I've got a bridge to sell you.

117% held by institutions. That is all you need to know to figure out the media is trying to sell you more bullshit. This isn't "digital soldiers battling it out with wall street."

This is a classic short squeeze. GME was primed for it with a HUGE amount of its float sold short. Funny thing about shorting, its a lot like taking a position on margin. The shares you sell short are borrowed and therefore can be called back, forcing you into a loss. Whats more, the theoretical bounds for upside potential are limited, while losses are unbounded (it is the inverse of a long position.) Andrew Long, Melvin Capital Management, and more closed short positions on GME at 100% losses. If they hadn't, they could have had losses much bigger, and the fact they closed at -100% is telling. They had risk tolerance limits in place on their positions, because you have to when shorting.

Large hedge funds closed huge short positions which has the same effect as funds taking big long positions, it drives the price higher. However with long positions, funds typically distribute large purchases or sales of stock over time to reduce the impact on stock price. When your short position is forced to cover or you panic cover, you buy a large amount all at once, sending the price skyrocketing. With a high short interest company, small price movements to the upside can trigger massive chain reactions as larger and larger funds with higher and higher risk tolerance are forced to buy to cover, causing the stock price to go parabolic.

What happens afterwards is obvious. The stock price peaks. Momentum dies. And it does a dramatic reverse to the downside. GME is a horrible, horrible company. The price will by below $20 a share by next year. Dont believe me? Look at TLRY from 2019 to today. That is a classic short squeeze.

Reddit's involvement in this is minimal at best. This was wal street's own doing, taking massive short positions in an already heavily shorted stock and not thinking about what happens if the price starts to go up.