Meme coins GME, AMC, ROAR rally as GameStop trader Keith Gill returns to X

GameStop and AMC-themed memecoins saw massive spikes after influencer Keith Gill, better known as Roaring Kitty, made a comeback on X.

GME gme-1.16% GME, a Solana-based meme coin with no ties to the American video game company, surged over 70% to $0.7672. The rally was accompanied by a 203% hike in its daily trading volume to $51.23 million.

GME (Ethereum), a similar meme coin on the Ethereum network, also benefited from Gill’s return, surging over 51% to hit an all-time high of $0.0002487 on Dec. 6. However, it has since dropped 21%, according to CoinGecko data.

Meanwhile, AMC, the meme coin created to mimic AMC Entertainment, a movie theater chain, rallied over 50%, while KITTY and ROAR, meme coins inspired by Gill’s online persona, both jumped over 45%.

All of the aforementioned meme coins rallied after Gill’s Dec. 6 X post, marking his first post on the platform in three months. The post featured an altered version of a 2006 Time magazine photo illustration that paid homage to YouTube.

Even though the post did not mention the tokens, the crypto sector has a history of responding to Gill’s posts with similar rallies, and this time was no exception.

Gill’s influence on these meme coins stems from his role in the 2021 meme stock frenzy, where he became a symbol of retail traders’ uprising against Wall Street short-sellers. Known for his detailed analysis of GameStop’s potential and his viral posts, Gill played a pivotal role in the GameStop short squeeze that saw the stock skyrocket to over $81.

These gains come as the cryptocurrency sector seems to be pivoting towards altcoin season, as evidenced by the Altcoin Season Idex, which recently hit an all-time high of 87. An index score above 80 typically signals the onset of altcoin season.

However, investors need to be cautious as these gains are often 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, in September, these tokens rallied following Gill’s X post but lost almost all of the gains in a little over a week as the excitement waned.

Beyond the crypto space, Gill’s return pushed GameStop (GME) shares over 16% on the day, reaching a high of $30.87 before settling at $28.60, while AMC Entertainment (AMC) recorded a 12% jump to $5.55, according to Google Finance data.