Did someone ask you if you traded the ‘MOASS’ in 2021? What does that mean, and did you miss out on something?
This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
The acronym ‘MOASS’ stands for ‘Mother Of All Short Squeezes.’ A short squeeze involves trapping short sellers in rising price action in a stock. As the short-sellers sell their position to cover their losses, they force the price higher, causing more short sellers to liquidate their positions in a feedback loop that sends the stock price soaring.
The best example of the MOASS was the GameStop ($GME) and AMC ($AMC) short squeeze of 2021. During this short squeeze, mom-and-pop retail investors took up arms against the hedge funds, creating a short squeeze against hedge funds with short positions against $GMC and $AMC stock.
The term ‘MOASS’ can also refer to the ‘Mother of All Spreadsheets,’ but it’s the less common use of the acronym.
Example Usage
“Do you remember the GameStop saga from 2021? Man, that was the MOASS for sure. I wonder if we’ll ever get another opportunity like that again?”
“GameStop sure was the MOASS. It symbolized everything wrong with printing huge amounts of money and using it to stimulate the economy. The Fed is responsible for the bubble, not retail investors.”
“I wish I could go back to the beginning of the MOASS in the 2021 GameStop era. If I only knew then what I know now, I could have made millions.”
“The MOASS symbolized the retail investor sticking it to the hedge funds. The problem was that only a few hedgies went broke. The rest made a fortune.”
Origin
The expression ‘MOASS’ originates from the 2021 GameStop debacle caused by retail traders and hedge funds. The Reddit user u/DeepFuckingValue identified that GameStop stock had a huge short position against it by the hedge funds.
The r/WallStreetBets community on Reddit saw u/DeepFuckingValue’s videos on GameStop stock analysis, choosing to coordinate a massive ‘short squeeze” against the hedge funds holding the short positions on $GME stock.
The result was an army of degenerates from the r/WallStreetBets thread purchasing $GMC and $AMC stock. The stock shot past the $400 mark in a few weeks, resulting in the failure of hedge funds like ‘Melvin Capital.’
The MOASS lasted for a month or so before the market in ‘meme stocks’ collapsed and government stimulus dried up. 2021 was an anomaly spurred by the Federal Reserves ‘stimulus’ program, which printed over $2.5-trillion.
Phrases Similar to MOASS
- Mother Of All Spread Sheets (MOASS).
Phrases Opposite to MOASS
- Unknown.
What is the Correct Saying?
- MOASS (Mother Of All Short Squeezes).
Ways People May Say MOASS Incorrectly
Some people may use the “MOASS” acronym to describe “The Mother of all Spreadsheets.” However, this use of the phrase is much less common than the short squeeze version. In most cases, people will be using MOASS to refer to the GameStop short squeeze in 2021.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase MOASS
You can use the acronym “MOASS” in social situations online. It’s ideal for use in financial forums on websites like Reddit and the r/WallStreetBets subreddit. WallStreetBets is the home of the original short squeeze in $GME stock. Thousands of users type the term into threads in the subreddit every day. With over 2 million users, the r/WallStreetBets forum is well aware of the meaning of the acronym “MOASS.”
MOASS is a term used by ‘degenerates’ on the WallStreetBets subreddit. You can use it when referring to the short squeeze in $GMC and $AMC stock in 2021 or describe a potential short squeeze strategy discussed on the thread.