166 --> 00:21:03,000
That makes sense.
465
00:21:03,166 --> 00:21:04,458
- You ready?
- Yeah, I guess.
466
00:21:04,625 --> 00:21:05,750
- Moving on?
- Roll it.
467
00:21:06,291 --> 00:21:10,125
So payment for order flow
is a practice that was,
468
00:21:10,291 --> 00:21:12,541
uh, popularized
by Bernie Madoff,
469
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,916
and, um, what he found was that,
470
00:21:17,416 --> 00:21:19,333
as a "market maker,"
471
00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:22,541
he could take order flow
from a broker
472
00:21:22,708 --> 00:21:23,875
and make money off of it.
473
00:21:26,791 --> 00:21:29,083
With payment for order flow,
firms like Citadel,
474
00:21:29,250 --> 00:21:32,791
who claim to be a market maker,
pay Robinhood for the orders
475
00:21:32,958 --> 00:21:35,375
that Robinhood customers,
like you and me, submit.
476
00:21:35,833 --> 00:21:37,958
They fill that order
from their own inventory
477
00:21:38,125 --> 00:21:39,666
and skim a few cents
off the deal,
478
00:21:40,125 --> 00:21:42,333
then deliver your shares.
479
00:21:42,500 --> 00:21:45,625
A broker, a retail broker,
has a duty of best execution.
480
00:21:45,791 --> 00:21:49,333
And that duty of best execution
is to get their client
the best price possible.
481
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,250
Some brokers take that
seriously, and most don't.
482
00:21:53,708 --> 00:21:56,333
These brokers are supposed
to hop from venue to venue,
483
00:21:56,500 --> 00:21:59,250
looking for best execution
on your orders.
484
00:21:59,416 --> 00:22:01,916
But more often than not,
they're just
kicking those orders
485
00:22:02,083 --> 00:22:03,125
to the highest bidder.
486
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,916
And Robinhood was even fined
for prioritizing Citadel
487
00:22:07,083 --> 00:22:10,708
because they were getting paid
over finding you the best deal.
488
00:22:10,875 --> 00:22:13,708
And before Citadel ever got
into the game of market making,
489
00:22:13,875 --> 00:22:15,500
they even torched
payment for order flow
490
00:22:15,666 --> 00:22:17,375
in a 2004 letter to the SEC,
491
00:22:17,541 --> 00:22:20,291
saying that it "distorts
order routing decisions,
492
00:22:20,458 --> 00:22:21,958
is anti-competitive
493
00:22:22,125 --> 00:22:24,500
and creates an obvious
and substantial
494
00:22:24,666 --> 00:22:26,208
conflict of interest."
495
00:22:26,375 --> 00:22:30,791
Somewhere in the neighborhood
of 90% of retail trading
496
00:22:30,958 --> 00:22:33,208
gets executed in dark markets.
497
00:22:33,833 --> 00:22:37,541
Well, of course,
the Robinhoods and Citadels
of the world say,
498
00:22:37,708 --> 00:22:40,666
"Because that's where you get
the best execution
499
00:22:40,833 --> 00:22:42,458
and you get the best price,
500
00:22:42,625 --> 00:22:44,083
whether you're buying
or selling."
501
00:22:44,625 --> 00:22:47,958
Now we at Better Markets,
have a hard time believing that
502
00:22:48,125 --> 00:22:50,458
when we see the billions
and billions of dollars
503
00:22:50,625 --> 00:22:53,916
being pocketed by the Robinhoods
and Citadels of the world.
504
00:22:54,083 --> 00:22:57,416
Because you have
to ask yourself,
"Where's that coming from?"
505
00:22:58,625 --> 00:23:00,625
Only coming from one place.
506
00:23:01,208 --> 00:23:03,333
Retail investors
in the buy side.
507
00:23:03,875 --> 00:23:07,583
To be clear,
Citadel is Robinhood's
biggest customer.
508
00:23:08,041 --> 00:23:09,208
You are the product.
509
00:23:09,375 --> 00:23:11,041
You're sold this fake dream
510
00:23:11,208 --> 00:23:13,041
that when you're either
lower middle class
511
00:23:13,208 --> 00:23:14,666
or you're poor,
that if you work hard
512
00:23:14,833 --> 00:23:16,291
and you invest into the market,
513
00:23:16,458 --> 00:23:17,791
that's basically
your golden ticket
514
00:23:17,958 --> 00:23:20,708
to, you know,
to become successful.
515
00:23:20,875 --> 00:23:24,458
And to be honest,
I think it's basically,
a lot of bullshit. It's a lie.
516
00:23:24,625 --> 00:23:26,833
They just need us,
people like me,
retail investors, you know,
517
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,250
the lower middle class,
the poor people,
to steadily put our money in
518
00:23:30,416 --> 00:23:32,916
thinking that one day we'll
finally get that golden ticket,
519
00:23:33,083 --> 00:23:35,916
that lottery ticket,
you know, to be successful
when, you know, we don't.
520
00:23:36,083 --> 00:23:37,375
They just take--
they take our money
521
00:23:37,541 --> 00:23:38,875
because they know
the tricks and trades
522
00:23:39,041 --> 00:23:40,333
and stuff like that.
523
00:23:40,500 --> 00:23:41,833
And it just--
524
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,250
It gives you a headache. So...
525
00:23:45,833 --> 00:23:47,875
So, my name is Austin Tobitt,
526
00:23:48,041 --> 00:23:50,833
and I got my bachelors
in accounting,
got my masters in accounting,
527
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,833
and then went into more
of the data sciences
528
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,500
and the data analytics
side of things,
529
00:23:55,666 --> 00:23:58,416
um, but always dabbled
in financial shit.
530
00:23:59,291 --> 00:24:02,708
The stock market is the dream
for a lot of people
531
00:24:02,875 --> 00:24:04,541
that come from this old school
532
00:24:04,708 --> 00:24:06,833
or traditional mindset
of, you know,
533
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,666
"If you work hard,
you put your money
in the right place,
534
00:24:09,833 --> 00:24:11,291
you'll be able
to invest in something.
535
00:24:11,458 --> 00:24:12,666
Hopefully, you know,
strike it big.
536
00:24:12,833 --> 00:24:14,125
You could be the next,
537
00:24:14,291 --> 00:24:16,208
uh, big investor
in Apple in the '80s."
538
00:24:16,375 --> 00:24:18,708
Like, if you-- you know, it's,
it's like Forrest Gump, man,
539
00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:20,500
you hit, you hit that home run
540
00:24:20,666 --> 00:24:22,833
and, uh, "We don't have
to worry about money anymore."
541
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,250
A big part of,
542
00:24:24,791 --> 00:24:26,625
um, what we have lost
543
00:24:27,125 --> 00:24:30,333
in modern markets,
where speculation has become
544
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:31,875
90% of trading,
545
00:24:32,041 --> 00:24:35,375
is that markets
are not a casino.
546
00:24:35,541 --> 00:24:37,208
How secure is that investment?
547
00:24:37,375 --> 00:24:38,791
If I look at that
old school mindset
548
00:24:38,958 --> 00:24:40,958
and I say, "Just leave
my money in there..."
549
00:24:41,125 --> 00:24:43,750
I mean, look at 2008, you have
people working for 30 years
550
00:24:43,916 --> 00:24:47,125
trying to put money
into a savings account
or an investment account
551
00:24:47,291 --> 00:24:48,833
and by the time they're
getting ready to retire,
552
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,875
like, one or two years
from retiring, '08 hits.
553
00:24:51,041 --> 00:24:55,000
Wall Street, in itself,
is sort of the poster child
554
00:24:55,166 --> 00:24:56,791
for wealth
and income inequality.
555
00:24:57,333 --> 00:24:59,000
You've got
this enormous industry
556
00:24:59,166 --> 00:25:01,333
of people making money
off of money
557
00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:04,125
and mostly making
rich people richer.
558
00:25:04,291 --> 00:25:06,166
Especially,
the great financial crisis
559
00:25:06,833 --> 00:25:09,541
impacted the average person
560
00:25:09,708 --> 00:25:12,791
far more than it impacted
the average trader
561
00:25:12,958 --> 00:25:14,583
or the average
investment banker.
562
00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:16,500
Uh, they still got
their bonuses.
563
00:25:16,666 --> 00:25:17,750
Their firms were bailed out.
564
00:25:17,916 --> 00:25:19,458
You know, they've continued,
565
00:25:19,625 --> 00:25:21,375
uh, business as usual,
566
00:25:21,541 --> 00:25:23,625
uh, risk taking as usual
567
00:25:23,791 --> 00:25:26,041
and amassing wealth as usual.
568
00:25:26,208 --> 00:25:27,916
And I-- you know, to me,
569
00:25:28,083 --> 00:25:29,875
that's just
a recipe for disaster.
570
00:25:30,041 --> 00:25:32,833
There are two major types
of investors.
571
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,458
There are regular people
and what are known as sort of
institutional investors,
572
00:25:36,625 --> 00:25:39,458
which are considered to be
more sophisticated investors
573
00:25:39,625 --> 00:25:40,791
that do a lot more trading.
574
00:25:40,958 --> 00:25:43,000
Things like mutual funds,
575
00:25:43,166 --> 00:25:45,583
pension funds, hedge funds.
576
00:25:45,750 --> 00:25:47,625
Imagine a room
full of rich people
577
00:25:47,791 --> 00:25:49,583
and they all want
to be a lot richer.
578
00:25:50,125 --> 00:25:53,208
They each put a large amount
in the hands of a hedge fund.
579
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,625
Hedge funds then invest
that money into risky positions,
580
00:25:56,791 --> 00:25:58,708
often using excessive leverage
581
00:25:58,875 --> 00:26:00,166
to exaggerate their gains.
582
00:26:01,583 --> 00:26:03,083
These risky investments
583
00:26:03,250 --> 00:26:04,875
are managed
by rock star investors
584
00:26:05,041 --> 00:26:06,291
such as this guy,
585
00:26:06,916 --> 00:26:08,916
Gabe Plotkin of Melvin Capital.
586
00:26:09,083 --> 00:26:11,333
Now, unfortunately, over time,
587
00:26:11,500 --> 00:26:13,458
our markets, like too much
of our economy,
588
00:26:13,625 --> 00:26:16,166
have become
what's called financialized.
589
00:26:16,333 --> 00:26:21,083
Which is to say they are
obsessively focused
590
00:26:21,250 --> 00:26:24,083
on short-term financial returns.
591
00:26:24,250 --> 00:26:26,625
You can see that
in a variety of ways.
592
00:26:26,791 --> 00:26:28,833
Um, one example
is short selling.
593
00:26:34,875 --> 00:26:37,208
Well, GameStop looks to be
heading down the same path
594
00:26:37,375 --> 00:26:38,833
as Blockbuster and Sam Goody.
595
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:40,166
The retail giant will close
596
00:26:40,333 --> 00:26:42,166
more than 180 stores
across the globe
597
00:26:42,333 --> 00:26:44,791
as they continue to struggle
with sales.
598
00:26:44,958 --> 00:26:47,000
The company said the closures
at underperforming locations
599
00:26:47,166 --> 00:26:49,625
will take place
over a six-month period...
600
00:26:50,166 --> 00:26:52,583
The world's
largest movie theater chain
was already struggling
601
00:26:52,750 --> 00:26:54,833
before the coronavirus
outbreak and--
602
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,375
Uh, we've been the victim
of some short selling,
during the year.
603
00:26:58,541 --> 00:27:01,083
There might have been some game
playing with our stock today.
604
00:27:01,250 --> 00:27:03,791
A short sale is what you do
605
00:27:03,958 --> 00:27:06,541
when you want to bet that
the price of a stock goes down.
606
00:27:06,708 --> 00:27:09,375
So, short selling
is selling something
607
00:27:09,541 --> 00:27:11,416
that you don't own right now.
608
00:27:11,875 --> 00:27:14,625
You buy a stock if you think
the stock is going to go up
609
00:27:14,791 --> 00:27:17,500
and you short a stock
if you think that the stock
is going to go down.
610
00:27:18,125 --> 00:27:20,416
How do you do that?
How do you sell something
you don't own?
611
00:27:21,625 --> 00:27:23,166
There are lots
of people out there
612
00:27:23,333 --> 00:27:25,541
who have stock
and they're just sitting on it.
613
00:27:25,708 --> 00:27:28,458
Could be me,
could be a pension fund.
614
00:27:29,166 --> 00:27:31,291
And a short seller is able
615
00:27:31,458 --> 00:27:35,166
to go and borrow that share
616
00:27:35,750 --> 00:27:38,375
and now sell it to someone else,
617
00:27:38,541 --> 00:27:41,166
expecting the price will go down
618
00:27:41,333 --> 00:27:43,583
and the short seller
gets to pocket the difference.
619
00:27:43,750 --> 00:27:45,666
The price of a stock
620
00:27:45,833 --> 00:27:49,208
can go down only a certain
amount before it hits zero.
621
00:27:50,250 --> 00:27:52,375
The price of a stock can go up
622
00:27:53,041 --> 00:27:54,166
an infinite amount,
623
00:27:54,833 --> 00:27:58,250
causing the short seller
potentially infinite losses.
624
00:28:00,083 --> 00:28:01,500
I know we just
explained short selling
625
00:28:01,666 --> 00:28:03,125
a couple of different times,
626
00:28:03,291 --> 00:28:04,833
but I really think
we need a visual.
627
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000
Didn't Tobitt
have a good example?
628
00:28:07,166 --> 00:28:08,208
He did.
629
00:28:08,875 --> 00:28:10,083
Why don't we just dress you up
like a short seller
630
00:28:10,250 --> 00:28:11,583
- and go shoot it?
- Okay.
631
00:28:11,750 --> 00:28:13,291
This example goes like this.
632
00:28:14,208 --> 00:28:15,916
I'm going to travel
to my neighbor's house,
633
00:28:16,083 --> 00:28:17,250
and I'm going to say, "Hey,
634
00:28:17,416 --> 00:28:18,708
I want to borrow
that five-pound bag
635
00:28:18,875 --> 00:28:20,458
of sugar from you, okay?"
636
00:28:20,625 --> 00:28:22,833
Let's say the price
of this sugar is $10.
637
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,041
So my neighbor says,
"Sure, I've got a bag of sugar.
I'll give it to you."
638
00:28:26,208 --> 00:28:28,250
I say, "Thank you.
I will pay you back."
639
00:28:28,708 --> 00:28:30,833
So as soon as I borrow
that bag of sugar,
640
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,125
I'm gonna say "Thank you"
to my neighbor,
and I'm going to turn around
641
00:28:33,291 --> 00:28:36,041
and go to the market,
and I'm going to sell
that bag of sugar for $10.
642
00:28:36,541 --> 00:28:38,416
And as the price of sugar
goes down--
643
00:28:38,583 --> 00:28:40,708
because I believed the price
of sugar was going to go down.
644
00:28:40,875 --> 00:28:44,708
So as it goes down
and it gets to the seven,
the five, the four,
645
00:28:44,875 --> 00:28:46,750
whenever it hits a price
where I believe,
646
00:28:46,916 --> 00:28:48,541
"That's probably
the rock bottom.
647
00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:50,416
I believe that's
the bottom-out price of sugar."
648
00:28:50,583 --> 00:28:51,750
Let's say it's $5.
649
00:28:52,291 --> 00:28:53,833
I'm going to go back
into the market--
650
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,625
Remember, I sold it
initially for ten.
651
00:28:55,791 --> 00:28:57,250
So I'm going to go back
into the market,
652
00:28:57,416 --> 00:28:58,666
I'm going to buy that same bag,
653
00:28:58,833 --> 00:29:00,708
that five-pound
bag of sugar, for $5
654
00:29:01,250 --> 00:29:03,416
and I'm going to bring it back
to the neighbor
that I borrowed it from.
655
00:29:03,958 --> 00:29:06,000
So the neighbor gets their
five-pound bag of sugar back,
656
00:29:06,166 --> 00:29:07,833
I pocket $5...
657
00:29:08,375 --> 00:29:10,083
Because it only cost me
five to buy it back.
658
00:29:10,250 --> 00:29:12,958
...and everything is the same.
Nobody knows any different.
659
00:29:13,125 --> 00:29:15,625
Now, the opposite
is also true there.
660
00:29:15,791 --> 00:29:17,041
Because, what if I'm wrong?
661
00:29:17,625 --> 00:29:20,500
What if the price of sugar
goes from $10 to $20
662
00:29:20,666 --> 00:29:22,833
and my neighbor says,
"Hey, sugar is getting
pretty expensive
663
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:24,916
and I want my bag back"?
Well, too bad.
664
00:29:25,083 --> 00:29:26,916
You've got to go
into the market,
665
00:29:27,458 --> 00:29:29,250
be accountable for your bad bet
666
00:29:29,416 --> 00:29:32,125
and buy sugar
at a more expensive price.
667
00:29:32,291 --> 00:29:33,750
And that's why, when they say,
668
00:29:33,916 --> 00:29:36,583
"S-- short selling has
an unlimited loss,"
669
00:29:36,750 --> 00:29:38,083
they mean it's
an unlimited loss.
670
00:29:40,250 --> 00:29:42,833
I can talk about the various
type of short sellers
671
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,041
and what I used to do,
uh, professionally.
672
00:29:46,208 --> 00:29:49,541
And short sellers are often,
uh, on the lookout
673
00:29:49,708 --> 00:29:52,208
for companies
that are engaged in fraud,
674
00:29:52,375 --> 00:29:54,958
where they're actually,
uh, making false statements
675
00:29:55,125 --> 00:29:57,166
about their financials,
their prospects,
676
00:29:57,333 --> 00:29:59,083
their competitors,
their products.
677
00:29:59,250 --> 00:30:00,791
And one of the best
examples of that
678
00:30:00,958 --> 00:30:02,750
that many people know is Enron.
679
00:30:02,916 --> 00:30:05,500
It may be perceived by some
that I have something to hide.
680
00:30:06,083 --> 00:30:08,291
Uh, my most recent short
in that area
681
00:30:08,458 --> 00:30:10,083
is a company called Mymetics.
682
00:30:10,833 --> 00:30:14,000
I exposed the CEO
for ripping off the VA,
683
00:30:14,166 --> 00:30:17,041
for making up numbers,
cooking the books.
684
00:30:17,208 --> 00:30:18,750
- So, so,
so you're saying if,
685
00:30:18,916 --> 00:30:20,708
if you put out
a false press release,
686
00:30:20,875 --> 00:30:23,125
you can be fined and go to jail.
Is that what you're gonna say?
687
00:30:23,291 --> 00:30:25,500
That's what the-- that's what
the laws and regulations are.
688
00:30:25,666 --> 00:30:27,875
You no-good,
rat bastard motherfuckers.
689
00:30:28,041 --> 00:30:29,458
That's a good public service.
690
00:30:29,625 --> 00:30:30,750
Now, they weren't doing it
691
00:30:30,916 --> 00:30:32,333
just to be good public servants.
692
00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:35,875
They had massive short positions
in the stock.
693
00:30:36,041 --> 00:30:39,458
There is no better feeling
than getting something right
694
00:30:39,625 --> 00:30:41,500
and, in my mind,
for the right reason.
695
00:30:42,250 --> 00:30:44,291
All short sellers claim
they do nothing
696
00:30:44,458 --> 00:30:46,041
but great public services
697
00:30:46,208 --> 00:30:48,708
by making sure
all stocks are efficient
698
00:30:48,875 --> 00:30:50,916
and hunting for fraud
at all times.
699
00:30:51,458 --> 00:30:53,541
That's not true, okay?
700
00:30:53,708 --> 00:30:55,250
A whole bunches of them
are engaged
701
00:30:55,416 --> 00:30:59,541
in predatory, antisocial,
if not illegal, conduct.
702
00:30:59,708 --> 00:31:01,041
When a, a small percentage
703
00:31:01,208 --> 00:31:03,750
of the float of a company
is short,
704
00:31:03,916 --> 00:31:05,083
it can be healthy.
705
00:31:05,250 --> 00:31:06,333
You want...
706
00:31:07,416 --> 00:31:08,916
...disagreement in markets.
707
00:31:09,083 --> 00:31:11,083
That, that is the essence
of markets,
708
00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:12,833
is people disagree
709
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,500
and they are putting their money
where their mouth is.
710
00:31:15,666 --> 00:31:19,125
One person thinks a company is
worth more than another person.
711
00:31:19,291 --> 00:31:23,291
And the, the market
is this attempt by the crowd
712
00:31:23,458 --> 00:31:26,291
to come up with
what something is worth.
713
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,500
All right. Basics covered.
714
00:31:32,666 --> 00:31:34,416
We know that markets
are supposed to be a place
715
00:31:34,583 --> 00:31:36,583
where people go to raise money
for their businesses,
716
00:31:36,750 --> 00:31:39,666
where others argue over
what that business is worth.
717
00:31:40,166 --> 00:31:43,125
You have to go through a broker
like Robinhood to buy stocks.
718
00:31:43,875 --> 00:31:46,708
You can bet on the success
of a company by going long.
719
00:31:47,625 --> 00:31:50,375
You can bet on the decline
of a company by going short.
720
00:31:51,041 --> 00:31:52,708
And a hedge fund
is a group of rich assholes
721
00:31:52,875 --> 00:31:54,625
wanting to gamble
with other people's money.
722
00:32:02,333 --> 00:32:04,416
There were a group
of investors on Reddit
723
00:32:04,583 --> 00:32:06,916
who were driven by a couple
of different motivations.
724
00:32:07,083 --> 00:32:09,666
But when you said GameStop
was going to be a big winner,
725
00:32:09,833 --> 00:32:12,166
everyone thought
you were tripping. Up 13 %.
726
00:32:12,333 --> 00:32:14,208
- You still like it?
- I still like it. Yes.
727
00:32:14,375 --> 00:32:16,375
- Same store sales
over the holidays were up ten--
- What store?
728
00:32:16,541 --> 00:32:18,708
- It seems like
they closed them all.
- No, no, there's, there's some--
729
00:32:18,875 --> 00:32:22,583
A lot of people thought it was,
sort of, an obvious company
where, you know,
730
00:32:23,333 --> 00:32:25,750
maybe it doesn't necessarily
have that great of a future,
731
00:32:25,916 --> 00:32:28,458
given sort of the, the downfall
of retail and all of that.
732
00:32:28,625 --> 00:32:31,500
Keith Gill was kind of
the first guy on Reddit
to blow this all up.
733
00:32:31,666 --> 00:32:33,666
He's the one who presented
the bull case,
734
00:32:33,833 --> 00:32:36,833
made his thesis
out on wallstreetbets.
735
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,833
For a long time,
he ate some shit.
736
00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:41,250
Game begin.
737
00:32:44,041 --> 00:32:46,250
This is going to be the first
video of the Kitty Corner.
738
00:32:46,416 --> 00:32:48,750
And the market has kind of
forced my hand on this one.
739
00:32:48,916 --> 00:32:50,875
The first stock that I'm gonna
talk about is GameStop.
740
00:32:51,416 --> 00:32:54,375
Keith Gill, known on YouTube
and Twitter as Roaring Kitty
741
00:32:54,541 --> 00:32:56,625
and on Reddit
as DeepFuckingValue,
742
00:32:56,791 --> 00:33:00,208
sought GameStop or GME as
a wildly undervalued company.
743
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,208
Yeah, I think everyone else
is crazy...
and I think I'm right.
744
00:33:03,375 --> 00:33:05,166
But I've been wrong
plenty of times in the past.
745
00:33:05,333 --> 00:33:06,833
There was nothing overcomplicated
746
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,500
about his strategy.
747
00:33:08,666 --> 00:33:10,625
Based on publicly
available information,
748
00:33:10,791 --> 00:33:12,708
he came to the conclusion
that GameStop
749
00:33:12,875 --> 00:33:15,458
was worth more than
the price it was trading at.
750
00:33:16,125 --> 00:33:19,875
So this is some of
the heaviest negative sentiment
I've, I've seen,
751
00:33:20,041 --> 00:33:22,166
uh, with a stock. "I haven't
shopped there in years.
752
00:33:22,333 --> 00:33:23,750
All my friends haven't shopped
there in years.
753
00:33:23,916 --> 00:33:25,708
You download everything.
Digital's the future,
754
00:33:25,875 --> 00:33:27,583
GameStop's
the next Blockbuster."
That's a popular one.
755
00:33:27,750 --> 00:33:29,916
It just reminds me
of Blockbuster.
756
00:33:30,083 --> 00:33:31,416
In a sea of crassness
757
00:33:31,583 --> 00:33:33,291
and debauchery
on wallstreetbets,
758
00:33:33,458 --> 00:33:35,500
Keith Gill was a good-natured
breath of fresh air.
759
00:33:35,666 --> 00:33:38,791
Happy St. Patrick's Day
to everybody
760
00:33:38,958 --> 00:33:42,125
and a deep fucking cheers
to all y'all.
761
00:33:42,666 --> 00:33:44,208
- He not only
knew his shit...
- Look at this.
762
00:33:44,375 --> 00:33:46,416
...but was supremely confident
in his playing.
763
00:33:46,583 --> 00:33:48,458
So confident that on Sunday,
764
00:33:48,625 --> 00:33:51,500
September 8th, 2019,
at 1:12 p.m.,
765
00:33:51,666 --> 00:33:53,958
he posted his first YOLO post,
766
00:33:54,125 --> 00:33:58,125
revealing a $53,000 bet
that GameStop's stock price
767
00:33:58,291 --> 00:34:00,083
would shoot to the moon.
768
00:34:00,625 --> 00:34:02,333
Shorting, where you're betting
769
00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:04,875
that the-- that the price
of a stock is gonna go down,
770
00:34:05,041 --> 00:34:08,416
is sort of viewed,
uh, poorly by people.
771
00:34:08,583 --> 00:34:11,833
And the reason
is that it can be viewed
as sort of a predatory tactic.
772
00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,333
Because there are investors
who will short a stock
773
00:34:14,500 --> 00:34:16,916
and then they'll
sort of purposely try
and tank the stock.
774
00:34:17,083 --> 00:34:18,916
In 2016, Melvin Capital
775
00:34:19,083 --> 00:34:21,500
revealed its first
short position in GameStop,
776
00:34:21,666 --> 00:34:23,083
beginning a years-long campaign
777
00:34:23,250 --> 00:34:25,500
to profit from
the company's demise.
778
00:34:25,666 --> 00:34:28,125
Unfortunately, nowadays,
779
00:34:28,291 --> 00:34:30,791
there appears to be more
bad guys than good guys
780
00:34:30,958 --> 00:34:32,541
and they're just trying to grab
781
00:34:32,708 --> 00:34:34,750
as much money
as fast as possible.
782
00:34:34,916 --> 00:34:37,416
"Consequences be damned"
is the attitude.
783
00:34:37,583 --> 00:34:39,083
As you start
to learn more about it
784
00:34:39,250 --> 00:34:41,208
and the bigger picture
that's going on
785
00:34:41,375 --> 00:34:43,166
with short selling,
you start to realize
786
00:34:43,333 --> 00:34:46,791
that it's really become
more profitable
787
00:34:46,958 --> 00:34:49,958
for these companies
or these hedge funds
like Melvin Capital,
788
00:34:50,125 --> 00:34:51,875
to bankrupt a company,
789
00:34:52,041 --> 00:34:54,458
than it is to bet
in terms of, like,
790
00:34:54,625 --> 00:34:56,208
the longevity of the company.
791
00:34:57,375 --> 00:34:58,250
Was it--
792
00:34:58,708 --> 00:34:59,958
I don't think...
793
00:35:01,333 --> 00:35:02,708
...that really goes on.
794
00:35:03,166 --> 00:35:05,958
I don't think Melvin was trying
795
00:35:06,125 --> 00:35:08,041
to push GameStop
out of business.
796
00:35:08,208 --> 00:35:10,125
From what I understand,
797
00:35:10,291 --> 00:35:12,333
the fellow actually
does his research
798
00:35:12,500 --> 00:35:14,791
and he was shorting GameStop
for a long time.
799
00:35:15,333 --> 00:35:17,958
And I think he had
a successful trade
800
00:35:18,125 --> 00:35:21,416
because he views it
as a dying business
801
00:35:21,583 --> 00:35:23,916
and he was shorted
and he was successful.
802
00:35:25,083 --> 00:35:29,666
But at that point, I think
arrogance got the best of him
803
00:35:30,541 --> 00:35:32,375
along with some form of greed
804
00:35:32,541 --> 00:35:34,791
and he should have
just covered and gone home.
805
00:35:35,416 --> 00:35:38,583
He didn't need
to destroy the company
at the end of the day
806
00:35:38,750 --> 00:35:41,458
'cause GameStop harmed nobody.
807
00:35:41,625 --> 00:35:44,041
Short sellers ramped up
their bearish bets
808
00:35:44,208 --> 00:35:45,958
by targeting not only GameStop,
809
00:35:46,125 --> 00:35:49,333
but other struggling companies
like Nokia, BlackBerry,
810
00:35:49,500 --> 00:35:52,041
Bed Bath Beyond
and AMC Theaters.
811
00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:56,500
These are tough times for
everybody where our minds
are very much on our customers.
812
00:35:57,291 --> 00:36:00,250
A million a day or-- can't go
to the movie theaters right now,
813
00:36:00,416 --> 00:36:03,250
and our 27,000
American employees
814
00:36:03,416 --> 00:36:06,833
uh, who have nothing to do
'cause we are shuttered
and closed.
815
00:36:07,375 --> 00:36:10,625
AMC, back in January,
maybe even a year before that,
816
00:36:10,791 --> 00:36:14,208
there was a good thesis
for the company going bankrupt.
817
00:36:14,375 --> 00:36:16,458
And if you want to bet
on a company going bankrupt,
818
00:36:16,625 --> 00:36:20,791
as long as your intent
is not to bankrupt the company,
do as you please.
819
00:36:20,958 --> 00:36:22,958
I wouldn't do it.
I wouldn't like to bet
against the economy.
820
00:36:23,125 --> 00:36:25,291
That's not my thing.
But if you're trying
to make money
821
00:36:25,458 --> 00:36:27,916
purely from a money standpoint,
whatever, I get it.
822
00:36:28,083 --> 00:36:31,333
But the problem is
that they intended
for the company to go bankrupt.
823
00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:33,416
They wanted the company
to go bankrupt.
824
00:36:33,583 --> 00:36:35,375
See, short selling
has an added bonus.
825
00:36:35,541 --> 00:36:37,500
If a trader has
a short position in a company,
826
00:36:38,333 --> 00:36:42,125
and that company goes bankrupt,
the short seller
doesn't have to buy back
827
00:36:42,291 --> 00:36:44,375
and return the shares
that they borrowed.
828
00:36:44,541 --> 00:36:47,291
To me, I felt
that the entire reason
829
00:36:47,458 --> 00:36:48,958
for investing in the markets
830
00:36:49,125 --> 00:36:51,666
was because we wanted
to invest in companies.
831
00:36:51,833 --> 00:36:53,333
We wanted to invest in growth.
832
00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:56,208
Let's change things
for the better.
833
00:36:56,375 --> 00:36:58,041
Let's innovate, let's create,
834
00:36:58,208 --> 00:37:00,500
let's do something different
that nobody else has done.
835
00:37:00,666 --> 00:37:03,333
For the market to be
836
00:37:03,500 --> 00:37:06,708
basically hounded
by the short sellers,
837
00:37:06,875 --> 00:37:09,375
who are fighting
against this innovation,
838
00:37:09,541 --> 00:37:11,833
who are putting up
barriers for us
839
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,333
and including stuff
like cancer research,
840
00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:16,250
that, to me, me just screams
841
00:37:16,416 --> 00:37:18,416
that these guys
are very out of touch.
842
00:37:18,583 --> 00:37:20,208
Very out of touch.
843
00:37:20,375 --> 00:37:21,625
My name is Keith Clohessy.
844
00:37:21,791 --> 00:37:23,750
I'm 35 years old, from Ireland
845
00:37:23,916 --> 00:37:27,291
and I got invested in GME
846
00:37:27,458 --> 00:37:30,416
because of some Reddit post
I had read.
847
00:37:30,875 --> 00:37:33,833
Um, I have three small children,
848
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:37,333
um, and the whole reason
I want to be involved
849
00:37:37,500 --> 00:37:41,000
is because I want to make
a better life for them,
850
00:37:41,166 --> 00:37:43,666
uh, make things a lot more
comfortable and easy.
851
00:37:43,833 --> 00:37:48,125
Uh, I've had a little bit
of a hard going
852
00:37:48,291 --> 00:37:50,333
over the last couple of years,
853
00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:55,041
but, um, hopefully,
once GME moons, we will...
854
00:37:56,333 --> 00:37:59,166
...be able to build
our own house, um,
855
00:37:59,333 --> 00:38:01,625
and basically get all the things
856
00:38:01,791 --> 00:38:04,000
that we haven't been able
to afford up until this point.
857
00:38:04,708 --> 00:38:07,083
Melvin Capital continued
to short GameStop.
858
00:38:07,250 --> 00:38:09,291
Breaking in massive gains
on put options
859
00:38:09,458 --> 00:38:11,166
disclosed quarter after quarter.
860
00:38:13,083 --> 00:38:14,833
For a long time, though,
861
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,875
with the advent of the Internet
862
00:38:17,041 --> 00:38:19,291
and with changing
technologies, uh,
863
00:38:19,458 --> 00:38:21,833
GameStop,
during the early 2010s,
864
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:24,000
had a really difficult time
865
00:38:24,166 --> 00:38:27,333
adjusting and adapting to
the changing market conditions
866
00:38:27,500 --> 00:38:28,666
that technology had brought in.
867
00:38:28,833 --> 00:38:30,208
This is when the short sellers
868
00:38:30,375 --> 00:38:32,750
had kind of clumped
into everything
869
00:38:32,916 --> 00:38:36,458
and slowly just started
shorting them into oblivion.
870
00:38:37,083 --> 00:38:39,625
But not everyone shared
his bearish view on the company.
871
00:38:40,166 --> 00:38:42,000
Dr. Michael Burry,
played by Christian Bale
872
00:38:42,166 --> 00:38:43,916
in Adam McKay's film
The Big Short,
873
00:38:44,083 --> 00:38:46,125
took a $6.8 million stake
in the company
874
00:38:46,291 --> 00:38:47,625
in late 2018.
875
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:51,083
By August of that year,
he wrote a strongly
worded letter
876
00:38:51,250 --> 00:38:54,500
to GameStop's board criticizing
their lackluster performance
877
00:38:54,666 --> 00:38:57,375
and taking advantage
of GameStop's elite position
878
00:38:57,541 --> 00:38:58,708
in the gaming universe.
879
00:39:02,958 --> 00:39:05,375
Keith Gill continued
to post updates on his YOLO,
880
00:39:05,541 --> 00:39:08,458
revealing incremental gains
that brought disbelief
and criticism
881
00:39:08,625 --> 00:39:10,458
among his fellow
wallstreetbets degenerates.
882
00:39:11,458 --> 00:39:13,375
Then, in August of 2020,
883
00:39:13,541 --> 00:39:16,791
as Gill's net worth
popped over $600,000,
884
00:39:16,958 --> 00:39:20,000
a savvy young entrepreneur
and billionaire, Ryan Cohen,
885
00:39:20,166 --> 00:39:22,458
revealed his own long position
in GameStop.
886
00:39:23,375 --> 00:39:25,958
He bought 5.8 million shares
of GME,
887
00:39:26,125 --> 00:39:29,750
totaling at $33.9 million.
888
00:39:30,416 --> 00:39:32,416
But this was no ordinary buy-in.
889
00:39:32,958 --> 00:39:35,875
Ryan Cohen, a tech-savvy,
fresh-faced millennial
890
00:39:36,041 --> 00:39:40,541
had just beaten Amazon
with his wildly successful
online pet company, Chewy.
891
00:39:40,708 --> 00:39:42,958
Chewy, say hi to your friends!
892
00:39:43,125 --> 00:39:44,250
Hi, Stela.
893
00:39:44,875 --> 00:39:46,333
He was exactly what GameStop
894
00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:48,250
needed and he knew it.
895
00:39:49,083 --> 00:39:51,250
I'm 33 and, uh,
I've, I've learned
896
00:39:51,416 --> 00:39:53,250
- retirement sucks and so...
897
00:39:53,416 --> 00:39:55,833
...you know, maybe I'll start
another business. Who knows?
898
00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,166
Like Dr. Burry before him,
Cohen warned the GameStop board
899
00:39:59,333 --> 00:40:00,708
to get its shit together
900
00:40:00,875 --> 00:40:02,750
or go the way of the dinosaurs.
901
00:40:02,916 --> 00:40:05,208
Oh, this is big news.
We, like, legit--
902
00:40:05,375 --> 00:40:07,250
So I, I just got the news.
I was out and about.
903
00:40:07,416 --> 00:40:09,000
I was on a walk
with my, with my daughter.
904
00:40:09,166 --> 00:40:11,041
I just-- legit-- the first time
I've sat at the computer
905
00:40:11,208 --> 00:40:13,250
since I got this news.
So let's actually
look at the 13th day.
906
00:40:13,416 --> 00:40:14,541
It could get people's attention.
907
00:40:14,708 --> 00:40:15,750
It's like he's building
the stake
908
00:40:15,916 --> 00:40:18,041
in his individual capacity.
909
00:40:18,208 --> 00:40:20,625
What's this?
H-- how did he-- what's this?
910
00:40:23,333 --> 00:40:25,250
Eight-- okay, so actually,
it's a good chunk of volume.
911
00:40:25,416 --> 00:40:27,166
August 18th-- almost 800K.
912
00:40:27,333 --> 00:40:29,958
The governor of growth ha--
has always been free cash flow.
913
00:40:30,125 --> 00:40:32,166
So we've always been
very disciplined about that.
914
00:40:32,333 --> 00:40:33,750
You know, the strategy
from the beginning,
915
00:40:33,916 --> 00:40:35,333
is really replicating
the experience
916
00:40:35,500 --> 00:40:37,083
I had in the neighborhood
pet store.
917
00:40:37,250 --> 00:40:38,916
But doing it online
and doing it at scale.
918
00:40:39,083 --> 00:40:40,708
And so, you know,
doing those small things
919
00:40:40,875 --> 00:40:42,875
like the handwritten
holiday cards and the flowers--
920
00:40:43,041 --> 00:40:45,375
That's it. That's uh,
I th-- I think it's just funny
921
00:40:45,541 --> 00:40:48,416
that, uh, I didn't know
that much about him.
922
00:40:48,583 --> 00:40:49,791
And now I'm like,
"Oh, this is a perfect fit
923
00:40:49,958 --> 00:40:52,625
for GameStop, right?"
924
00:40:52,791 --> 00:40:54,916
While Keith Gill was
slowly becoming a millionaire,
925
00:40:55,083 --> 00:40:56,750
a revolution was brewing.
926
00:40:56,916 --> 00:40:59,375
Hordes of isolated
retail investors
927
00:40:59,541 --> 00:41:01,458
were ditching traditional
financial media
928
00:41:01,625 --> 00:41:03,250
and returning to each other
929
00:41:03,416 --> 00:41:06,375
on platforms like Reddit,
Twitter and YouTube.
930
00:41:09,416 --> 00:41:10,583
And go.
931
00:41:11,291 --> 00:41:14,458
My name is Matt Kohrs and I'm
a YouTube stock commentator.
932
00:41:14,625 --> 00:41:17,000
I could see the midday session
933
00:41:17,166 --> 00:41:19,375
being more of just
like a sideway consolidation.
934
00:41:19,541 --> 00:41:21,958
I think a lot of people
are waiting
935
00:41:22,125 --> 00:41:24,375
to hear comments from Adam Aron
936
00:41:24,541 --> 00:41:26,958
and to figure out
what is going on
937
00:41:27,125 --> 00:41:28,750
with the at-the-market offering.
938
00:41:28,916 --> 00:41:30,791
I, I am not, uh, professionally
939
00:41:30,958 --> 00:41:32,875
or even collegiately taught
in the market.
940
00:41:33,041 --> 00:41:35,291
It-- this is for me,
reading books, watching videos,
941
00:41:35,458 --> 00:41:37,166
the people I'm trying to help
are people who are
942
00:41:37,333 --> 00:41:38,958
trying to make their life
better through the market
943
00:41:39,125 --> 00:41:40,916
and they're trying
to look for that information.
944
00:41:41,083 --> 00:41:43,625
And some of the times, it's not
the easiest thing to track down.
945
00:41:43,791 --> 00:41:47,875
I think what you really watched
happen over the last year,
946
00:41:48,041 --> 00:41:50,791
especially, with COVID
and quarantine, is education.
947
00:41:50,958 --> 00:41:52,583
Uh, I think high school
and college
948
00:41:52,750 --> 00:41:54,375
really failed a lot of people
949
00:41:54,541 --> 00:41:55,875
I was never taught
about finance.
950
00:41:56,041 --> 00:41:57,500
I was never taught
how to do my taxes.
951
00:41:57,666 --> 00:41:59,666
I was never taught
how to invest. I was told,
952
00:41:59,833 --> 00:42:01,916
"Give your money to this guy
and fuck whatever you think."
953
00:42:02,083 --> 00:42:04,375
They just tell you,
"Invest your money
and, you know, be smart."
954
00:42:04,541 --> 00:42:05,708
But how? Like...
955
00:42:06,666 --> 00:42:07,875
...I personally learned this
on my own.
956
00:42:08,041 --> 00:42:10,125
I learned it
by, by being educated
957
00:42:10,291 --> 00:42:11,791
through social media,
not through the news.
958
00:42:11,958 --> 00:42:13,958
Not through my teachers,
not, not through big money,
959
00:42:14,125 --> 00:42:16,541
not through the one percenters.
They didn't teach me.
960
00:42:16,708 --> 00:42:18,791
And I'm sure they wouldn't
have cared if I'd learn or not.
961
00:42:21,583 --> 00:42:24,708
All right, so this is the,
uh, the jerry-rig.
962
00:42:24,875 --> 00:42:27,041
I use, uh, I use
a very simple setup,
963
00:42:27,208 --> 00:42:28,875
so I've just got,
like, a dual monitor,
964
00:42:29,041 --> 00:42:32,583
sort of, uh, you know, s--
computer screen thing right here
965
00:42:32,750 --> 00:42:35,083
and I use my Elgato mic,
which, actually,
isn't plugged in right now.
966
00:42:35,250 --> 00:42:37,500
But we're gonna, we're gonna
pretend it is...
967
00:42:37,666 --> 00:42:41,250
...as well as just a, a standard
iBUYPOWER, uh, gaming computer.
968
00:42:41,416 --> 00:42:44,125
I use this just for,
uh, you know, streaming.
It's, it's nice.
969
00:42:44,625 --> 00:42:46,375
And people get to watch
all the shenanigans
970
00:42:46,541 --> 00:42:48,333
and, uh...
and have fun,
971
00:42:48,500 --> 00:42:50,041
You know, like, we,
like, we like to do.
972
00:42:50,208 --> 00:42:51,875
If I'm not streaming,
it's the same sort of thing.
973
00:42:52,041 --> 00:42:53,750
I pull up whatever
I want to show on my screen.
974
00:42:53,916 --> 00:42:55,750
I press "start recording"
here on OBS
975
00:42:55,916 --> 00:42:58,041
and I can keep track
of all this sort of, uh,
976
00:42:58,208 --> 00:43:00,875
things that I want to watch
here on, on the, the set up.
977
00:43:01,041 --> 00:43:03,708
But I keep it really simple
because I'm just a regular joe.
978
00:43:03,875 --> 00:43:05,291
I, I really don't know
a lot about tech.
979
00:43:05,458 --> 00:43:07,416
I think the important thing
is the message.
980
00:43:07,583 --> 00:43:09,750
It's, it's what's getting
passed along to people
981
00:43:09,916 --> 00:43:11,583
so that we can have
a community, have a home,
982
00:43:11,750 --> 00:43:14,000
uh, do a little bit of learning
and also have some fun.
983
00:43:14,166 --> 00:43:16,833
Because, 'cause fuck!
I mean...
we're just regular people, dude.
984
00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:19,041
You like to, you like
to have fun while you're,
while you're doing
985
00:43:19,208 --> 00:43:22,083
the educating
and, and, uh, being a part
of the ape community. So--
986
00:43:22,250 --> 00:43:24,541
When I started YouTube, my, uh--
987
00:43:24,708 --> 00:43:27,125
I, I wrote down things
that I wanted to get across
988
00:43:27,291 --> 00:43:28,875
and things that were
important to me.
989
00:43:29,041 --> 00:43:31,000
And there's a few main things.
990
00:43:31,166 --> 00:43:33,416
Community, empowerment,
991
00:43:33,583 --> 00:43:34,958
education, entertainment.
992
00:43:35,125 --> 00:43:36,750
It's, it's not for me.
These, these things
993
00:43:36,916 --> 00:43:38,416
that I put on the Internet
are for other people.
994
00:43:38,583 --> 00:43:39,791
Hey, you don't have
to be lonely.
995
00:43:39,958 --> 00:43:41,291
You can have enough
money to be free.
996
00:43:45,416 --> 00:43:47,666
The two things that I think
don't get enough credit,
997
00:43:47,833 --> 00:43:51,500
um, for this retail
and Reddit revolution
998
00:43:51,666 --> 00:43:53,958
are memes and the due diligence.
999
00:43:54,125 --> 00:43:57,958
On the Reddit community,
I'm better known as ButtFarm69.
1000
00:43:58,125 --> 00:44:01,416
I am a meme lord.
1001
00:44:04,208 --> 00:44:06,750
A meme is basically anything
1002
00:44:06,916 --> 00:44:08,833
that becomes a mimicked thing
1003
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,041
throughout the viral consciousness,
1004
00:44:12,208 --> 00:44:13,333
especially over the Internet.
1005
00:44:13,500 --> 00:44:15,541
This is the worst
day of my life.
1006
00:44:15,708 --> 00:44:17,416
It's the worst day
of your life so far.
1007
00:44:18,333 --> 00:44:20,916
So a meme can be a static image
1008
00:44:21,083 --> 00:44:22,791
that has a caption on it
1009
00:44:22,958 --> 00:44:25,333
and then, uh,
the caption will change,
1010
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:27,083
but the picture
will stay the same.
1011
00:44:27,250 --> 00:44:29,666
Uh, it's basically just anything
that can be mimicked
1012
00:44:29,833 --> 00:44:33,041
and transfers across society.
That is a meme.
1013
00:44:33,916 --> 00:44:36,333
So memes have been,
for a lot of people,
1014
00:44:36,500 --> 00:44:40,125
the thing that got them
asking about GameStop
in the first place.
1015
00:44:40,291 --> 00:44:42,250
Seeing a meme that went viral
1016
00:44:42,416 --> 00:44:44,958
on Reddit or on Twitter
or whatever,
1017
00:44:45,125 --> 00:44:47,041
it was the first gateway
1018
00:44:47,208 --> 00:44:50,291
into them learning
about GameStop, the stock.
1019
00:44:50,458 --> 00:44:52,625
And it made me laugh. Cool.
1020
00:44:52,791 --> 00:44:54,333
Now I know the information
1021
00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:56,166
and I had a good time
learning it.
1022
00:44:56,333 --> 00:44:59,500
The memes are so critical
1023
00:44:59,666 --> 00:45:01,458
to this movement of information
1024
00:45:01,625 --> 00:45:05,041
because they are the-- what
interrupts this wall of text,
1025
00:45:05,208 --> 00:45:08,250
this wall of information that,
otherwise, is indigestible.
1026
00:45:08,416 --> 00:45:12,583
It's basically the very opposite
of what we did in school,
1027
00:45:12,750 --> 00:45:15,166
where we would just stare
at a chalkboard for a while.
1028
00:45:15,333 --> 00:45:19,333
On a meme, it's like,
"Yo, look at this!"
1029
00:45:20,125 --> 00:45:22,583
Hi, my name's Sahil.
I'm 22 years old
1030
00:45:22,750 --> 00:45:26,083
and I'm a final year
university student from the UK.
1031
00:45:26,250 --> 00:45:29,000
Um, I got involved
in the AMC and GameStop saga
1032
00:45:29,166 --> 00:45:32,250
when my uncle
PayPalled me 20 pounds
1033
00:45:32,416 --> 00:45:35,875
and he explained to me
what's essentially going on.
1034
00:45:36,708 --> 00:45:39,666
And then I started doing
my own sort of research into it.
1035
00:45:39,833 --> 00:45:43,041
I suppose, you know,
I started looking at,
you know, other due diligence,
1036
00:45:43,208 --> 00:45:45,833
which is put out
by other "apes,"
1037
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,625
um, in, in-- into the community.
1038
00:45:48,791 --> 00:45:50,916
You know, you really start
to just gain this confidence
1039
00:45:51,083 --> 00:45:55,708
and, um, I just invested
more and more heavier,
heavily into it,
1040
00:45:55,875 --> 00:45:59,375
um, to the point
where I sold my Tesla shares
1041
00:45:59,541 --> 00:46:01,083
and, you know,
all that sort of stuff
1042
00:46:01,250 --> 00:46:04,625
and I've more or less,
yolo'd my entire portfolio,
1043
00:46:04,791 --> 00:46:07,791
um, into AMC and GameStop.
1044
00:46:07,958 --> 00:46:10,750
That's literally the only
two shares I own anymore.
1045
00:46:10,916 --> 00:46:12,291
And it's got to the point
where, you know,
1046
00:46:12,458 --> 00:46:14,125
my-- even my grandma
asks me every single day,
1047
00:46:14,291 --> 00:46:17,000
"How, how is your AMC
and GameStop doing?"
1048
00:46:17,166 --> 00:46:19,041
And, um, you know,
she even says to,
1049
00:46:19,208 --> 00:46:21,333
you know, when it goes lower,
to buy the dips.
1050
00:46:25,833 --> 00:46:27,375
- All right.
- So the MOASS is
1051
00:46:27,541 --> 00:46:30,000
the Mother
of All Short Squeezes.
1052
00:46:30,166 --> 00:46:33,083
You clearly had
a number of, uh, traders
1053
00:46:33,250 --> 00:46:35,708
who were anti short sellers.
1054
00:46:35,875 --> 00:46:38,666
They thought that
the price of GameStop
1055
00:46:38,833 --> 00:46:40,833
was being unfairly driven down
1056
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,541
and they wanted to do
what's called a short squeeze.
1057
00:46:43,708 --> 00:46:46,666
So, a short squeeze
is essentially,
1058
00:46:46,833 --> 00:46:50,166
when you've got shorts
that have established positions
within the stock.
1059
00:46:50,333 --> 00:46:53,416
And if you're a long investor
and you're looking
for a short squeeze,
1060
00:46:53,583 --> 00:46:56,083
you are looking for these guys
to buy back the stock
1061
00:46:56,250 --> 00:46:58,416
for more money
than they sold it at.
1062
00:46:58,583 --> 00:47:02,333
Those individuals
can hold on to their shares
1063
00:47:02,500 --> 00:47:04,166
and not sell them.
1064
00:47:04,333 --> 00:47:05,916
Which bids up the stock,
1065
00:47:06,083 --> 00:47:08,750
which then requires
the short seller
1066
00:47:08,916 --> 00:47:11,458
to go in and buy the stock
at a higher price.
1067
00:47:11,625 --> 00:47:13,500
That can create a feedback loop
1068
00:47:13,666 --> 00:47:16,458
of shorts covering positions,
which drives the price up
1069
00:47:16,625 --> 00:47:18,666
because they're buying
from the market,
1070
00:47:18,833 --> 00:47:20,833
which shoots the price up exponentially.
1071
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:24,000
People who are long on the stock
make a crap ton of money.
1072
00:47:24,166 --> 00:47:25,791
As news of Ryan Cohen's buy-in
1073
00:47:25,958 --> 00:47:28,458
drove the stock price up,
others on Reddit noticed
1074
00:47:28,625 --> 00:47:30,083
something unprecedented.
1075
00:47:30,708 --> 00:47:32,291
GameStop's short interest.
1076
00:47:32,750 --> 00:47:37,250
Uh, guys, there's a 140%
short interest on GameStop.
1077
00:47:37,416 --> 00:47:39,875
Short interest is
the number of shares sold short
1078
00:47:40,041 --> 00:47:42,291
but not yet covered
or bought back.
1079
00:47:42,458 --> 00:47:46,166
GameStop stock was shorted,
something like a 140%
1080
00:47:46,333 --> 00:47:48,500
of the actual number of shares.
1081
00:47:48,666 --> 00:47:50,208
In September of 2020
1082
00:47:50,375 --> 00:47:53,291
u/Jeffamazon on Reddit
drops a post titled
1083
00:47:53,458 --> 00:47:55,375
The REAL Greatest Short Burn
of the Century.
1084
00:47:55,875 --> 00:47:57,833
In, what now seems like
a prophecy of what was to come,
1085
00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:00,458
he explains that
a short squeeze is imminent.
1086
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:03,000
And as long as retail
held on to their shares,
1087
00:48:03,166 --> 00:48:05,125
short sellers would have
to come to them
1088
00:48:05,291 --> 00:48:06,500
to buy them back.
1089
00:48:06,666 --> 00:48:08,000
But here's the kicker.
1090
00:48:08,166 --> 00:48:10,583
More shares of GameStop
were shorted
1091
00:48:10,750 --> 00:48:12,500
than existed in the float.
1092
00:48:13,125 --> 00:48:17,375
I'll say that again.
More shares were shorted
than existed.
1093
00:48:18,250 --> 00:48:19,875
So how the fuck
is that possible?
1094
00:48:20,375 --> 00:48:23,250
One explanation is
naked short selling.
1095
00:48:26,625 --> 00:48:28,541
A naked short sale
1096
00:48:28,708 --> 00:48:32,750
is basically
when you sell a stock
that you haven't borrowed.
1097
00:48:32,916 --> 00:48:36,083
Naked shorting is illegal
for most firms,
1098
00:48:36,250 --> 00:48:39,083
but there is an exemption
for market makers.
1099
00:48:39,250 --> 00:48:42,625
And those market makers
are allowed to sell
1100
00:48:42,791 --> 00:48:45,500
without holding those shares
to provide liquidity.
1101
00:48:46,208 --> 00:48:49,333
Market makers can be--
short the stock
1102
00:48:49,500 --> 00:48:50,583
without having
1103
00:48:50,750 --> 00:48:52,166
to borrow the shares.
1104
00:48:53,083 --> 00:48:56,000
And some people
would call that naked shorting.
1105
00:48:56,166 --> 00:48:58,125
So when you sign up
for a retail broker
1106
00:48:58,625 --> 00:49:00,875
and you click "Agree"
to the customer agreement,
1107
00:49:01,041 --> 00:49:03,375
you agreed to blend
your shares out.
1108
00:49:03,541 --> 00:49:07,291
So Investor A holds a 100 shares
1109
00:49:07,458 --> 00:49:09,458
and Short Seller A comes along
1110
00:49:09,625 --> 00:49:12,750
and wants to borrow those shares
and sell them.
1111
00:49:13,541 --> 00:49:16,083
So that-- the short seller
sold the 100 shares,
1112
00:49:16,250 --> 00:49:19,000
now they're being held
by Investor B.
1113
00:49:19,500 --> 00:49:23,041
Investor B wants
to lend those shares out
1114
00:49:23,750 --> 00:49:25,375
and so, another short seller
comes along
1115
00:49:25,541 --> 00:49:27,375
and borrows the shares
from Investor B
1116
00:49:27,541 --> 00:49:29,416
and sells them to Investor C.
1117
00:49:29,583 --> 00:49:32,083
And now you have
three different investors
1118
00:49:32,250 --> 00:49:35,166
who all think
they're holding a 100 shares,
1119
00:49:35,333 --> 00:49:36,958
but they're all holding
the same shares.
1120
00:49:37,125 --> 00:49:38,875
And it's legal.
1121
00:49:39,041 --> 00:49:40,875
I learned in business school
1122
00:49:41,041 --> 00:49:44,333
that one of the most important
things that business people do
1123
00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:46,791
is try to figure out ways
1124
00:49:46,958 --> 00:49:49,416
to get around
the current system.
1125
00:49:49,583 --> 00:49:51,583
It's like-- it's like
a video game, right?
1126
00:49:51,750 --> 00:49:53,708
This is when you start
to get into the realm
1127
00:49:53,875 --> 00:49:57,791
of what's ethical,
what's unethical,
what's legal, what's illegal.
1128
00:49:57,958 --> 00:50:01,000
They can kick the can
down the road all they want,
but shorts have to cover.
1129
00:50:01,166 --> 00:50:02,916
You can't get out
of a 140% short float.
1130
00:50:03,083 --> 00:50:06,375
Where's GameStop? Up tenfold
from the beginning of the year.
1131
00:50:07,500 --> 00:50:08,291
Shorts have to cover.
1132
00:50:12,875 --> 00:50:14,541
'Cause I'm seeing short squeezes
all over the place.
1133
00:50:14,708 --> 00:50:16,833
In many cases, they are
actually being orchestrated
1134
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:18,958
by motivating
young stock buyers.
1135
00:50:19,125 --> 00:50:21,458
My son came up to me and he said
1136
00:50:21,625 --> 00:50:23,333
he wanted to borrow money.
1137
00:50:23,500 --> 00:50:26,333
I asked him a bunch of questions
and he said he was on Reddit.
1138
00:50:26,500 --> 00:50:29,791
He wanted to follow the memes--
"the meme stocks."
1139
00:50:29,958 --> 00:50:33,458
The retail investors have pretty
much always been portrayed
1140
00:50:33,625 --> 00:50:34,541
as pajama wearing,
1141
00:50:34,708 --> 00:50:36,166
no tie owning,
1142
00:50:36,333 --> 00:50:37,958
like, bunch of degenerates
1143
00:50:38,125 --> 00:50:39,875
who don't know
how the markets work
1144
00:50:40,041 --> 00:50:42,166
and have no business
in the markets.
1145
00:50:42,333 --> 00:50:44,500
And I will say
to those guys, uh,
1146
00:50:44,666 --> 00:50:46,708
"You guys have no business
in the markets
1147
00:50:46,875 --> 00:50:50,500
because what you've done is
bastardize the American economy
1148
00:50:50,666 --> 00:50:53,208
and the American markets
to do your bidding.
1149
00:50:53,916 --> 00:50:54,875
Fuck you."
1150
00:50:55,041 --> 00:50:57,625
Right now, an astounding 144%
1151
00:50:57,791 --> 00:50:59,958
of GameStop shares
have been sold short.
1152
00:51:00,125 --> 00:51:02,166
That's far more than there is.
That's not right.
1153
00:51:02,333 --> 00:51:05,750
- My initial reaction was,
1154
00:51:05,916 --> 00:51:08,541
"What are you people doing?
This is crazy.
1155
00:51:08,708 --> 00:51:11,333
You're going to lose everything.
You're going up
against the big guys."
1156
00:51:11,500 --> 00:51:14,583
And then, since then,
the buyers have hit
the stock message boards
1157
00:51:14,750 --> 00:51:16,583
and urged a gang tackle
of the shorts.
1158
00:51:16,750 --> 00:51:19,583
GameStop has now doubled
in two days.
1159
00:51:19,750 --> 00:51:23,083
Right now, we are
winning a battle...
1160
00:51:23,250 --> 00:51:26,125
- ...with hedge funds...
1161
00:51:27,125 --> 00:51:28,416
...market makers,
1162
00:51:28,875 --> 00:51:30,791
movers and shakers
of Wall Street.
1163
00:51:30,958 --> 00:51:33,375
Thirty-two minutes
at the hour...
1164
00:51:51,958 --> 00:51:53,916
"I've got to say I LOVE,
1165
00:51:54,083 --> 00:51:56,833
LOVE what is going on
with #wallstreetbets.
1166
00:51:57,000 --> 00:51:59,166
All those years
of High-Frequency Traders
1167
00:51:59,333 --> 00:52:01,041
front running retail traders,
1168
00:52:01,208 --> 00:52:03,625
now speed and density of
information and retail trading
1169
00:52:03,791 --> 00:52:05,500
is giving the little guy
an edge."
1170
00:52:05,666 --> 00:52:06,958
GameStop at 420!
1171
00:52:07,125 --> 00:52:08,666
It, it hit 420,
ladies and gentlemen!
1172
00:52:09,416 --> 00:52:12,875
When I've been the most
locked and shackled
1173
00:52:13,041 --> 00:52:15,666
is when I didn't have money
to do the things
that I wanted to do in life.
1174
00:52:15,833 --> 00:52:18,875
Oh, 420.69! Take a screenshot.
Take a screenshot!
1175
00:52:19,041 --> 00:52:22,541
I just-- I'd really love
to buy a house.
Obviously, help my family.
1176
00:52:23,083 --> 00:52:25,791
Well, what if it's squeezed
and this is
the life-changing money
1177
00:52:25,958 --> 00:52:28,458
and, and you can put your family
in places...
1178
00:52:30,416 --> 00:52:32,333
...places you always
wanted to go?
1179
00:52:32,791 --> 00:52:37,416
I saw my account
go past $100,000.
1180
00:52:37,583 --> 00:52:39,125
Manos de diamante, cabrones.
1181
00:52:39,291 --> 00:52:40,583
Diamond hands.
1182
00:52:41,500 --> 00:52:44,333
The adrenaline that is pumping
through your veins,
1183
00:52:44,500 --> 00:52:46,125
I can only compare it to like
1184
00:52:46,291 --> 00:52:49,333
it's the final seconds
of your basketball game,
1185
00:52:49,500 --> 00:52:52,458
you've got the ball,
you're dribbling
from the other end of the court
1186
00:52:52,625 --> 00:52:54,125
towards your basket,
1187
00:52:54,291 --> 00:52:57,000
the buzzer's about to go
and you just... [whooshes].
1188
00:53:06,666 --> 00:53:09,541
You didn't really think
they're going to give it
to us, did you?
1189
00:53:10,125 --> 00:53:11,458
Yeah, I f-- I fucking did.
1190
00:53:12,291 --> 00:53:14,208
Well, it's about
to get a lot worse.
1191
00:53:14,791 --> 00:53:16,458
David, we do have now
some statements from Robinhood
1192
00:53:16,625 --> 00:53:19,166
and interactive brokers,
about restricting trading.
1193
00:53:19,333 --> 00:53:21,291
GameStop shares tanking today.
1194
00:53:21,458 --> 00:53:24,333
Robinhood and other brokers
making it tougher
to trade the stock.
1195
00:53:24,500 --> 00:53:26,083
We haven't seen
how this movie ends,
1196
00:53:26,250 --> 00:53:28,166
and a lot of these
amateur traders
1197
00:53:28,333 --> 00:53:30,041
especially today,
could get hurt.
1198
00:53:30,208 --> 00:53:33,625
"Our mission at Robinhood
is to democratize
finance for all."
1199
00:53:33,791 --> 00:53:36,666
Uh, people upset at the idea
that they can no longer buy.
1200
00:53:36,833 --> 00:53:37,750
And it will have an impact.
1201
00:53:41,166 --> 00:53:43,125
I remember January 2021.
1202
00:53:44,416 --> 00:53:45,958
I remember all the hope
that we felt.
1203
00:53:47,708 --> 00:53:49,083
And you can call us misguided,
1204
00:53:49,250 --> 00:53:51,000
you can call us juvenile,
1205
00:53:51,666 --> 00:53:52,916
but the fact is,
1206
00:53:53,458 --> 00:53:54,916
we were right.
1207
00:53:55,625 --> 00:53:58,250
We saw a chink in the armor
and, for once,
1208
00:53:58,416 --> 00:54:00,125
we cut the oligarchs
on the back foot.
1209
00:54:01,541 --> 00:54:03,125
We were so close...
1210
00:54:04,125 --> 00:54:06,416
...and we know that money
can't buy everything.
1211
00:54:06,958 --> 00:54:08,708
But it can buy you freedom.
1212
00:54:09,375 --> 00:54:12,458
Medical bills, parking tickets,
late fees, overdraft charges,
1213
00:54:12,625 --> 00:54:15,000
rent hikes, student loans,
stagnant wages,
1214
00:54:15,166 --> 00:54:16,625
cost of living, inflation,
1215
00:54:16,791 --> 00:54:18,416
are all realities
that keep us chained
1216
00:54:18,583 --> 00:54:20,625
to the gig work
and the hard labor
1217
00:54:20,791 --> 00:54:23,583
that keeps the real economy
right where it should be.
1218
00:54:24,166 --> 00:54:27,250
Stuck in the cogs of
a bastardized financial system,
1219
00:54:27,416 --> 00:54:29,916
deranged into a perfect
cold machine
1220
00:54:30,375 --> 00:54:33,875
rigged to extract wealth
from the hardworking people
of the world.
1221
00:54:35,791 --> 00:54:38,875
And as GameStop popped
to more than $500,
1222
00:54:39,541 --> 00:54:41,083
with no sign of slowing down,
1223
00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:44,083
that excitement
was a rare feeling.
1224
00:54:44,666 --> 00:54:47,875
After a year
of pandemic and isolation...
1225
00:54:49,166 --> 00:54:51,416
...all we had to do
was buy and hold.
1226
00:54:53,500 --> 00:54:56,416
Who knew that our markets
were so fragile
1227
00:54:57,125 --> 00:55:01,625
that buying and holding a stock
could take down
the whole damn thing?
1228
00:55:03,500 --> 00:55:05,666
The keys to the castle
were in our hands.
1229
00:55:06,166 --> 00:55:08,250
And when the excitement
reached to boiling point...
1230
00:55:09,250 --> 00:55:10,750
...our brokers betrayed us.
1231
00:55:11,625 --> 00:55:14,250
Robinhood, the broker
that we had trusted
1232
00:55:14,416 --> 00:55:16,000
to democratize finance,
1233
00:55:16,458 --> 00:55:17,916
took away the "Buy" button.
1234
00:55:19,416 --> 00:55:22,041
Then E#TRADE,
TD Ameritrade, Webull,
1235
00:55:22,208 --> 00:55:25,333
and other payment for order
flow brokers followed suit.
1236
00:55:26,458 --> 00:55:29,875
We didn't know why buying
was halted on AMC and GameStop.
1237
00:55:30,333 --> 00:55:31,666
But the message was clear,
1238
00:55:32,166 --> 00:55:34,708
Wall Street wanted us to sell.
1239
00:55:35,666 --> 00:55:37,916
And what should have been
the Mother of All Short Squeezes
1240
00:55:38,375 --> 00:55:40,541
became little more
than a sneeze.
1241
00:55:43,958 --> 00:55:47,625
It seemed to everybody
that the apes had lost.
1242
00:55:48,416 --> 00:55:51,000
And once again,
it was abundantly clear...
1243
00:55:51,958 --> 00:55:54,791
...that the house always wins.
1244
00:56:03,083 --> 00:56:04,583
- This is the fun part.
1245
00:56:04,750 --> 00:56:06,458
This is where the training
comes in. All right, sit.
1246
00:56:06,625 --> 00:56:07,416
Stay.
1247
00:56:20,583 --> 00:56:21,500
Go get it!
1248
00:56:44,041 --> 00:56:44,916
Bring it!
1249
00:56:47,416 --> 00:56:50,333
There's no doubt that the--
it's the retail investors
1250
00:56:50,500 --> 00:56:55,458
who spotted this crazy set
of circumstances
1251
00:56:55,625 --> 00:56:57,958
in which something
could squeeze like this
1252
00:56:58,125 --> 00:57:00,000
and they got it right.
1253
00:57:00,166 --> 00:57:01,666
They went all in,
1254
00:57:01,833 --> 00:57:04,833
and then it was the retail
investors that were hurt.
1255
00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:07,208
Uh, which is, again, sort of
1256
00:57:07,375 --> 00:57:09,583
the, the standard on Wall Street
1257
00:57:09,750 --> 00:57:12,333
that gains are privatized
1258
00:57:12,500 --> 00:57:14,250
and losses are socialized.
1259
00:57:14,833 --> 00:57:17,583
This hearing is entitled
1260
00:57:17,750 --> 00:57:19,458
Game Stopped?
1261
00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:21,583
Who Wins and Loses
1262
00:57:21,750 --> 00:57:24,791
When Short Sellers,
Social Media,
1263
00:57:24,958 --> 00:57:26,583
and Retail Investors Collide.
1264
00:57:26,750 --> 00:57:29,083
This is what I,
I think needs to be answered
1265
00:57:29,250 --> 00:57:30,250
about your decision.
1266
00:57:30,916 --> 00:57:33,208
Why did Robinhood
restrict the buying
1267
00:57:33,375 --> 00:57:35,458
but not the selling of GameStop?
1268
00:57:35,625 --> 00:57:38,916
The decision to restrict
GameStop and other securities
1269
00:57:39,083 --> 00:57:40,875
was driven purely by deposit
1270
00:57:41,041 --> 00:57:43,750
and collateral requirements
imposed by our clearing houses.
1271
00:57:43,916 --> 00:57:45,541
So let's break down
Vlad's excuse
1272
00:57:45,708 --> 00:57:47,333
for turning off
the "Buy" button.
1273
00:57:47,500 --> 00:57:49,291
- Every time a trade happens,
1274
00:57:49,458 --> 00:57:51,125
it goes through the DTCC,
1275
00:57:51,291 --> 00:57:53,666
or Depository Trust
Clearing Corporation.
1276
00:57:53,833 --> 00:57:57,291
They keep track of who owns
and who owes what.
1277
00:57:57,458 --> 00:57:59,291
They're sort of, like,
the officiant of the marriage.
1278
00:57:59,458 --> 00:58:01,541
They make sure that
1279
00:58:01,708 --> 00:58:04,083
the person who's selling
the stock has a stock,
1280
00:58:04,250 --> 00:58:06,125
and the person who's buying
the stock has money.
1281
00:58:06,291 --> 00:58:08,416
The DTCC called Robinhood
1282
00:58:08,583 --> 00:58:10,416
to ask for three billion
extra dollars
1283
00:58:10,583 --> 00:58:13,208
to back up the buying activity
in GameStop and AMC.
1284
00:58:13,375 --> 00:58:15,708
They told Robinhood,
1285
00:58:15,875 --> 00:58:20,166
"Hey, we need three billion
dollars in, essentially,
collateral from you,
1286
00:58:20,333 --> 00:58:23,500
in case these trades
don't go through
so that you can cover it."
1287
00:58:23,666 --> 00:58:25,625
So Vlad, in true bad-guy form,
1288
00:58:25,791 --> 00:58:28,833
decides to protect his company
over his customers
1289
00:58:29,000 --> 00:58:32,208
by proposing giving the DTCC
less money
1290
00:58:32,375 --> 00:58:34,333
if he shuts down
the "Buy" button.
1291
00:58:35,166 --> 00:58:36,208
They agreed.
1292
00:58:37,125 --> 00:58:38,625
It's important
to remember, though,
1293
00:58:38,791 --> 00:58:41,416
that any one story
about what happened in January
1294
00:58:41,583 --> 00:58:44,458
is only ever going to be
part of the picture.
1295
00:58:44,625 --> 00:58:47,958
I believe that retail investors
1296
00:58:48,125 --> 00:58:52,250
are being used
by the broker-dealers
1297
00:58:52,416 --> 00:58:54,166
and, and they are the product.
1298
00:58:54,333 --> 00:58:57,000
And that, of course,
is what's going on
1299
00:58:57,166 --> 00:58:58,708
with payment for order flow
1300
00:58:58,875 --> 00:59:00,916
and high-frequency
trading firms,
1301
00:59:01,083 --> 00:59:02,833
uh, that claim to be
market makers,
1302
00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:05,375
when, in fact,
what they're really doing
1303
00:59:05,541 --> 00:59:08,625
is engaging in market activities
1304
00:59:08,791 --> 00:59:10,458
to maximize their profits.
1305
00:59:10,625 --> 00:59:11,875
Period. Full stop.
1306
00:59:12,041 --> 00:59:13,625
The people at Robinhood
1307
00:59:13,791 --> 00:59:16,416
have got fabulously rich
over this.
1308
00:59:16,583 --> 00:59:18,625
The two principal founders
of Robinhood
1309
00:59:18,791 --> 00:59:20,916
are reportedly
billionaires today.
1310
00:59:21,083 --> 00:59:25,500
Their wealth depends
upon being able to sell
1311
00:59:25,666 --> 00:59:27,791
as many trades as possible
1312
00:59:27,958 --> 00:59:29,833
to the Citadels of the world,
1313
00:59:30,000 --> 00:59:32,625
that then get executed
in dark markets,
1314
00:59:32,791 --> 00:59:36,375
which maximizes the amount
of payment for order flow
1315
00:59:36,541 --> 00:59:40,166
they can give
to the Robinhoods of the world.
1316
00:59:40,333 --> 00:59:42,833
The Robinhood customers
1317
00:59:43,000 --> 00:59:46,666
not only enriched
preexisting billionaires,
1318
00:59:46,833 --> 00:59:49,916
they have actually
created more billionaires.
1319
00:59:52,458 --> 00:59:54,875
We all love
a good David and Goliath story.
1320
00:59:55,666 --> 00:59:57,750
And, yeah, it was awesome
1321
00:59:57,916 --> 01:00:00,541
to watch the little guys
smash some hedge funds.
1322
01:00:01,458 --> 01:00:03,625
But the reality is
a lot more complicated.
1323
01:00:05,000 --> 01:00:07,916
As retail investors
loaded up on GameStop and AMC,
1324
01:00:08,416 --> 01:00:10,458
Robinhood was making a killing
1325
01:00:10,625 --> 01:00:12,333
through payment for order flow.
1326
01:00:13,541 --> 01:00:15,666
And Citadel was making even more
1327
01:00:15,833 --> 01:00:17,583
by taking retail orders.
1328
01:00:18,291 --> 01:00:20,791
Melvin Capital,
on the other hand,
wasn't so lucky.
1329
01:00:21,333 --> 01:00:23,083
Over the course
of the run-up in January,
1330
01:00:23,250 --> 01:00:27,666
Melvin reported losses
to the tune of $7.5 billion.
1331
01:00:28,625 --> 01:00:30,583
And this is where things
get a little bit weird.
1332
01:00:30,750 --> 01:00:32,958
See, market making
isn't the only business
1333
01:00:33,125 --> 01:00:35,375
Ken Griffin and Citadel
have their hands in.
1334
01:00:36,083 --> 01:00:38,791
Citadel is also a hedge fund.
1335
01:00:39,458 --> 01:00:41,833
And as Melvin Capital
was on the brink of collapse,
1336
01:00:42,291 --> 01:00:45,666
Ken Griffin used that hedge fund
to bail them out.
1337
01:00:46,208 --> 01:00:48,583
Again, I have not, nor do I have
1338
01:00:48,750 --> 01:00:50,833
the ability to subpoena emails
1339
01:00:51,000 --> 01:00:52,833
or trading records
or phone calls
1340
01:00:53,000 --> 01:00:55,208
or who knew what, when and how.
1341
01:00:56,458 --> 01:00:58,333
But the only reason,
1342
01:00:59,083 --> 01:01:00,541
the only reason
1343
01:01:01,375 --> 01:01:06,208
Citadel and Ken Griffin
would give Melvin a dime,
given his state,
1344
01:01:07,000 --> 01:01:08,833
would be that, in their view,
1345
01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:11,458
Melvin represented such risk
1346
01:01:12,500 --> 01:01:16,250
that further destruction
of Melvin
1347
01:01:16,416 --> 01:01:20,041
in the GameStop/meme stocks
1348
01:01:20,208 --> 01:01:25,416
would put a very, very, very
overleveraged Citadel at risk.
1349
01:01:25,958 --> 01:01:27,625
That would be the only reason
1350
01:01:27,791 --> 01:01:30,291
to get the bleeding at Melvin
to stop.
1351
01:01:31,083 --> 01:01:33,500
Because,
by all practical purposes,
1352
01:01:34,125 --> 01:01:37,875
Melvin is a weak,
irresponsible market player.
1353
01:01:38,375 --> 01:01:40,000
And Melvin should have gone
out of business.
1354
01:01:40,166 --> 01:01:42,750
When Robinhood turned off
the "Buy" button,
1355
01:01:43,541 --> 01:01:44,750
that benefited
1356
01:01:44,916 --> 01:01:47,625
a few significant players
1357
01:01:47,791 --> 01:01:49,000
on Wall Street.
1358
01:01:49,166 --> 01:01:50,708
Particularly, Melvin Capital,
1359
01:01:50,875 --> 01:01:52,875
but some of the other
short sellers.
1360
01:01:53,041 --> 01:01:54,791
It's important to point out here
1361
01:01:54,958 --> 01:01:57,916
that it wasn't just Robinhood
who restricted buying,
1362
01:01:58,416 --> 01:02:01,416
but all the brokers who did
had one thing in common,
1363
01:02:01,958 --> 01:02:04,125
payment for order flow.
1364
01:02:04,666 --> 01:02:06,166
These events have eliminated
1365
01:02:06,333 --> 01:02:08,291
potential conflicts of interest
1366
01:02:08,458 --> 01:02:12,083
and the predatory ways
that certain funds operate
1367
01:02:12,250 --> 01:02:16,000
and they have demonstrated
the enormous potential power
1368
01:02:16,166 --> 01:02:17,875
of social media in our markets.
1369
01:02:18,041 --> 01:02:19,458
The long knives have come out
1370
01:02:19,625 --> 01:02:21,625
shutting down
the investing revolution
1371
01:02:21,791 --> 01:02:23,500
the elites could not control.
1372
01:02:23,666 --> 01:02:25,458
The biggest disappointment
comes from Robinhood.
1373
01:02:25,625 --> 01:02:27,166
Here to testify today,
1374
01:02:27,333 --> 01:02:30,375
including witnesses
representing Wall Street firms
1375
01:02:30,541 --> 01:02:32,041
Melvin Capital
1376
01:02:32,208 --> 01:02:33,125
and Citadel.
1377
01:02:34,000 --> 01:02:36,666
You said that...
you didn't talk to anybody
1378
01:02:36,833 --> 01:02:38,416
of Citadel, Citadel Securities.
1379
01:02:38,583 --> 01:02:40,625
Did anyone in your organization,
1380
01:02:40,791 --> 01:02:43,375
since January 1st,
contact Robinhood?
1381
01:02:44,333 --> 01:02:46,333
Absolutely not.
1382
01:02:47,625 --> 01:02:49,458
There is evidence
1383
01:02:50,041 --> 01:02:51,166
that's come out
1384
01:02:51,833 --> 01:02:54,333
that there was communication
1385
01:02:54,500 --> 01:02:57,000
between Citadel and Robinhood.
1386
01:02:57,166 --> 01:02:59,916
It was highlighted, uh,
by this internal chat message
1387
01:03:00,083 --> 01:03:04,000
on January 27th, where Robinhood
President Jim Swartwout said,
1388
01:03:04,166 --> 01:03:06,333
"You wouldn't believe the convo
1389
01:03:06,500 --> 01:03:08,750
we had with Citadel.
Total mess."
1390
01:03:08,916 --> 01:03:11,833
- Uh, you know, maybe they chose
the trading restrictions...
1391
01:03:12,000 --> 01:03:13,791
...because that's good
for Citadel.
1392
01:03:13,958 --> 01:03:15,625
It-- crime does pay.
1393
01:03:15,791 --> 01:03:18,041
If you're a broker-dealer,
crime pays.
1394
01:03:18,208 --> 01:03:21,166
It-- that's just the truth.
You pay fines,
1395
01:03:21,333 --> 01:03:23,583
but it is the cost
of doing business.
1396
01:03:25,500 --> 01:03:27,833
I'm going to do
something I never do.
1397
01:03:28,750 --> 01:03:30,875
Let's come out of my shell
and talk about
1398
01:03:31,375 --> 01:03:32,916
how I'm sick of injustice.
1399
01:03:36,916 --> 01:03:38,750
I'm sick of people bowling...
1400
01:03:39,916 --> 01:03:42,166
...people who are trying
to be smart with money...
1401
01:03:46,625 --> 01:03:48,625
...and make something
out of themselves,
1402
01:03:48,791 --> 01:03:50,833
who don't buy themselves anything,
1403
01:03:51,000 --> 01:03:52,375
who try to put money aside
1404
01:03:52,541 --> 01:03:54,166
to make a better future
for their kids.
1405
01:03:55,333 --> 01:03:56,916
When I think of these big
hedge funds and firms
1406
01:03:57,083 --> 01:03:58,583
that are betting
against the economy,
1407
01:03:58,750 --> 01:04:00,583
the US economy,
the American investor,
1408
01:04:00,750 --> 01:04:02,250
the ape is bullshit.
1409
01:04:02,416 --> 01:04:04,000
If you have privilege
1410
01:04:04,166 --> 01:04:06,500
and you are not actively
and consciously
1411
01:04:06,666 --> 01:04:09,166
using that privilege
to bring good
1412
01:04:09,333 --> 01:04:11,791
into this world,
you are part of the problem.
1413
01:04:11,958 --> 01:04:14,666
I'm so frustrated.
I sit here every day
1414
01:04:14,833 --> 01:04:17,708
and watch these people
bullshit everybody.
1415
01:04:17,875 --> 01:04:19,291
I have a message
for all of these sort of guys.
1416
01:04:19,458 --> 01:04:21,541
You don't represent retail
1417
01:04:21,708 --> 01:04:23,458
and that nobody
believes you anymore.
1418
01:04:23,625 --> 01:04:24,916
You should not bet
against America.
1419
01:04:25,083 --> 01:04:26,416
You should not bet
against the economy.
1420
01:04:26,583 --> 01:04:28,125
You should not bet
against the little guy
1421
01:04:28,291 --> 01:04:29,583
because you're going
to get kicked in the ass.
1422
01:04:29,750 --> 01:04:31,541
And just because
we've got you by the balls
1423
01:04:31,708 --> 01:04:33,833
and you don't know what to do
and you don't know how to stop,
1424
01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:35,166
it doesn't mean
that we're going to stop.
1425
01:04:35,916 --> 01:04:38,666
And I'm sick of it!
Let's have equality.
1426
01:04:38,833 --> 01:04:41,250
We're not going anywhere.
We're not fucking leaving.
1427
01:04:41,416 --> 01:04:43,500
We may not know everything,
but every day
we're learning more.
1428
01:04:43,666 --> 01:04:45,291
That's what an ape feels.
1429
01:04:45,958 --> 01:04:47,416
Show me some goddamn respect
1430
01:04:47,583 --> 01:04:49,541
for even taking attempt
to get in the market!
1431
01:04:50,000 --> 01:04:52,791
Show me some goddamn respect
for actually doing something
1432
01:04:52,958 --> 01:04:54,583
that somebody told me
I couldn't do.
1433
01:04:54,750 --> 01:04:56,791
Show me some goddamn respect...
1434
01:04:58,666 --> 01:04:59,708
...for betting on me.
1435
01:05:00,208 --> 01:05:01,833
I thought that was
the American dream.
1436
01:05:04,541 --> 01:05:07,166
Underpaid,
understaffed, overworked.
1437
01:05:07,708 --> 01:05:09,833
How many of us
does that describe?
1438
01:05:10,375 --> 01:05:12,875
The sweat... that I put out,
1439
01:05:13,708 --> 01:05:14,666
I have a right to earn.
1440
01:05:14,833 --> 01:05:16,041
So the same shit that happens
1441
01:05:16,208 --> 01:05:17,750
in 2008 will continue to happen
1442
01:05:17,916 --> 01:05:19,083
and is happening right now.
1443
01:05:19,250 --> 01:05:21,208
We let the news stop
1444
01:05:21,375 --> 01:05:22,625
being the news.
Think about this.
1445
01:05:22,791 --> 01:05:25,000
When was the last time
1446
01:05:25,166 --> 01:05:26,583
you trusted the news to give you
1447
01:05:26,750 --> 01:05:30,208
factual, unbiased,
objective information?
1448
01:05:30,375 --> 01:05:32,083
This is a pure underdog story.
1449
01:05:32,250 --> 01:05:34,416
The 99 versus the one,
David versus Goliath.
1450
01:05:34,583 --> 01:05:36,625
You're having
the average person,
1451
01:05:36,791 --> 01:05:38,916
who's locked in solitude
during the pandemic,
1452
01:05:39,083 --> 01:05:42,416
fighting against
the illegitimate acts
on Wall Street.
1453
01:05:45,750 --> 01:05:48,083
I don't give a damn
how long you've been trading,
1454
01:05:48,250 --> 01:05:49,916
how long you've been
doing something,
1455
01:05:50,083 --> 01:05:51,541
if you come in disrespectful,
1456
01:05:51,708 --> 01:05:53,125
I'm going to give you,
in like kind,
1457
01:05:53,291 --> 01:05:54,666
what you just gave me.
1458
01:05:55,833 --> 01:05:58,833
Because you're thinking I'm not
sophisticated enough to learn
1459
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:00,375
one plus one is two?
1460
01:06:01,541 --> 01:06:02,458
Fuck you!
1461
01:06:02,625 --> 01:06:05,541
Fuck your vanity space projects!
1462
01:06:06,208 --> 01:06:09,541
Maybe it's time the people
got the keys to the rocket.
1463
01:06:11,333 --> 01:06:13,958
What I would like
to point out here
1464
01:06:14,125 --> 01:06:17,625
that we have come
dangerously close
1465
01:06:18,125 --> 01:06:20,375
to the collapse
of the entire system
1466
01:06:20,541 --> 01:06:22,666
and the public is-- seems to be
1467
01:06:22,833 --> 01:06:24,625
completely unaware of that,
1468
01:06:24,791 --> 01:06:27,291
including Congress
and the regulators.
1469
01:06:29,916 --> 01:06:31,875
I think that common bond
1470
01:06:32,041 --> 01:06:35,000
that was born out
of January 28th
1471
01:06:35,166 --> 01:06:37,625
was the recognition
that that opportunity
1472
01:06:37,791 --> 01:06:40,333
which had been looming larger
on the horizon...
1473
01:06:40,500 --> 01:06:43,000
Right? We, we have this.
We have the theory.
1474
01:06:43,166 --> 01:06:44,500
We have our investment.
1475
01:06:44,666 --> 01:06:46,458
The timing is right.
Everything is right.
1476
01:06:46,625 --> 01:06:50,291
We're doing this.
And then the carpet was pulled.
1477
01:06:50,958 --> 01:06:54,666
As the stocks plummeted,
the apes refused to sell.
1478
01:06:55,333 --> 01:06:57,541
Instead, they held on and dug
1479
01:06:57,708 --> 01:07:00,166
- into SEC filings,
financial disclosures...
- There you go.
1480
01:07:00,333 --> 01:07:02,416
...congressional hearings,
you name it.
1481
01:07:02,958 --> 01:07:05,125
They were intent on finding out
who was behind
1482
01:07:05,291 --> 01:07:08,416
Robinhood's decision
to shut off the "Buy" button.
1483
01:07:08,583 --> 01:07:10,625
Someone would put out an idea
1484
01:07:10,791 --> 01:07:12,833
and that idea would be
1485
01:07:13,000 --> 01:07:15,708
subject to critique,
1486
01:07:15,875 --> 01:07:17,458
um, to acclaim,
1487
01:07:17,625 --> 01:07:18,916
to be built upon.
1488
01:07:19,083 --> 01:07:21,541
And what happened out of that
1489
01:07:21,708 --> 01:07:26,333
was the birth
of almost a hive mind.
1490
01:07:27,291 --> 01:07:29,708
And the second I looked
into Citadel, it was like,
1491
01:07:29,875 --> 01:07:31,791
"There is something
very different
1492
01:07:31,958 --> 01:07:35,083
from the normal...
like, investor mentality."
1493
01:07:35,916 --> 01:07:38,041
By the end of 2008,
1494
01:07:38,208 --> 01:07:40,291
we had lost half our capital.
1495
01:07:40,458 --> 01:07:43,125
Citadel has acted irresponsibly
1496
01:07:43,291 --> 01:07:46,541
since the GFC of 2008.
1497
01:07:46,708 --> 01:07:49,916
Whatever the financial
accident is,
1498
01:07:50,083 --> 01:07:51,916
Ken Griffin and Citadel
need to get
1499
01:07:52,083 --> 01:07:54,083
a backdoor bailout
by the government.
1500
01:07:54,666 --> 01:07:58,750
And each thing we did
bought us one more day.
1501
01:07:59,333 --> 01:08:02,708
And day by day,
we bought ourselves a future.
1502
01:08:02,875 --> 01:08:05,375
One of the difficulties
in our system,
1503
01:08:05,541 --> 01:08:08,875
something that we permit,
we, we allow legally,
1504
01:08:09,041 --> 01:08:11,416
but that is hugely problematic,
1505
01:08:11,583 --> 01:08:14,083
is that a single entity
1506
01:08:14,250 --> 01:08:17,375
can have conflicting roles.
1507
01:08:17,541 --> 01:08:19,125
One example is,
1508
01:08:19,750 --> 01:08:23,166
Citadel can be trading
for itself
1509
01:08:23,625 --> 01:08:26,416
and at the same time
be a market maker.
1510
01:08:26,583 --> 01:08:29,208
I think they're better known
as high-speed speculators.
1511
01:08:29,375 --> 01:08:31,833
And that's all they do. Um,
they don't provide liquidity.
1512
01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:35,416
They're not here serving
as traditional market makers.
1513
01:08:35,583 --> 01:08:38,333
That's where the, the real harm
can come.
1514
01:08:38,500 --> 01:08:41,666
From learning
what's going on in retail
1515
01:08:41,833 --> 01:08:44,625
and then using it
for your own benefit.
1516
01:08:44,791 --> 01:08:48,166
They're here taking bets,
actively taking liquidity
1517
01:08:48,333 --> 01:08:51,833
and trying
to find inefficiencies
at extremely high speeds.
1518
01:08:52,416 --> 01:08:54,958
This is a situation that would
1519
01:08:55,125 --> 01:08:57,625
permit a Citadel, for example,
1520
01:08:57,791 --> 01:09:02,583
to be able
to really take advantage.
1521
01:09:02,750 --> 01:09:05,166
of the markets
1522
01:09:05,333 --> 01:09:09,708
and be able
to drive the price down
1523
01:09:09,875 --> 01:09:12,791
by using its privileged position
1524
01:09:12,958 --> 01:09:14,458
as a market maker
1525
01:09:14,625 --> 01:09:17,083
to do naked shorts.
1526
01:09:17,250 --> 01:09:18,625
That is a possibility.
1527
01:09:18,791 --> 01:09:21,041
With this payment of order flow,
1528
01:09:21,208 --> 01:09:23,333
you create
this black box situation
1529
01:09:23,500 --> 01:09:25,833
where no one really knows
what's going on.
1530
01:09:26,000 --> 01:09:28,291
And if you're paying 300 million
1531
01:09:28,458 --> 01:09:29,875
for that kind of flow,
1532
01:09:30,041 --> 01:09:33,041
you must be making
your 300 million back
1533
01:09:33,750 --> 01:09:34,833
and then some from it.
1534
01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:36,666
So there's no other industry
1535
01:09:36,833 --> 01:09:39,375
where you can sell something...
1536
01:09:40,333 --> 01:09:42,375
...take someone's money
and give them nothing.
1537
01:09:42,541 --> 01:09:44,666
I turned my attention,
1538
01:09:45,250 --> 01:09:47,500
you know,
towards the fails to deliver
1539
01:09:47,666 --> 01:09:48,833
as the core issue.
1540
01:09:49,000 --> 01:09:50,375
Because it is built
1541
01:09:50,541 --> 01:09:53,666
into the regulations
to allow it to happen.
1542
01:09:53,833 --> 01:09:56,458
So a failure to deliver
is when you take a share
1543
01:09:56,625 --> 01:09:58,208
and you sell it short
into the market.
1544
01:09:58,833 --> 01:10:00,541
You're supposed to come back
1545
01:10:00,708 --> 01:10:03,875
at a later date because somebody
wants their bag of sugar back.
1546
01:10:04,666 --> 01:10:07,333
But if you are unable
to find a bag of sugar to buy
1547
01:10:08,125 --> 01:10:10,833
to give back to that person
or the price is too high
1548
01:10:11,000 --> 01:10:13,708
and you don't want
to pay that price,
you fail to deliver.
1549
01:10:13,875 --> 01:10:16,458
This is something that a lot
of investors have looked at
1550
01:10:16,625 --> 01:10:19,458
because there were
a crazy high number
1551
01:10:19,625 --> 01:10:21,333
of fails to deliver
on the GameStop stock.
1552
01:10:21,958 --> 01:10:25,250
If I buy a bag of sugar from you
1553
01:10:25,416 --> 01:10:27,458
and I give you my money
for that bag of sugar,
1554
01:10:27,625 --> 01:10:30,083
I expect you to give me
the bag of sugar.
1555
01:10:30,583 --> 01:10:32,375
I don't expect you to say,
1556
01:10:33,083 --> 01:10:34,541
"I'll get it to you when I can."
1557
01:10:34,708 --> 01:10:37,625
I, I don't think there's
a benign explanation
1558
01:10:37,791 --> 01:10:40,208
to high levels of short interest
1559
01:10:40,375 --> 01:10:43,500
that results in large numbers
of failure to deliver.
1560
01:10:43,666 --> 01:10:46,416
To see four or five times
1561
01:10:46,583 --> 01:10:48,625
the float trade in a day
1562
01:10:48,791 --> 01:10:51,083
and then to happen
day after day,
1563
01:10:51,250 --> 01:10:54,958
those trading numbers,
the volumes are unprecedented.
1564
01:10:55,125 --> 01:10:57,625
Brokers are selling
stuff they don't have.
1565
01:10:59,500 --> 01:11:01,458
They don't have it to deliver.
They can't borrow it
1566
01:11:01,625 --> 01:11:03,083
'cause it's all borrowed out.
1567
01:11:03,250 --> 01:11:05,583
Couple that up with the fact
1568
01:11:05,750 --> 01:11:07,583
that more than
the float was short
1569
01:11:07,750 --> 01:11:10,208
and how much of that was really
1570
01:11:10,375 --> 01:11:11,958
firms that were short,
1571
01:11:12,125 --> 01:11:14,666
that created counterfeit
or synthetic shares
1572
01:11:14,833 --> 01:11:16,833
and failed to deliver
those shares
1573
01:11:17,000 --> 01:11:20,916
and therefore led
to a huge amount of supply,
1574
01:11:21,083 --> 01:11:24,166
of oversupply of GameStop shares
in the market in January.
1575
01:11:24,333 --> 01:11:27,916
And yet, the brokers
were allowed
to continue to sell the stock.
1576
01:11:29,583 --> 01:11:31,833
They were allowed
to take your money
1577
01:11:32,000 --> 01:11:33,333
and give you nothing.
1578
01:11:33,500 --> 01:11:34,916
Here's a mindblower for you.
1579
01:11:35,583 --> 01:11:37,958
You don't actually own
any of your shares.
1580
01:11:38,125 --> 01:11:39,541
Your broker does.
1581
01:11:40,375 --> 01:11:42,250
So when you buy a share
of GameStop, let's say,
1582
01:11:42,416 --> 01:11:43,916
through a broker like Robinhood,
1583
01:11:44,458 --> 01:11:48,458
the DTCC transfers
that ownership to your broker,
1584
01:11:48,625 --> 01:11:49,750
not you.
1585
01:11:50,500 --> 01:11:52,125
So let's walk through everything
1586
01:11:52,291 --> 01:11:54,458
the apes have learned
with an example.
1587
01:11:55,208 --> 01:11:57,208
You want to buy
a share of GameStop.
1588
01:11:58,166 --> 01:12:01,041
Robinhood's supposed
to find you the best deal,
but they don't.
1589
01:12:01,500 --> 01:12:03,250
They sell your order to Citadel.
1590
01:12:03,750 --> 01:12:06,458
Then Citadel,
acting as a market maker,
1591
01:12:06,625 --> 01:12:09,333
doesn't bother to locate
a share for you to buy...
1592
01:12:10,416 --> 01:12:12,916
...because, as a market maker,
they don't have to.
1593
01:12:13,875 --> 01:12:16,166
Next, your trade goes to DTCC,
1594
01:12:16,333 --> 01:12:18,583
where they transfer
ownership to Robinhood.
1595
01:12:19,166 --> 01:12:21,083
But when it's time
for your trade to settle,
1596
01:12:21,250 --> 01:12:23,750
Citadel fails to deliver
your share,
1597
01:12:24,250 --> 01:12:26,041
creating a phantom share.
1598
01:12:26,791 --> 01:12:29,625
Then, Robinhood
lends that phantom share
1599
01:12:29,791 --> 01:12:31,916
to Melvin Capital
who takes a position
1600
01:12:32,083 --> 01:12:34,291
against you in the stock
1601
01:12:35,041 --> 01:12:36,583
with your own share.
1602
01:12:37,833 --> 01:12:40,041
The apes decided to fight back.
1603
01:12:40,750 --> 01:12:43,000
They did something
any one of us can do.
1604
01:12:43,166 --> 01:12:45,875
They pulled their shares
out of their brokers hands
1605
01:12:46,333 --> 01:12:49,125
and registered them
directly in their own names.
1606
01:12:49,291 --> 01:12:51,291
When people are registering
more and more,
1607
01:12:51,458 --> 01:12:55,416
it does seem to cut down
on FTDs, fails to deliver.
1608
01:12:55,583 --> 01:12:58,458
If you do a DRS, they're not
going to lend it out.
1609
01:12:58,625 --> 01:13:00,250
So if you don't want
your share shorted,
1610
01:13:00,416 --> 01:13:01,791
that's kind of
one way to guarantee it.
1611
01:13:04,750 --> 01:13:06,916
In September of 2022,
1612
01:13:07,083 --> 01:13:09,916
GameStop revealed that the apes
had directly registered
1613
01:13:10,083 --> 01:13:14,708
an unprecedented
71.3 million shares of GameStop,
1614
01:13:14,875 --> 01:13:17,583
pulling them out of the hands
of their brokers.
1615
01:13:19,166 --> 01:13:21,500
So on top of this
being really complicated
1616
01:13:21,666 --> 01:13:23,541
- and convoluted...
- Yeah?
1617
01:13:24,125 --> 01:13:25,791
...it just seems like people
are doing whatever they want.
1618
01:13:25,958 --> 01:13:28,041
I mean, yeah,
that's the problem.
1619
01:13:28,541 --> 01:13:30,666
They are just doing
whatever they want.
1620
01:13:31,125 --> 01:13:34,791
The financial industry
has used its economic power
1621
01:13:34,958 --> 01:13:36,291
to buy political power.
1622
01:13:36,458 --> 01:13:37,916
The SEC was formed
1623
01:13:38,083 --> 01:13:40,208
as a result
of the Great Depression.
1624
01:13:40,375 --> 01:13:44,708
Congress then determines
how much money the SEC gets.
1625
01:13:44,875 --> 01:13:46,041
What a pickle!
1626
01:13:46,208 --> 01:13:48,666
You know?
Do you want to be biting
1627
01:13:48,833 --> 01:13:50,541
the hand that feeds you?
1628
01:13:50,708 --> 01:13:53,083
'Cause the political reality
is that billionaires
1629
01:13:53,250 --> 01:13:57,833
tend to set the agenda
and have an outsized influence
on regulation and legislation.
1630
01:13:58,375 --> 01:14:01,875
In the 1930s,
when the SEC was created,
they didn't have the Internet.
1631
01:14:02,416 --> 01:14:04,625
They didn't have
quick access to information.
1632
01:14:04,791 --> 01:14:07,500
So they made a system
of self-regulation.
1633
01:14:07,958 --> 01:14:09,583
And almost a century later,
1634
01:14:09,750 --> 01:14:12,208
we still have that same system.
1635
01:14:12,375 --> 01:14:14,791
And that system is led by FINRA,
1636
01:14:14,958 --> 01:14:16,208
a private organization
1637
01:14:16,375 --> 01:14:17,708
tasked with regulating brokers
1638
01:14:17,875 --> 01:14:19,083
and broker-dealers.
1639
01:14:19,250 --> 01:14:20,458
But here's the catch.
1640
01:14:20,625 --> 01:14:22,416
FINRA is funded and guided
1641
01:14:22,583 --> 01:14:23,958
by its member firms,
1642
01:14:24,125 --> 01:14:25,708
who it's supposed to regulate.
1643
01:14:26,291 --> 01:14:28,083
Citadel and Robinhood
among them.
1644
01:14:28,916 --> 01:14:30,708
So, in my view,
1645
01:14:30,875 --> 01:14:32,625
I think we're past
the point of no return.
1646
01:14:32,791 --> 01:14:34,833
I, I-- we're
in a regulatory crisis
1647
01:14:35,000 --> 01:14:36,500
where Wall Street and Washington
1648
01:14:36,666 --> 01:14:39,458
are in this suicide pact
that they are going to ride
1649
01:14:39,625 --> 01:14:42,500
this self-regulatory system
to the death
1650
01:14:43,000 --> 01:14:46,541
and there's nothing
that's going to make them admit
1651
01:14:46,708 --> 01:14:50,166
that the system
they're supporting is flawed
1652
01:14:50,333 --> 01:14:52,833
and, in fact,
is damaging the economy.
1653
01:14:53,916 --> 01:14:55,625
We looked at as many
1654
01:14:55,791 --> 01:14:57,166
of the major legal actions
1655
01:14:57,333 --> 01:14:59,166
as we could find publicly
1656
01:14:59,333 --> 01:15:01,000
against the six biggest banks
1657
01:15:01,166 --> 01:15:03,791
in the United States
over 20 plus years.
1658
01:15:04,250 --> 01:15:06,250
And it shows that they have paid
1659
01:15:06,416 --> 01:15:09,458
hundreds of billions of dollars
in fines
1660
01:15:09,625 --> 01:15:12,041
for breaking the law
over and over and over.
1661
01:15:12,208 --> 01:15:14,041
I don't mean parking tickets.
1662
01:15:14,208 --> 01:15:15,666
I mean manipulating markets.
1663
01:15:15,833 --> 01:15:17,833
Inaccurate reporting
of a short sale indicator,
1664
01:15:18,000 --> 01:15:19,333
$180,000 fine.
1665
01:15:19,500 --> 01:15:21,000
Trading ahead
of active customer orders,
1666
01:15:21,166 --> 01:15:22,208
$700,000 fine.
1667
01:15:22,375 --> 01:15:23,750
Failed to close
1668
01:15:23,916 --> 01:15:25,250
a failure to deliver position,
1669
01:15:25,416 --> 01:15:26,750
$10,000 fine.
1670
01:15:26,916 --> 01:15:28,000
$15,000 fine.
1671
01:15:28,166 --> 01:15:29,375
$30,000 fine.
1672
01:15:29,541 --> 01:15:31,000
$80,000 fine.
1673
01:15:31,166 --> 01:15:34,791
Major market manipulation
between 2007 and 2010,
1674
01:15:34,958 --> 01:15:38,958
$22,668,000 fine.
1675
01:15:39,125 --> 01:15:41,500
This is just
for Citadel Securities.
1676
01:15:42,125 --> 01:15:43,916
These are just nine
that I picked
1677
01:15:44,083 --> 01:15:45,416
to prove a point on an article.
1678
01:15:45,583 --> 01:15:47,583
Tell me this isn't
a systemic problem.
1679
01:15:51,166 --> 01:15:55,166
What happened in January 2021
was unprecedented.
1680
01:15:56,250 --> 01:15:59,625
David took a shot at Goliath
and, for once, got a hit.
1681
01:16:00,500 --> 01:16:03,166
But what the mainstream media
has failed to acknowledge
1682
01:16:03,625 --> 01:16:05,583
is that this isn't over.
1683
01:16:06,166 --> 01:16:07,458
Like, it looked like
a short squeeze.
1684
01:16:07,625 --> 01:16:09,250
It had all of the visual effects
1685
01:16:09,416 --> 01:16:10,375
of a short squeeze,
1686
01:16:10,916 --> 01:16:12,833
but, in fact, it didn't force
1687
01:16:13,000 --> 01:16:14,708
the shorts to cover, did it?
1688
01:16:17,333 --> 01:16:21,708
We, we just
don't have the disclosures
and transparency
1689
01:16:21,875 --> 01:16:24,458
to know what's taking place in,
1690
01:16:24,625 --> 01:16:26,541
you know, in the short side
of the market.
1691
01:16:26,708 --> 01:16:28,833
They can use
different techniques
1692
01:16:29,000 --> 01:16:30,791
to offset short positions.
1693
01:16:30,958 --> 01:16:35,083
If there's anything
we've seen, uh, be true
1694
01:16:35,250 --> 01:16:36,791
throughout all of time
on Wall Street,
1695
01:16:36,958 --> 01:16:40,166
it's that, you know,
manipulation will find a way,
1696
01:16:40,333 --> 01:16:41,583
and it will find a way
1697
01:16:41,750 --> 01:16:43,250
in the dark corners
of the market
1698
01:16:43,416 --> 01:16:45,166
that regulators
aren't looking at.
1699
01:16:46,083 --> 01:16:47,958
The apes have
pulled back the curtain
1700
01:16:48,125 --> 01:16:50,208
on decades of deregulation,
1701
01:16:50,375 --> 01:16:52,750
consolidation, overcomplication,
1702
01:16:52,916 --> 01:16:55,166
and incentivized criminality
on Wall Street,
1703
01:16:55,333 --> 01:16:57,041
that have left us
with capital markets,
1704
01:16:57,208 --> 01:16:59,958
designed to extract wealth
from mainstream
1705
01:17:00,458 --> 01:17:04,041
while giving everyday people
the illusion
of true participation.
1706
01:17:04,833 --> 01:17:06,500
It feels overwhelming.
1707
01:17:07,125 --> 01:17:10,583
But unless we come together
and demand change,
1708
01:17:10,750 --> 01:17:13,750
we will continue
to be the product.
1709
01:17:14,208 --> 01:17:16,083
People often say,
1710
01:17:16,250 --> 01:17:19,083
"How can you possibly
make any progress,
1711
01:17:19,250 --> 01:17:22,541
given that Wall Street
has an army in Washington?"
1712
01:17:23,166 --> 01:17:25,666
You don't have to go
man-to-man with these guys.
1713
01:17:25,833 --> 01:17:27,750
You will be amazed
1714
01:17:27,916 --> 01:17:29,583
at what a difference
1715
01:17:29,750 --> 01:17:31,708
even a couple of people can make
1716
01:17:31,875 --> 01:17:34,250
if they participate
in the process.
1717
01:17:34,708 --> 01:17:36,500
Wall Street wins
1718
01:17:36,666 --> 01:17:40,208
largely because
they are unopposed.
1719
01:17:40,375 --> 01:17:43,541
We need to get to a point
where there's enough attention
1720
01:17:43,708 --> 01:17:47,333
on a specific issue,
a specific piece of it,
1721
01:17:47,500 --> 01:17:49,916
that you can get some
real regulatory change.
1722
01:17:50,416 --> 01:17:52,416
And I think regulators
have missed the fact
1723
01:17:52,583 --> 01:17:55,875
that this community
has become more sophisticated
1724
01:17:56,041 --> 01:17:57,583
over this past year and,
1725
01:17:57,750 --> 01:18:00,416
and the level of sophistication
has gone from,
1726
01:18:00,583 --> 01:18:02,333
"I'm buying stocks on a phone,"
1727
01:18:02,500 --> 01:18:04,166
to "Let me explain to you
the problems
1728
01:18:04,333 --> 01:18:05,625
and conflicts of interest
at the heart
1729
01:18:05,791 --> 01:18:07,208
of the self-regulatory system,"
right?
1730
01:18:07,375 --> 01:18:09,916
Like, people understand
market structure now
1731
01:18:10,083 --> 01:18:12,750
and they understand, uh,
the flaws in the system,
1732
01:18:12,916 --> 01:18:16,208
and we-- you know,
the industry and regulators
1733
01:18:16,375 --> 01:18:17,750
need to approach them
1734
01:18:17,916 --> 01:18:20,625
as, uh, well-educated peers
at this point
1735
01:18:20,791 --> 01:18:22,416
and not condescend to them.
1736
01:18:22,583 --> 01:18:26,500
This is
a, a significant development
1737
01:18:26,666 --> 01:18:28,541
in our capital markets.
1738
01:18:28,708 --> 01:18:31,000
It's a significant development
in Wall Street
1739
01:18:31,166 --> 01:18:34,375
and it's different
than previous movements
1740
01:18:34,541 --> 01:18:37,625
because it started with dollars.
1741
01:18:38,250 --> 01:18:42,333
And, and that's what got
the attention of Wall Street.
1742
01:18:42,875 --> 01:18:46,083
So I-- my hope is
that it will continue,
1743
01:18:46,250 --> 01:18:48,208
and I certainly am pivoting
1744
01:18:48,375 --> 01:18:52,208
in the way
that I think about advocacy
because of the apes.
1745
01:18:52,750 --> 01:18:55,125
I think it's hard
to, to stereotype
1746
01:18:55,291 --> 01:18:58,500
the ape community, um,
and to generalize about it.
1747
01:18:58,666 --> 01:19:00,583
In fact, I, I,
I'm continually impressed
1748
01:19:00,750 --> 01:19:02,958
at the diversity
in the community
1749
01:19:03,125 --> 01:19:06,458
and I think that that's
something that should be,
um, focused on
1750
01:19:06,625 --> 01:19:08,875
rather than, you know,
this caricature,
1751
01:19:09,041 --> 01:19:12,083
uh, of the,
the basement-dwelling
market manipulator.
1752
01:19:12,250 --> 01:19:13,916
Oh, I'd be proud
to call myself an ape.
1753
01:19:14,083 --> 01:19:17,750
My mom is from Tunisia
and, uh, she's already working
1754
01:19:17,916 --> 01:19:19,916
over the retirement age now
1755
01:19:20,083 --> 01:19:22,083
and she has a hard work.
1756
01:19:22,250 --> 01:19:24,041
Uh, she's a single--
she's a single mom.
1757
01:19:24,208 --> 01:19:26,708
Uh, the, the rent here
is pretty expensive
1758
01:19:26,875 --> 01:19:28,375
and we're somehow
living on the edge.
1759
01:19:28,541 --> 01:19:30,000
I saw this as
a great opportunity
1760
01:19:30,166 --> 01:19:33,083
to invest in my future
and my kid's future
1761
01:19:33,250 --> 01:19:36,416
and just being able
to be financially secure
1762
01:19:36,583 --> 01:19:39,666
and not having
to work 12-hour shifts.
1763
01:19:40,416 --> 01:19:43,000
Um, but I'm a nobody, really.
1764
01:19:43,166 --> 01:19:46,291
Um, I, I'm a guy
who just needs a win.
1765
01:19:46,458 --> 01:19:47,875
I want to have my own home.
1766
01:19:48,333 --> 01:19:50,208
And I just-- and I want to be
able to repay my parents too
1767
01:19:50,375 --> 01:19:51,291
for what they've done for me.
1768
01:19:52,666 --> 01:19:54,041
It would be r--
1769
01:19:54,541 --> 01:19:56,291
it would be a much better world
1770
01:19:57,083 --> 01:19:59,000
if everyone was able to...
1771
01:20:00,375 --> 01:20:02,583
...take advantage
of their talents
1772
01:20:03,375 --> 01:20:06,500
and really help themselves
and their families prosper
1773
01:20:06,666 --> 01:20:10,250
in the way that they know
that they can do and to,
1774
01:20:10,416 --> 01:20:11,625
to pick up their heads.
1775
01:20:12,166 --> 01:20:14,250
If you can dream it,
you can achieve it.
1776
01:20:14,416 --> 01:20:15,875
And if you're stuck
in a situation
1777
01:20:16,041 --> 01:20:18,541
where you feel like
nothing is going your way,
1778
01:20:18,708 --> 01:20:21,625
nothing is being done to make
sure that your life is better,
1779
01:20:21,791 --> 01:20:23,250
take a bet on yourself.
1780
01:20:23,958 --> 01:20:26,500
And to hell be damned,
let nothing stop you.
1781
01:20:27,625 --> 01:20:29,500
You control yourself.
1782
01:20:29,666 --> 01:20:31,125
You are not the product.
1783
01:20:33,583 --> 01:20:36,125
So as long as they fight,
we fight.
1784
01:20:36,708 --> 01:20:38,666
As long as they hold, we hold.
1785
01:20:42,125 --> 01:20:44,833
Keep surviving,
keep making ways out of no way,
1786
01:20:45,000 --> 01:20:46,708
keep taking one step forward.
1787
01:20:46,875 --> 01:20:49,250
Because at the end of the day,
they would eventually get tired.
1788
01:20:49,416 --> 01:20:52,291
We won't. Because we've
already lived this life.
1789
01:20:53,291 --> 01:20:55,791
I grew up in a housing project
in Worcester, Mass,
1790
01:20:56,250 --> 01:20:58,541
on free school lunches,
1791
01:20:58,708 --> 01:21:00,375
uh, food stamps and welfare.
1792
01:21:00,541 --> 01:21:01,708
I had nothing.
1793
01:21:01,875 --> 01:21:04,083
And I got lucky,
I went in the Air Force,
1794
01:21:04,250 --> 01:21:05,541
I got to Harvard Law School,
1795
01:21:05,708 --> 01:21:07,250
I got a partnership
at Skadden, Arps.
1796
01:21:07,416 --> 01:21:09,083
And I worked
in the United States Senate.
1797
01:21:09,250 --> 01:21:10,750
And it's long past time
1798
01:21:10,916 --> 01:21:12,916
that Washington stopped working
1799
01:21:13,083 --> 01:21:14,875
for the rich, the wealthy,
1800
01:21:15,041 --> 01:21:17,458
the big Wall Street firms
and the lobbyists
1801
01:21:17,625 --> 01:21:18,833
and get back to the business
1802
01:21:19,000 --> 01:21:20,916
they are supposed
to be here for.
1803
01:21:21,083 --> 01:21:22,458
I grew up learning about
1804
01:21:22,625 --> 01:21:24,500
superheroes doing
the right thing,
1805
01:21:24,666 --> 01:21:26,291
about standing up
to the bad guys,
1806
01:21:26,458 --> 01:21:29,458
about being courageous
in the face of adversity.
1807
01:21:30,000 --> 01:21:31,541
I guess I just latched on
1808
01:21:31,708 --> 01:21:34,250
to that idea
that we can be superheroes.
1809
01:21:37,333 --> 01:21:40,541
It's important to keep yourself
grounded in what fuels you,
1810
01:21:40,708 --> 01:21:43,875
what keeps you going,
what makes you feel like
1811
01:21:44,041 --> 01:21:46,958
you, you're making
a difference in your life
and in your family's life.
1812
01:21:47,125 --> 01:21:50,625
Keep putting your nose
to the freaking grinder
because there are opportunities.
1813
01:21:50,791 --> 01:21:54,208
Learn by failing forward,
learn by leaning on your people
1814
01:21:54,375 --> 01:21:57,541
and learn by remembering
that people are always first.
1815
01:21:58,375 --> 01:22:00,750
They don't know nothing
about this life we live.
1816
01:22:00,916 --> 01:22:02,250
They're not regular people.
1817
01:22:03,083 --> 01:22:05,791
I wish that they understood
that there's a person
1818
01:22:05,958 --> 01:22:08,000
behind every zero
and every comma
1819
01:22:08,166 --> 01:22:10,625
that they go and check in
their bank accounts every day.
1820
01:22:11,666 --> 01:22:14,625
So, to every ape that's holding
whatever stock you're holding,
1821
01:22:15,166 --> 01:22:18,000
keep holding until you get
what makes you satisfied.
1822
01:22:18,166 --> 01:22:19,000
There is no number.
1823
01:22:20,833 --> 01:22:22,250
There's always a cross to bear,
1824
01:22:22,416 --> 01:22:23,916
there's always another bridge
to go across,
1825
01:22:24,083 --> 01:22:26,583
but at the end of the day,
it's your cross
1826
01:22:26,750 --> 01:22:28,958
and as long as you're holding,
I'm holding.
1827
01:23:42,583 --> 01:23:44,416
♪ Oh no, the MOASS can't stop ♪
1828
01:23:44,583 --> 01:23:46,583
♪ And them hedgies all get
fucked by the GameStop rocket ♪
1829
01:23:46,750 --> 01:23:48,875
♪ Community indivisible
Still attack pathetic ♪
1830
01:23:49,041 --> 01:23:51,125
♪ Them Citadel interns
So pitiful up on Reddit ♪
1831
01:23:51,291 --> 01:23:53,250
♪ The horse, the deadbeat
And the deep young contestant ♪
1832
01:23:53,416 --> 01:23:54,458
♪ You've never seen
a group of people ♪
1833
01:23:54,625 --> 01:23:55,666
♪ So happy that they invested ♪
1834
01:23:55,833 --> 01:23:57,583
♪ Them shorts, they all crying ♪
1835
01:23:57,750 --> 01:23:59,166
♪ Them tears, they so tasty
This is GameStop ♪
1836
01:23:59,333 --> 01:24:01,125
♪ Some number 20
Can he hate me? ♪
1837
01:24:01,291 --> 01:24:03,125
♪ It's all groovy, baby
We bringin' down the mafia ♪
1838
01:24:03,291 --> 01:24:05,083
♪ We steamrollin', they movin'
Oops, no stopping ♪
1839
01:24:05,250 --> 01:24:07,041
♪ Yes, you sell a box
This indicating he's nuts ♪
1840
01:24:07,208 --> 01:24:09,291
♪ So give you the teabag
Don't go in the teacup ♪
1841
01:24:09,458 --> 01:24:11,375
♪ So keep up
Ain't slowing down ♪
1842
01:24:11,541 --> 01:24:13,416
♪ Till it's over, we told them
to never tread on us ♪
1843
01:24:13,583 --> 01:24:15,416
♪ They dancing on a cobra
Bernie Madoff, move over ♪
1844
01:24:15,583 --> 01:24:17,291
♪ The king of crime
is coming to a jail near you ♪
1845
01:24:17,458 --> 01:24:19,083
♪ He a flight risk
Keep running ♪
1846
01:24:19,250 --> 01:24:21,083
♪ Short hedge funds
targeting your company ♪
1847
01:24:21,250 --> 01:24:23,291
♪ With a prime broker
to sell a box to bankruptcy ♪
1848
01:24:23,458 --> 01:24:25,708
♪ They use media journalists
as a weapon ♪
1849
01:24:25,875 --> 01:24:28,000
♪ Aimed at American business
They homewreckin' ♪
1850
01:24:28,166 --> 01:24:30,041
♪ Think for a second
Don't read up on DD ♪
1851
01:24:30,208 --> 01:24:32,250
♪ You don't gotta believe
what they saying on TV ♪
1852
01:24:32,416 --> 01:24:34,583
♪ 'Cause they paid off
And then pocket the candy ♪
1853
01:24:34,750 --> 01:24:37,041
♪ Hear a calm revolution
The money, they ain't ready ♪
1854
01:24:37,208 --> 01:24:39,250
♪ The meme so deadly
The meme lords are generals ♪
1855
01:24:39,416 --> 01:24:41,583
♪ Them shorts getting fucked
by these hentai tentacles ♪
1856
01:24:41,750 --> 01:24:43,875
♪ The apes so heretical
Media call 'em blasphemy ♪
1857
01:24:44,041 --> 01:24:46,041
♪ Ride upon a bubble
'Bout to be victim of gravity ♪
1858
01:24:46,208 --> 01:24:48,583
♪ The faux reality manufactured
in spin alley ♪
1859
01:24:48,750 --> 01:24:50,875
♪ Regulator totally absent
Looking like Death Valley ♪
1860
01:24:51,041 --> 01:24:52,916
♪ So thirsty for just
a drop of the justice ♪
1861
01:24:53,083 --> 01:24:55,166
♪ The silence discourse
The media won't discuss this ♪
1862
01:24:55,333 --> 01:24:57,541
♪ Cause they want to work Monday
They enforce the narrative ♪
1863
01:24:57,708 --> 01:25:00,208
♪ They're using propaganda
to terrorize the terrorists ♪
1864
01:25:00,375 --> 01:25:02,708
♪ So imperative now common
Americans are so confused ♪
1865
01:25:02,875 --> 01:25:04,833
♪ They look to the news
That's where the error is ♪
1866
01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:06,750
♪ Because the news
is owned by the few ♪
1867
01:25:06,916 --> 01:25:08,875
♪ Conglomerators grip
You're fed or feed into ♪
1868
01:25:09,041 --> 01:25:11,083
♪ From these evil-ass dudes
Just pigs and humans sew ♪
1869
01:25:11,250 --> 01:25:13,708
♪ So your ass get the boots
No longer taking abuse ♪
1870
01:25:13,875 --> 01:25:15,750
♪ Paid off, sending these
buyable politicians ♪
1871
01:25:15,916 --> 01:25:18,000
♪ Only steel apes to further
the moon mission ♪
1872
01:25:18,166 --> 01:25:19,875
♪ Better blow a whistle
You're organized ♪
1873
01:25:20,041 --> 01:25:21,458
♪ You're criminal
Caught red-handed ♪
1874
01:25:21,625 --> 01:25:23,166
♪ And still going
You're pitiful ♪
1875
01:25:23,333 --> 01:25:25,375
♪ Jail cell minimal price
for one share ♪
1876
01:25:25,541 --> 01:25:27,083
♪ Because I ain't selling none
of 'em if candy ain't there ♪
1877
01:25:27,250 --> 01:25:28,791
♪ So you better brace
for impact ♪
1878
01:25:28,958 --> 01:25:30,583
♪ The system you were born by ♪
1879
01:25:30,750 --> 01:25:32,083
♪ The apes
Choose to ignore the wisdom ♪
1880
01:26:01,000 --> 01:26:03,375
♪ Diamond hand apes
In the war against bears ♪
1881
01:26:03,541 --> 01:26:06,041
♪ The market makers manufacture
counterfeit shares ♪
1882
01:26:06,208 --> 01:26:08,458
♪ An endless supply, they
call it making short selling ♪
1883
01:26:08,625 --> 01:26:11,416
♪ While they pay for negative
opinion so you come chillin' ♪
1884
01:26:11,583 --> 01:26:13,791
♪ Wall Street bets
taking over by the hedgie ♪
1885
01:26:13,958 --> 01:26:16,750
♪ So we move the GME then
superstonk for the tendies ♪
1886
01:26:16,916 --> 01:26:19,166
♪ The fun can be so deadly but
my hands polished diamonds ♪
1887
01:26:19,333 --> 01:26:22,041
♪ So the shield's up, titles
of the hedge funds crying ♪
1888
01:26:22,208 --> 01:26:24,500
♪ We hold the lending, buying
While Ryan tweeting a Cypher ♪
1889
01:26:24,666 --> 01:26:27,416
♪ Hittin' Ken with a Hadouken
I'm Ryu from Street Fighter ♪
1890
01:26:27,583 --> 01:26:29,833
♪ That market manipulation
from hedgie heavy hitters ♪
1891
01:26:30,000 --> 01:26:32,708
♪ Consistent of many methods
hiding failures to deliver ♪
1892
01:26:32,875 --> 01:26:35,208
♪ They send it overseas
And hide them in the auctions ♪
1893
01:26:35,375 --> 01:26:38,000
♪ But what margin calls ringin'
black rockets in the auction ♪
1894
01:26:38,166 --> 01:26:40,541
♪ Go ahead and tank it
We lovin' buying the dips ♪
1895
01:26:40,708 --> 01:26:43,416
♪ Got the diamond hand ape
Bought me jack to the tits ♪
1896
01:26:43,583 --> 01:26:45,958
♪ Hedgies keep lying
They bleedin' out dying ♪
1897
01:26:46,125 --> 01:26:48,833
♪ Attempt to make us paper hand
Like, keep trying ♪
1898
01:26:49,000 --> 01:26:51,166
♪ Power to the players
Now the players got the power ♪
1899
01:26:51,333 --> 01:26:54,000
♪ Queen Kong joined the army
With our Winston David Lauer ♪
1900
01:26:54,166 --> 01:26:56,416
♪ So many lit up towers
At four o'clock in the morning ♪
1901
01:26:56,583 --> 01:26:57,791
♪ Got me checking
Reddit steadily ♪
1902
01:26:57,958 --> 01:26:59,791
♪ Your day is never boring ♪
1903
01:26:59,958 --> 01:27:02,083
♪ Avoiding every post
of legitimate due diligence ♪
1904
01:27:02,250 --> 01:27:04,750
♪ The super storm got me
Disciplined hard militants ♪
1905
01:27:04,916 --> 01:27:07,041
♪ We growin' in intelligence
Our brain formin' wrinkles ♪
1906
01:27:07,208 --> 01:27:08,791
♪ By the shape-shifting still ♪
1907
01:27:08,958 --> 01:27:10,708
♪ I smell your shit
through the sprinkles ♪
1908
01:27:10,875 --> 01:27:12,666
♪ Citadel and co picked
the wrong fucking battle ♪
1909
01:27:12,833 --> 01:27:15,375
♪ We King Kongs climbing
on top of Tower of Babel ♪
1910
01:27:15,541 --> 01:27:17,666
♪ We laugh at short ladders
posting thanks for the sales ♪
1911
01:27:17,833 --> 01:27:19,166
♪ Squeeze the snazzy
But then your body ♪
1912
01:27:19,333 --> 01:27:21,250
♪ Surfing with the whales ♪
1913
01:27:21,416 --> 01:27:23,333
♪ Keith Gill chillin' just
chucklin' at the shilling ♪
1914
01:27:23,500 --> 01:27:26,000
♪ While the world realizing
Ken Griffin final villain ♪
1915
01:27:26,166 --> 01:27:28,541
♪ The Citadel building
Soon going out of business ♪
1916
01:27:28,708 --> 01:27:31,500
♪ Got the world waiting for
that MOASS early Christmas ♪
1917
01:27:31,666 --> 01:27:34,125
♪ Apes going Rambo
Superstar commando ♪
1918
01:27:34,291 --> 01:27:36,791
♪ Buying every naked share
And asking when Lambo ♪
1919
01:27:36,958 --> 01:27:38,250
♪ Bo, bo, bo, bo... ♪