Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Apr 26, 2026

WallStreetBets founder on GameStop stock surge: The little guys ‘can’t be ignored anymore’

WallStreetBets founder on GameStop stock surge: The little guys ‘can’t be ignored anymore’

Pent-up emotions are just beginning to surface and its ‘absolutely fascinating to watch,’ Jaime Rogozinski said

Jaime Rogozinski, who created Reddit’s WallStreetBets, discussed on “Mornings with Maria” on Tuesday how the forum morphed into a force so powerful, it sent GameStop shares surging and rattled Wall Street.

“The little guys can’t be ignored anymore,” Rogozinski told host Maria Bartiromo of the GameStop trading frenzy, adding that the “little guys figured out a strategic way to push back.”

“They knew that their disadvantage was money and they overcame it,” he continued.

Rogozinski also told Bartiromo that “worldwide I see there’s a lot of sentiments that have been pent-up for a while that are just starting to surface so this is just absolutely fascinating to watch.”

Stock restrictions on Robinhood were put in place last week as the mobile brokerage app confronted high trading volume. The high volatility was spurred by the speculative investing discussion forum WallStreetBets. The group of Reddit users banded together to buy up GameStop's call options, causing the struggling retailer's shares to soar to unprecedented levels and hurting market short-sellers. The group then proceeded to target other heavily-shorted stocks.

Rogozinski argued that “Pandora's box is open” and “there's no going back at this point.”

“This has been a long time in the making,” he added.

“There’s been, over the past 10 years, access to Wall Street and financial markets through, first discount brokers, now free brokers, these app-based brokers that give the little guys access to the system and Wall Street,” Rogozinski noted. “For too long it’s been too hard and too expensive and too inaccessible.”

He went on to point out that now that retail investor participants “have access to this, it’s really difficult to turn the clocks back.”

On Friday morning, short sellers were facing more than $19 billion in combined losses on GameStop, according to an estimate provided to FOX Business by financial data service Ortex.

“I think it’s sad that a lot of people ended up losing money,” Rogozinski said. “I suppose it’s good that they’re starting to address this.”

On Sunday, President Biden’s top economic adviser said the administration will take a look at the legal questions surrounding the market activity of GameStop shares, which soared to astronomical levels last week, The New York Post reported, citing comments made on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

“I could tell you the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] is focused on understanding fully what happened here. And their focus is on protecting retail investors and also the integrity of the market,” Brian Deese, the head of the National Economic Council, reportedly said.

The SEC said on Friday that it is monitoring developments and will “act to protect retail investors when the facts demonstrate abusive or manipulative trading activity that is prohibited by the federal securities laws.” In addition, New York Attorney General Leticia James said she would launch her own review into the market activity.

Rogozinski stressed that there must be a “shift of mentality,” which he noted comes “in many different ways,” including from a regulatory or legal standpoint.

“But whatever it is, they have to consider the little guys because the little guys have now gotten together in such big numbers that they cannot be ignored anymore,” he continued.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has floated the possibility of an investigation into the matter by the House Financial Services Committee, which has received bipartisan support from other lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Congressman Ro Khanna, D-Calif., as well as business leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Ocasio-Cortez added that the inquiry should "not be solely limited to Robinhood."

Other competitors who previously restricted securities include TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwabb, WeBull, E*TRADE, and Interactive Brokers.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said in a tweet Sunday evening that any SEC and Congressional investigations of decisions to restrict access to trade GameStop "must happen ASAP."

"We cannot have a stock market where players are also refs," Schumer said.

On Sunday, Robinhood narrowed its stock trade restrictions from 50 to eight companies, including GameStop, AMC Entertainment Holdings, and BlackBerry Limited.



Robinhood co-founder Vladimir Tenev said in a Twitter thread on Thursday that as a brokerage firm, the company has many financial requirements, including "SEC net capital obligations and clearinghouse deposits", which fluctuate based on market volatility and exist to "protect investors and the markets."

"It was not because we wanted to stop people from buying these stocks," Robinhood added in a blog post. "We did this because the required amount we had to deposit with the clearinghouse was so large—with individual volatile securities accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in deposit requirements—that we had to take steps to limit buying in those volatile securities to ensure we could comfortably meet our requirements."

“These retail investors shouldn’t have to worry about these clearing house mumbo jumbos,” Rogozinski said.

“It’s obvious that the system was not designed with them in mind, it was designed for large Wall Street institutions and now that these amateur traders, these retail traders are getting involved, it’s never been more evident that the system was never designed for them to actually participate and have control over their participation in the financial markets.”

He went on to say that “there needs to be a bigger conversation regarding the playing field” so that “retail traders are taken into account with the rules.”

“The system was clearly designed for the big guys and the little guy obviously have a seat at this table and they need to address that,” he continued.

Rogozinski then pointed out “the other thing that needs to seriously be addressed,” which he said “is the strength of the system in Wall Street.”

“It is too weak,” Rogozinski noted.

“We saw the entire thing come down crashing 12, 13 years ago and we are starting to see cracks of things that were never addressed,” citing “the clearing house process” and other “very technical things.”

“Obviously we still get flash crashes, we still get all sorts of different things, but with so many participants, we need to see the system strengthen so that it can withstand all the participants inside this market,” he continued.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
News Roundup
Strategic Saudi-Bahrain Causeway Closed Amid Security Concerns as Trump Deadline Approaches
Saudi Arabia Keeps Red Sea Oil Exports Flowing Despite Regional Tensions
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
Saudi Business Leader Abudawood Appointed Chairman of Merit Incentives Group
TotalEnergies Confirms Damage at Saudi Refinery Following Security Incident
Saudi Arabia Launches Early Construction Phase for King Salman Stadium Project
Saudi Shift Away from Longstanding Dollar Oil Framework Gains Attention Amid Iran Conflict
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Resolve Long-Running Transit Visa Dispute
Saudi Oil Capacity and Pipeline Flows Reduced as Supply Risks Intensify
TotalEnergies Reports Damage to Saudi SATORP Refinery Following Security Incidents
Gulf States Assess Prospects of U.S.-Iran Truce as Regional Stability Efforts Intensify
South Korea Resumes Honey Exports to Saudi Arabia Following Sanitary Approval
Saudi Arabia Carries Out Sentences in Eastern Province Following Security Convictions
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Backs King Street’s Regional Credit Strategy
Saudi Arabia Secures World Cup Return as Egypt Celebrates Landmark Qualification
Iran and Saudi Arabia Intensify Diplomatic Engagement Amid Regional Tensions
Russia and Saudi Arabia Open Visa-Free Travel Corridor for Citizens
Saudi Oil Output Capacity Reduced by 600,000 Barrels Per Day Amid Regional Conflict
Saudi Arabia Suspends Operations at Select Energy Sites as Precautionary Measure
Saudi Arabia Halts Operations at Multiple Energy Facilities Amid Heightened Tensions
Global Markets Jolt as Iran Signals Ceasefire Breakdown and Rising Regional Tensions
King Street Aligns with Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund to Expand Alternative Investments in Middle East
Attack on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Petrochemical Hub Raises Global Supply Concerns
Debate Emerges Over Saudi Strategic Decisions as Gulf Cooperation Council Dynamics Come Into Focus
Saudi Arabia Expands Full Workforce Localisation to 69 Professions in Major Labour Reform
Emerging Alliance of Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia Signals New Regional Power Dynamic Amid Iran Conflict
Iran Linked to Strikes Across Gulf States Following Refinery Attack Escalation
Saudi Arabia Voices Concern Over Fragile US–Iran Ceasefire Stability
Starmer Warns Sustained Effort Needed to Ensure US–Iran Ceasefire Holds
Saudi Arabia’s Key East-West Oil Pipeline Targeted Following Ceasefire Announcement
Iran Targets Saudi Arabia’s East-West Oil Pipeline in Escalating Regional Tensions
Trump Warns of Civilizational Stakes as Iran Halts Negotiations
Saudi Companies Expand Remote Work Measures Ahead of Iran-Related Security Concerns
Iran Warns of Strikes on Saudi Energy Infrastructure if US Targets Its Facilities
Iran Urges Civilians to Form Human Shields Around Nuclear Sites as Diplomatic Deadline Approaches
Saudi Arabia Raises Oil Prices to Record Premiums Amid Supply Pressures Linked to Iran Conflict
Key Saudi-Bahrain Causeway Closed Amid Heightened Security Concerns Linked to Iran
Formula One Calendar Gap Explained as Fans Await Next Grand Prix
Growing Strain on the Petrodollar System Comes Into Focus Amid Iran Conflict
Reported Strike on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Complex Raises Global Energy Supply Concerns
FedEx Introduces New Digital Tool to Streamline Imports into Saudi Arabia
Iran Claims Strike on Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Petrochemical Complex Amid Rising Regional Tensions
Taiwan to Source Oil Shipments from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Ports
Saudi Arabia Evacuates Riyadh Financial District as Precaution Amid Regional Tensions
Saudi Arabia Balances Ambitious Economic Vision Amid Regional Tensions and Financial Pressures
Budget Saudi Arabia Reports Strong Full-Year 2025 Financial Performance
Saudi Arabia Expands Investment in Capcom With Stake Reaching Six Percent
Saudi Arabia Assesses Significant Economic Impact From Regional Conflict Involving Iran
US Beef Secures Expanded Market Access in Saudi Arabia
×