NYSE imposes restrictions on GameStop after short sales volume soars 234%

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has issued a Short Sale Restriction (SSR) on GameStop after its short sales volume spiked to levels similar to its famous 2021 short squeeze. The company’s short sales volume rose by 234% over 24 hours, reaching 30.85 million shares sold on March 27.

The Short Sale Restriction is imposed after a stock drops over 10% from the previous day’s closing price. Google Finance data indicated that GameStop’s stock plummeted 22% over the trading day, wiping out its 12% gain from the Bitcoin announcement. GameStop Corp was trading at $22.09 at the time of publication, a 22.11% drop in the last 24 hours.

NYSE issues Short Sale Restriction on GameStop

GameStop stocks hit restrictions on NYSE after short volume rose to 234% over 24 hours 👀 pic.twitter.com/g8G2bsnvvK

— Gordon (@AltcoinGordon) March 28, 2025

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has enforced a Short Sale Restriction (SSR) on GameStop after volumes surged to their highest levels in nine months. On-chain data showed that GameStop (GME) short sales volume, the total number of shares sold short within a specific time frame, spiked by 234% over 24 hours. The firm’s short sales volume also reached 30.85 million shares sold on March 27.

President and CEO Kevin Malone noted on March 27 that GameStop had traded 50x more shares yesterday than the previous Thursday. Malone also argued that it was “not statistically possible without naked short selling.”

The video game company reached numbers close to the levels it reached in January 2021 when its stocks went meteoric after a “short squeeze” of the stock. The short squeeze caused significant losses for hedge funds and other short sellers while some retail traders made returns. 

Data showed that the highest point the firm’s shares reached that month was 33.26 million shares on January 19. GameStop still recorded the biggest day of short sales on June 3, 2024, when it reached 46.20 million. Stock trader Keith Gill, known for the short squeeze in 2021, disclosed on June 2 that he started trading GameStop stock again, this time with $180 million to play with.

GameStop plans to purchase BTC as a reserve asset

Shares of the gaming merchandise retailer also dropped more than 22% yesterday after it announced plans to finance its Bitcoin pivot amid its strategy to turn around its struggling retail business. The firm revealed on March 26 a $1.3 billion in 0% 2030 convertible notes offering to accumulate BTC.

The firm acknowledged that the convertible senior notes would be used for general corporate purposes, will not bear regular interest, and the principal amount of the notes will not accrue; the company said the notes will mature on April 1, 2030, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

Tastylive founder and CEO Tom Sosnoff questioned GameStop’s plan to start purchasing Bitcoin. He mentioned that the video game company’s decision to buy Bitcoin felt “a little dot-comish.”

“It feels a little like, oh, I’m going to throw a dot com at the end of my name, I’m going to buy some Bitcoin with our excess cash because we can;t find a company that is going to be accretive.”

– Tom Sosnoff, Tastylive founder and CEO

U.S. investment analyst at eToro Bret Kenwell highlighted that investors were not necessarily optimistic about the underlying business. He added that there were question marks with GameStop’s model, “if Bitcoin is going to be the pivot, where does that leave everything else?”

Kenwell also questioned why GameStop waited so long if they were going down that road. He suggested that “six months ago, nine months ago would have made a lot more sense.”

Head of growth at decentralized bank WeFi Agne Linge believes that the overall outlook for crypto markets was also contributing to declines as GameStop’s move had “failed to meaningfully boost market confidence.”

Stock analyst Han Akamatsu argued that the convertible notes offering announcement caused the stock’s decline. Akamatsu said GameStop’s stock was dropping for the same reason Strategy declined after issuing convertible notes. He also noted that MSTR issued $1.05B of 0% convertible notes in 2021, which caused the stock to plummet after the announcement due to hedging shorts.

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