The GME token continued its downtrend after GameStop’s stock experienced heavy selling pressure following weak quarterly results.
GME (GME) retreated by 11.4% to $0.0041, bringing its total market cap to over $28 million, down from $157 million in May.
The token’s drop came after GameStop, which had risen on Friday after Roaring Kitty’s return to X, fell by over 15% to trade below $20.
GameStop reported that its quarterly revenues dropped to over $798.3 million in the second quarter, down from $1.16 billion in the same period in 2023. This decline occurred as more customers opted to purchase video games online rather than in its stores.
The stock also dropped after the company hinted at raising cash by selling shares to bolster its balance sheet and fund potential acquisitions. GameStop holds over $4.1 billion in cash and has no debt.
The GME token tends to have a close correlation with GameStop stock. On Friday, the token rose to $0.0055, up by over 110% from its lowest point earlier in the week. GameStop also reached a two-month high after Roaring Kitty, the trader popular in Wall Street Bets, posted on X for the first time in months.
GME token vs GameStop stock have a close correlation | Source: TradingView
Before that, the GME coin rose to a record high of $0.03230 in May as the GameStop shares jumped to its 2021 high of $64 after Kitty returned to social media after a long hiatus. The two then dropped by double digits as the hype eased.
GME’s retreat also coincided with the gloomy mood in the stock and crypto market after the latest US inflation report. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 indices dropped by over 0.50% while Bitcoin (BTC) fell to $56,400.
The GME crypto token formed a God candle on Sep. 6 after Roaring Kitty made a surprise return to X ahead of GameStop’s earnings.
GME (GME) surged to a high of $0.0052, its highest swing since June 24, and 93% above its intraday low. It has risen by 168% from its lowest level in August, making it one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies in the market. Its market cap jumped to over $32 million.
GameStop’s stock also rose by over 3.7%, even as a sea of red spread in the market, with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 indices falling by 0.90% and 2.43%, respectively. Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to $53,000 while the market cap of all coins fell below $2 trillion.
This performance happened after Keith Gill, popularly known as Roaring Kitty, returning to X, sending the post below. The thinly traded Roaring Kitty (KITTY) token also formed a God candle, rising by over 65%. A God candle is a sudden bullish candlestick that catches traders off guard.
Gill is one of the more popularized traders due to his role in the meme stock frenzy in 2021. Most recently, in May, he returned to the market, pushing meme companies like GameStop, AMC, and Faraday Future sharply higher.
Gill’s return is notable because it happened as GameStop prepares to publish its financial results on Sept. 10. Analysts have low expectations for the company as its business continues slowing down. The average estimate among analysts is that its revenue dropped from over $1.1 billion in Q2’23 to $895 million this year.
The company is facing major headwinds as more gamers opt to buy games and consoles online and as operations costs rise.
It remains unclear whether the GME and KITTY tokens will sustain the ongoing rally. Historically, such gains have been short-lived. In May, the GME token rose from $0.0035 to $0.029 after Roaring Kitty’s return, only to erase all those gains within a few days. It dropped to a record low of $0.0017 in August.
Similarly, KITTY surged to $0.093 amid the hype and then fell by almost 100% to a low of $0.0013 in August.
Meme coins have experienced a notable decline alongside GameStop’s stock crash on June 7.
Although the drop was smaller than GameStop’s, major meme coins like Pepe, Dogewheat, Floki, and Bonk fell by over 10%.
The unpredictability of the market was evident as GameStop’s stock surged 47% the previous day in anticipation of a live broadcast by Keith Gill, known as ‘Roaring Kitty,’ who had led the GameStop rally.
However, the stock price plummeted by as much as 40% after the 50-minute broadcast, which offered no new information. The unpredictability also impacted meme coins, which had piggybacked on the meme stock rally, leading to their drop.
According to data from CoinMarketCap on June 8, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu had fallen by 7.56% and 6.23%, respectively. Pepe dropped 10.82%, Dogewheat 12.47%, Floki 12.93%, and Bonk 11.35%, all recording declines in the early 10% range.
Prominent analyst Il Capo analyzed the situation as a “shakeout” amid an uptrend, noting a clear support test for Solana, the underlying platform of major meme coins.
Not just meme coins; entire crypto market feels the impact
The crypto market is down by billion in less than a week. This market downturn led to a rotation of capital into stablecoins or less risky bets, further contributing to the decline of meme coins.
The social volume of these altcoins also plummeted by more than 20% in the last 24 hours, reflecting the negative sentiment alongside the price decline.
Gill’s resurgence (he returned to social media after more than three years) reignited excitement and frequent trading halts in GME trading on traditional exchanges.
This subsequently fueled a surge in meme coin activity amid a bullish crypto market.
Gill’s GME portfolio is nearing the billion mark, sparking significant gains in GameStop-themed meme coins over the past 24 hours.
Here are the standouts:
The Solana-based Roaring Kitty (KITTY) coin, which soared nearly 300% to approximately .0344 by Friday.
The Ethereum-based Roaring Kitty (ROAR) coin jumped over 126% in the same period, reaching around .00154.
The Solana-based GME (GME) coin also experienced a significant rally, increasing more than 115% to about .025.
GME’s rally was accompanied by a daily trading volume exceeding 7 million and a market cap of around 2 million.
The Ethereum-based GME coin rose over 83% to trade at approximately .00006286.
The rapid rise of these parody meme coins highlights the intense crypto FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) sweeping the market. The meme coin industry has already achieved a market cap of nearly .6 billion, with a daily trading volume surpassing billion.
Meanwhile, the lack of action from the US SEC against Gill suggests that the meme coin frenzy could spark a new altseason. Also, Bitcoin’s dominance appears to be reversing, highlighted by significant gains in Ethereum (ETH) and BNB, indicating a potential shift in the market.
In the midst of these developments, renowned digital artist Beeple, known for his record-breaking .3 million NFT sale, has stirred controversy with his latest artwork, “CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT.”
Some view it as a commentary on the risks associated with the hype and speculation surrounding meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. The timing and intent behind Beeple’s artwork have been questioned, given Roaring Kitty’s influential role in mobilizing retail investors and shaping market dynamics.
There’s heightened concern about the potential impact of the provocative imagery on GameStop’s already volatile stock price. On the other hand, some experts suggest that Roaring Kitty’s recent return could signal an oncoming meme coin supercycle.
Three Roaring Kitty-inspired memecoins marked triple-digit price increases over the past week.
Despite a slight decline in the overall memecoin market cap, CoinGecko data showes that GME, KITTY, and ROAR whipsawed over 100%.
The three tokens have seemingly benefitted from associations with GameStop trader Keith Gill, although no official affiliation exists with the original memestock champion. On Friday, GME, KITTY, and ROAR are up 445%, 817%, and 107%, respectively, over the past week.
GME shares an identical ticker with video game retail company GameStop and KITTY is styled after Gill’s Roaring Kitty online alias. Both tokens are Solana-based, while ROAR lives on Ethereum, crypto’s second-largest blockchain.
Roaring Kitty comeback
Gill became famous for marshaling support behind GameStop (GME) in 2021. At the time, the video game retailer struggled to maintain relevance during a short squeeze as its stock price was far below its all-time highs.
The investor vanished from the public eye till this year, returning on social media with a series of posts on X. As some cat-themed memecoins boomed on Gill’s comeback, the GME investor disclosed his GME stock and options positions on Reddit.
Roaring Kitty, DeepFuckingValue has updated his GameStop, $GME position.
At press time, Gill’s GameStop portfolio was valued at over 0 million despite a 28% fall in GameStop’s stock price on the day. The company posted a sharp 29% sales decline in its first-quarter earnings report.
If GME stock rises to per share, the value of Gill’s position could hit billion. Also, Gill is hosting a YouTube Live stream for the first time in three years. Crypto.news noted over 78,000 people in the waiting room ahead of the event, which is scheduled for 4 PM UTC.
GameStop (GME), a Solana-based memecoin, has surged over 300% within hours of a social post by the legendary trader “Roaring Kitty,” setting the memecoin market ablaze once again.
At the time of writing, the GameStop-related memecoin, which has no official affiliation with the company, was trading at .01309, still up 220% in the last 24 hours, as per data by CoinMarketCap (CMC). The crypto asset also had a trading volume of 3 million, up over tenfold within the same timeframe.
GME 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap
On June 3, stock trader Keith Gill, known online as “Roaring Kitty,” who gained fame for his role in the GameStop stock frenzy in late 2020, posted a cryptic image of a green UNO reverse card on X.
Other memecoins have also seen significant gains due to the renewed buzz around “Roaring Kitty.” Kitty AI, another unrelated memecoin, more than doubled in value, currently trading at .007139, according to CMC.
On June 2, Gill also made a rare appearance on Reddit, his first since April 2021, sharing a screenshot that appeared to show his purchase of 5 million GME shares for 5.7 million. He also invested .7 million in call options, betting that the GME stock price would reach at least per share by June 21.
The screenshot indicated that Gill had gained over .3 million on his GME holdings, though he was also holding a loss of nearly .5 million on his call options.
While the authenticity of this screenshot remains unverified, its impact on market sentiment has been significant.
GameStop shares, which closed at .14 on May 31, have seen an upward trend over the past month, partly attributed to Gill’s renewed social media activity.
Keith Gill, known for his pivotal role in the GameStop saga during the COVID-19 pandemic, is seen by many as a key figure in the events that led to Reddit traders challenging hedge funds that were shorting the struggling brick-and-mortar game store.
Their actions ended up sending the price of GameStop stock soaring over 1,000% in under a month.
Some market observers believe that the GameStop short squeeze paved the way for the subsequent surge in meme coins, such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, as retail investors shifted their focus to other speculative assets.
