They had a naked short position, one that could not be covered, and when the price rose too high, they would be margin called. When all the shares on the marke

They had a naked short position, one that could not be covered, and when the price rose too high, they would be margin called. When all the shares on the market are synthetic (fake), and retail and investors own more shares than are issued, then there is a serious problem that can either be brushed under the rug, or untangled by force (liquidation) Citadel itself is a hedge fund AND a market maker, it has two arms both ran by Ken Griffin. The path they were going down pre January was to short Gamestop into bankruptcy with no means to raise capital, much like Toys R us was. When Gamestop got a new CEO, and changed direction, they had already gone 'all-in' with their shorting with no way out. Main thing about shorting, it's an infinite risk position, but hedgefunds have historically been able to short into oblivion.