> The reason the trade might not clear is because of hedge funds or market makers that might go bankrupt, and not have the capital to pay for the shorts that th

> The reason the trade might not clear is because of hedge funds or market makers that might go bankrupt, and not have the capital to pay for the shorts that they need to buy back. The collateral is there so that if the hedge fund can't pay, the clearing house or broker must pay. If anything wasn't the market worried that RH would go bankrupt (when the GME inevitably crashes)? Unlike retail, hedge funds and market makers have risk modelling, and they got out of trades they can't afford (plus all the shorts had collateral, if they can't afford it the broker closed it).