In brief
- SkyBridge Capital CEO and former Trump ally Anthony Scaramucci has been praising the recent GameStop (GME) rally.
- But in a webinar, SkyBridge COO Brett Messing said the firm actually “lost money” through its exposure to hard-hit short seller Melvin Capital.
- Messing characterized the short squeeze as "decentralization epitomized."
SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci remains excited about the recent surge in GameStop (GME) stock, but according to COO Brett Messing, the firm actually lost money in the rally.
In a virtual panel, Messing revealed that the firm has exposure to Melvin Capital, the hedge fund targeted by Reddit users and retail investors as part of a massive group effort to pump the price of GameStop; he added that they were watching the stock “with interest.”
Melvin Capital had shorted the ailing video game retailer, but was forced to close out yesterday afternoon after losing nearly $3 billion. Steve Cohen’s Point72 Capital and Ken Griffin’s Citadel tossed the company a $2.75 billion bailout. Messing told Decrypt that SkyBridge is exposed to Melvin Capital through its investment in Point72, though he wouldn’t quantify the exposure.
Scaramucci—best known for his highly controversial stint as former President Donald Trump’s assistant—has taken an emphatically bullish approach to Bitcoin over the past few months. SkyBridge’s $25 million Bitcoin fund opened to investors earlier this year, and the firm’s overall exposure to the asset is now around $385 million.
Anthony Scaramucci: GameStop’s Surge is Good for Bitcoin
GameStop stock rose dramatically yesterday after being championed by a group of Redditors, fuelled in part by a growing resentment towards Wall Street. After closing 2020 at about $18, GameStop’s stocks closed yesterday at a price of $147.98. This surge led the stocks to rise a further 50% overnight. And Redditors took great pleasure in undercutting the Wall Street hedge funds that shorted on GameStop stock, stating they “want to see the loss porn.” /r/WallStreetBets about to blowup another...
In a recent interview, Scaramucci said that “the activity in GameStop is more proof of concept that Bitcoin is going to work… How are you going to beat that decentralized crowd?”
He also tweeted, ridiculously, “We are witnessing the French Revolution of Finance.”
We are witnessing the French Revolution of Finance
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) January 27, 2021
Messing seemed to share the Mooch’s optimism, saying that the coordinated GameStop price inflation was “decentralization epitomized”—an example of the power of an anonymous majority over a single hedge fund manager.
Messing added that while he “lost money” in the rally, he wasn’t all that phased.
Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to include comments from SkyBridge Capital COO Brett Messing.