Trader Keith Gill, also known on social media as “Roaring Kitty” or “DeepFuckingValue,” could get barred from E*Trade after a screenshot he posted that appeared to show a huge stake in GameStop caused the stock price to soar.
That’s according to a Monday report in The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed people familiar with the situation at E*Trade, a trading platform owned by Morgan Stanley.
The unnamed sources said the prominent meme-stock trader sparked concern about potential stock manipulation after he bought a bunch of GameStop options shortly before breaking his three-year social media silence last month.
Prior to last month, Gill had not posted to his social media accounts since 2021. Then, on May 12, he began making cryptic posts on X. After he reemerged, GameStop surged yet again.
Then, on Sunday night, he shared a screenshot of an E*Trade account that appeared to show he had a $116 million position in GameStop, triggering another frenzy that caused the meme stock to soar.
The Journal also reported that the Massachusetts securities division is examining Gill’s actions. The Massachusetts securities division did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
The Journal reported no decision had been made yet on whether to stop Gill from trading on the platform. People familiar with internal discussions told the outlet they are still weighing if Gill engaged in manipulation and that the platform is concerned about losing customers — and the potential reaction of Gill’s fans — if he were barred.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment when reached by Business Insider. Gill did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Shortly after the Journal reported on his potential barring from E*Trade, Gill posted another screenshot that appeared to show he maintained his position in GameStop on Monday, even as the value of his stake seemingly jumped from $116 million to $140 million in less than a day.
