WASHINGTON – The now infamous trader, Keith Gill, also known by his social media handles ‘Roaring Kitty’ and “DeepF***ingValue’, testified before Congress this Thursday, giving insight into his background and motives for causing a rally on the stock market earlier this month. His post on the Reddit forum, WallStreetBets, caused stock prices of GameStop (NYSE: GME) and several other companies to skyrocket overnight and caused substantial losses to hedge funds that were short selling the company’s stock.
Mr. Gill made an impassionate statement and denied accusations leveled at him; that he misdirected the public by posing as an amateur trader. This was in reference to the GameStop incident and subsequent lawsuit that gained him notoriety.
In his speech, the 34-year-old American Financial Analyst also detailed the motivation behind his evaluation of GameStop and the post on r/WallStreetBets backing its stock. He asserted he was an individual investor and not a hedge fund, comparing his social media posts to informal conversations had by traders at hedge funds.
Although not mentioned in official transcripts, Mr. Gill even managed to slip in a reference to the recent viral “lawyer cat” meme by opening with the remarks: “Before I go further, I want to be clear about what I am not. I am not a cat. I am not a hedge fund.”
Videos of the hearing and its transcripts have since gone viral on social media, further fueling the populist movement.
