Founder Of WallStreetBets Says GameStop Frenzy Wouldn't Have Happened On His Watch

Jaime Rogozinski, the founder and former moderator of WallStreetBets, has shared his thoughts on the run-up in stocks that the Reddit forum has played such a central role in.

What Happened: Speaking to National Public Radio, Rogozinski said watching the Reddit rally has been bittersweet: He likes the protest aspect of it because it points out "absurdities" in the markets, but he also said he wouldn't have allowed things to get to this point.

"I was still the moderator, this wouldn't have happened. I prevented this type of thing frequently," said Rogozinski, who was removed as moderator last April amid a dispute with members.

Legal 'Gray Area': He also said he spoke to lawyers when he was a moderator, and they steered him away from allowing the kinds of organized, mass actions the forum has seen recently. The lawyers said it was a legal "gray area" and so Rogozinski squelched the activity out of concern for members, he said.

But he has been gratified to see the interest in what he'd always hoped would be a movement sparked by the forum he created in 2012.

"This is a great conversation that the whole world is having right now," Rogozinski said.

He also criticized SPACs, saying they represent how financial markets have been steadily "creeping away from their original intention" of helping companies raise funds and innovate, and are now instead overly focused on rewarding investors.