Part 4/10:
By January, the short interest in GameStop reached astonishing levels—about 140%. Such a high percentage indicates that more than the total shares available were being shorted, an anomaly in conventional markets. This scenario created the perfect storm: a powerful catalyst (such as a favorable news or rallying sentiment on social media) could trigger an explosive short squeeze.
This wave wasn't limited to GameStop alone. Similar surges occurred in stocks like AMC Entertainment, another heavily shorted company popular among retail investors. However, some assets, like silver, proved more resistant to such squeezes due to higher liquidity and more regulated trading environments.