The Reddit group r/WallStreetBets (WSB) has shut down and is now a closed community.
What Happened: Only those who have been approved by the moderators will be allowed to read the page and participate in the conversations.
Why Does This Matter? The huge GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) short squeeze was started by WallStreetBets at the end of January. They were able to push the price of GameStop above $400 while wreaking havoc on hedge funds that had shorted the stock, such as Melvin Capital.
While brokerages like Robinhood (who just filed for an IPO) prohibited buying “meme stocks” and instilling anxiety in the market, WSB stayed firm. The group, which coined the term “Diamond Hands,” has managed to bring together all retail traders who began trading during last year’s lockout.
In the middle of June, the group pushed AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE: AMC) to a high of nearly $70.
WallStreetBets had over 10 million subscribers before the closure.
What’s Next: Former WallStreetBets members will need a new forum to discuss various trading ideas. Discord is one platform that could benefit from the recent surge of homeless traders.
Various traders have already joined Discord, and many trading groups, such as Atlas Trading and StockVIP, each with over 200,000 members, already exist.
Discord has received several bids for their platform, including a $10 billion offer from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).
(c) Benzinga.com, 2021. Benzinga does not offer financial advice. All intellectual property rights are reserved./n
