The U.S. House of Representative's Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold meetings on Feb. 18 about the short squeeze mania surrounding GameStop (GME -2.34%), AMC Entertainment (AMC -5.00%), and a handful of other heavily shorted stocks that recently saw huge gains. Some of the biggest players connected to the situation will be brought for questioning by the committee, which is chaired by Rep. Maxine Waters.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, and Melvin Capital founder Gabriel Plotkin have all been requested to appear at the hearing. Retail investor Keith Gill, who gained notoriety after discussing his big investment in GameStop stock on Reddit, is also being summoned for questioning by the committee.
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GameStop's incredible rise has been one of the biggest stories of the year, and it's raised questions about how markets should function and the role that commission-free trading platforms and social networks are playing in shaping stock performance. Many investors are still looking for the next potential short squeeze opportunity.
Waters issued a statement on Tuesday morning about the upcoming hearing, identifying concerns about the gamification of equities trading, online trading platforms, and the growing role of retail investors in the stock market. A recent study conducted by Credit Suisse found that retail investors' share of stock market activity had increased from between 15% and 18% at the start of 2020 to its current range of approximately 30%. Legislators will likely consider ways to both protect average investors and limit the potential for dangerous volatility that could potentially destabilize the market and other areas of the broader economy.
