GameStop sparked the 2021 memecoin bull run – Will history repeat itself?

The sudden and unexpected return of Keith Gill — the man widely credited with kicking off the 2021 GameStop short squeeze — has speculators asking one question: Are we in for GameStop 2.0?

Many are hopeful, but at least one analyst has his doubts.

Gill was at the center of the GameStop saga during the pandemic, which saw Reddit traders flip the table on hedge funds that had been making money shorting what they believed to be a failing brick-and-mortar game store — which ended up sending the price of GME soaring over 1,000% in under a month.

Some also believe the GameStop short squeeze laid the groundwork for a massive surge in the price of memecoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) after retail turned its attention elsewhere.

Gill went dark on social media on June 19, 2021, but returned after a nearly three-year hiatus on May 13, posting a typically cryptic meme of a gamer sitting up in their chair to announce his comeback. 

In the 24 hours following Gil’s return to X, shares of GameStop rallied as much as 111%, while DOGE and SHIB gained 6.2% and 5.4% respectively in the same time frame.

Comparative price action of GME, DOGE, and SHIB since May 5. Source: TradingView

Now, crypto enthusiasts are pinning their hopes that Gill’s return will spark a similar breed of retail mania.

One analyst isn't so bullish

However, eToro market analyst Josh Gilbert told Cointelegraph that it probably won’t be that easy this time around.

“I think it will certainly ignite some short-term moves from these assets, but it's hard to see any longevity,” he said.

Additionally, Gilbert noted that the outstanding shorts on assets like GameStop were much smaller compared to 2021 meaning that the “size of the move to the upside” would likely be smaller as well.

The environment is just not comparable to 2021, when interest rates were at rock bottom, governments were providing fiscal stimulus globally, and major economies had little to no inflation.

“We have 5.5% interest rates in the US and there is a global cost of living crisis going on. Simply, consumers are unlikely to be in the same position as they were in 2021 and that has a huge impact on financial decisions,” Gilbert added.

Crypto enthusiasts offered a more simple thesis for their bullishness.

Pointing to a recent integration between Robinhood and decentralized exchange UniSwap, pseudonymous trader Travis said it was reasonable to expect a new wave of GameStop degens to start buying memecoins and other cryptocurrencies by way of the app.

Just a reminder you can trade memes on Robinhood now. You think the Roaring Kitty army isn't going to buy these things?

However, Gilbert said among many other factors, most investors are now clued into how speculative rallies end up and are more likely to exercise a much higher degree of caution.

“I think we’re in a completely different position from where we were in 2021, which makes me think a similar rally would be unlikely,” he said.

That said, the 14.5 million users on WallStreetBets have shown in the last few years that anything is possible.

Several GameStop-related memecoins including a coin named GameStop (GME) — which bears no official affiliation with the company — spiked massively amid the unfolding drama. The GME memecoin soared more than 3,650% in a single day, per Birdeye data.

A GameStop-themed meme oin spiked massively on the news. Source: Birdeye