>>12636379I'm not keeping up with it, but it's possible that THEY sold too many uncovered CALL options. It was a safe bet, and they have the means to crash the stock price to guarantee a huge profit. But the massive buyers of CALL option also have the motive and power to drive up the stock price.
In theory selling uncovered calls can have unlimited loss. But in the end, sellers can only lose so much until they declare bankruptcy. It is the brokerage firms that allowed such uncovered selling that will bear the rest of loss. They totally deserve it. But if they can't come up with the money either, the system collapses.
While the institutions compete with each other, it is their collective best interest to keep the system float to not lose their real and only source of income - the retail traders. They are in chaos and panic in figuring out how to do it.
