William Galvin, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and its chief securities regulator told Barron’s that the trading in Gamestop should be halted for 30 days.
Of course, Secretary Galvin has no authority to halt the trading in any publicly listed stock. He also doesn't explain how preventing investors from selling their holdings protects investors, rather claiming, according to MarketWatch “These small and unsophisticated investors are probably going to get hurt by this.”
Yes, unsophisticated investors who think they can out trade market professionals are going to get hurt. That is a given and proven day in and day out by newbie day traders. However, a 30 days suspension in the trading of any stock because of rumors or events having nothing to do with the company itself is unheard of, and damages the market, and all investors.