Yahya 
The unanticipated and sudden coming back of Keith Gill has again made the traders think of another GameStop-like chaos, thus raising their hopes. Gill, the guy who was the mastermind of the famous GameStop short squeeze of 2021, came back on May 13 after a three-year break, and the stock and crypto markets were in a state of frenzy.
GameStop 2. 0?
During the pandemic, Gill became the key figure in the GameStop saga, where Reddit traders succeeded in turning the tables on the hedge funds that were shorting the video game retailer. Consequently, GameStop shares surged over 1,000% in less than a month. The event also set the stage for a huge price boost for memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB).
After Gill’s enigmatic announcement of his comeback on X (previously Twitter), GameStop shares went up by 111% in 24 hours. While DOGE and SHIB were up by 6.2% and 5.4%, respectively. This new development has raised the expectations of crypto lovers that Gill’s comeback will lead to another round of retail mania.
Analyst Skepticism
Nevertheless, not all people have this positive view. The eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert was not sure about the continuation of the rally; he told, “I think it will indeed start some short-term moves from these assets, but it is difficult to see any longevity.”
Gilbert pointed out a number of things that distinguish the current environment from that of 2021. He emphasized that the shorts on GameStop and other assets worth GameStop are now very small; thus, the probability of a shocking price rise is reduced. Additionally, economic conditions have changed drastically: “The environment is just not like 2021, when interest rates were at rock bottom, governments were giving fiscal stimulus globally, and major economies had no or little inflation.”
Now, the interest rates are at 5%. With the economic growth of 5% in the US and the global cost of living crisis, consumers are in a different financial situation. “Basically, the consumers are not in the same position as they were in 2021, and that is a big factor in their financial decisions,” Gilbert said.
A Bullish Crypto Community
Notwithstanding all the warnings, some traders are still optimistic. The pseudonymous trader Travis said that the recent integration of Robinhood and the decentralized exchange UniSwap is the reason for the optimism. “Just a reminder, you can trade memes on Robinhood now. You think the Keith Gill army isn’t going to buy these things?” Travis added.
A Different Market Landscape
Gilbert stressed that investor behavior has changed since the 2021 frenzy. “Most investors now know how the speculative rallies end up and are more likely to be more cautious,” he said. “I believe that we are in a totally different place from where we were in 2021, which makes me think that a similar rally would be impractical.”
Nevertheless, he admitted that with 14. 5 million users on WallStreetBets, that is to say, anything can happen. In the middle of the chaos, several GameStop-related memecoins, among which an unofficial GameStop (GME) coin, witnessed huge rises, with GME memecoin even skyrocketing over 3,650% in a single day as per the Birdeye data.
The market is closely watching the current situation, and the possibility of another explosive rally is still not determined. This is because cautious optimism and the changing financial landscape are the factors that raise doubts.