Timothy Sumer

In 2021, options activity hit a record high, with nearly 9.9 billion contracts traded. That was more than 32 percent higher than the previous record set in 2020. This increase in volume can be traced back to the meme stock mania as millions of new investors jumped into the stock market during the pandemic. Options trading is a popular strategy among institutional investors to hedge their risk in the markets, but if it’s not executed carefully, it can lead to devastating losses. Watch the video above to learn how options trading took off and why the strategy can be so risky. “The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors and influence the market is preposterous,” Keith Gill told Congress. Gill — who goes by DeepF------Value on Reddit and Roaring Kitty on YouTube — testified in front of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services in February 2021. He became an influential figure online and is credited with helping ...