Let's just assume that there are 100 shares of GameStop (worldwide) and go from there. Let's assume that the price per share/stock before all of this was $100 (in a "good" economy, etc.). How would this all work?
A nice timeline, step by step, line by line would be nice. For ex:
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Stock is selling at $100 per share (100 shares total). June 20XX
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Economy starts tanking, stock now at $95 per share. August 20XX
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People start predicting that it will go down further, thus they start "betting" (insert definitions that are accessible and not jargony), etc.
^ something like that would be nice. Thanks!
"hey, can I borrow that stock you have? I'll pay you interest"
Off of the top of my head, that's one way you, the actual stockholder, can make money off this. Like a loan, but with with stocks instead of money.
And I'm assuming that since you're the legal "owner" of the stocks, you can sell them even though someone else is borrowing them from you? I.e. that borrower will return the stock to the "new owner" (i.e. the person who you sold it to)?