The GameStop battle: how it unfolded for the key players testifying

A 3d printed Robinhood and Reddit logos are seen near one dollar banknotes in front of displayed GameStop logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) - Top executives from hedge funds and the Robinhood trading platform will appear before a U.S. House panel on Thursday to explain how a flood of retail trading drove shares of GameStop and other stocks to extreme highs, squeezing short sellers who had bet against them.

Here is a timeline of the stock's rapid 1,600% rise, the social media-fueled retail activity that helped drive it, and how firms like hedge funds Citadel and Melvin Capital, along with retail brokerages like Robinhood, played a part in the action.