The GameStop stock situation has been a phenomenon that is just as difficult to follow at times as it is to understand its origins. Initially, many assumed it was exclusively due to GameStop's inclusion of new board members, GME began to see a steady increase around mid-January. The increase was peculiar at the time as the company itself was going through a low period due to the effects of the pandemic affecting sales among several internal issues.
Over time, it was discovered that it was through Reddit day-traders that GME's stock increased exponentially. Other struggling companies at the time, like AMC, also experienced a similar orchestrated surge in market value. While the situation had hit its peak in January as GameStop's dramatic rise in stock reached the public eye, the events leading up to the GME increase in value dated back as early as December. One Redditor decided to use a popular game, Super Smash Bros Ultimate to better explain the rise of GME in layman's terms
The video begins with Donkey Kong, Wario, and Diddy Kong with the usernames "DFV," "Hedginator," and "WSB" respectively. "Hedginator" refers to the hedge funders who short bet against GameStop, betting against the struggling company in order to profit off of its losses. The "WSB" and "DFV" are named after the Reddit group and the Redditor who originally supplied the information respectively, with WSB also representing GME. The "Hedginator" shrinks "WSB" down and starts hammering away at the defenseless GME stock until "DFV," or Donkey Kong, makes the save by carrying "WSB" away from "Hedginator." Ultimately, "DFV" defeats "Hedginator," straps "WSB" to a rocket, and sends them "to the moon," tripling the stocks of "WSB" as they split into three Diddy Kongs.
The phrase "to the moon," has been used to take low-value stock and invest as much money into the stock as possible, increasing its value and sending its worth "to the moon." The Reddit day-traders who thwarted the hedge funders' quest for greed, as noted by representing the hedge funder as Wario, the king of greed himself, sent GME "to the moon." This helped more than triple the value of GME in its aftermath, with GME's rise hitting a resurgence entering the month of March.
The story of GME and the intrigue of the common man thwarting the plans of rich funders had been the subject of many politicians in relation to other factors involved. Robinhood, the free-trading app many used to purchase GME stock, was caught under fire for delisting GME and AMC, which was enough for some to file a class-action lawsuit against the company. US Representative AOC was one of several politicians who supported the Redditors at the time, citing Wall Street as "treating the economy like a casino."