Short selling is supposed to help find the right price for an asset (see here for example: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012815/how-does-short-sellin

Short selling is supposed to help find the right price for an asset (see here for example: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012815/how-does-short-selling-help-market-and-investors.asp https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012815/how-does-sho... ) Naked short selling is not encouraged (from the OP): > Naked short selling is somewhere between unfortunate (if, say, a market maker does a short sale and can’t find borrow in time for normal settlement) and illegal (if a hedge fund shorts a stock without bothering to get a locate).