inhood的设计是专门针对年轻人和新手投资者的。它采用了一种游戏化的界面，鼓励人们进行交易，而不是长期投资。这种设计吸引了许多年轻人，但也导致了一些问题。例如，Robinhood推出了一种叫做“选项交易”的功能，允许人们进行高风险的、短期的交易。这种功能在加密货币交易中也非常流行，因为人们想要尽快的获取利润。
然而，这种设计可能导致了很多人的亏损。因为这种短期交易很难赚到钱，而且很容易失去大部分投资。这对于加密货币交易来说尤为明显，因为加密货币价格的波动性非常大。因此，Robinhood的设计选择可能导致更多的人亏损，特别是那些没有经验的投资者。
再加上现在加密货币在Robinhood上很受欢迎，这可能会导致更多人加入这种高风险的交易，从而增加了他们亏损的风险。因此，Robinhood的设计选择可能对加密货币市场产生了负面影响。Robinhood is a very simple application, initially only available on the iPhone. It strips away all the charts, data, and analysis provided by traditional brokers, leaving only price charts and a big green “buy” button.
The designers intended for it to be as simple as Tinder or Uber, allowing users to buy stocks with just a swipe. This is a departure from the way brokers used to work, which involved multiple steps, warnings, and fine print that made trading seem inaccessible.
The simplicity of Robinhood makes investing more approachable. When you buy stocks, there are special effects with colorful confetti and a “ding” sound, providing an extra dopamine boost.
Many people have been talking about Robinhood eliminating trading fees, but the design choice is equally important. These changes make trading look easy and accessible, swiftly attracting a whole new generation of investors.
However, there are also criticisms of Robinhood for making investing too simple. Traditionally, investing should be a rational decision that takes into account a company’s financials, potential price fluctuations, and cash flow. Robinhood puts all of that aside, changing the philosophy of trading and investing. This new approach has seen significant growth since 2015, and it ultimately felt like it had dominated the entire market, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Potential Dangers of Memes in Modern Investing
Laura Shin:
I want to ask you about the role of memes in investing in your book. In cryptocurrency, we see meme coins becoming representative of some of the best performing assets, yet critics often deride them as foolish or fraudulent. Based on your research of Wall Street Bets and their investments in meme stocks, what do you see as the value of memes? Where do retail investors’ understanding of meme stocks or meme coins differ from what more “serious” investors might overlook?
Nathaniel Popper:
This is a very complex and interesting question. In the trend of meme-driven investing, there are many hidden dangers, investment losses, and sad stories. Every stock and cryptocurrency has some degree of a meme factor.
Investing has always involved an understanding of the company and the community it represents. Even if we don’t call it a “meme,” this aspect of psychological investment has always been present.
I think the introduction of memes into investing started in the cryptocurrency world, where it highlighted how language connects us online.
Social media is full of valuable communities, but traditionally, we couldn’t directly benefit from them. Memes have changed that by monetizing the idea of community and identity.
Memes touch on a fundamental factor in investing: you invest in a company not just because of its balance sheet, but also because of what it represents. Memes condense that idea into a purer form and turn it into an asset. However, the more you rely on memes rather than the fundamental financial substance, the more speculative and dangerous investing becomes.
An important issue is that communities promoting meme coins often elevate the reputations of those who stand to gain the most, overlooking those who lose money.
This is particularly evident in actions related to Elon Musk and Dogecoin, Bitcoin, and even his own stocks. Social media amplifies the voices of those who make money, overshadowing those who experience losses. This imbalance poses significant dangers because we often overlook those who ultimately lose out in these speculative situations.
The Relationship Between Trump and the Crypto Community
Laura Shin:
There are similar stories in your book. I have to ask about the Trump situation because much of what you discussed in the book is now making headlines again. Trump accepted Bitcoin and cryptocurrency during his campaign, a sharp contrast to when he served as president and called Bitcoin “a fraud against the US dollar.” Now, part of the crypto community supports Trump as he courts crypto voters. Can you find any similarities between the shift of the Wall Street Bets community toward Trump and the current shift of the crypto community toward Trump?
Nathaniel Popper:
In my view, a big part of this new online investment world is essentially about trolling. That’s why the word “troll” appears in the title of the book. I’m not using the term entirely pejoratively. It’s about people who essentially see themselves as trolls. It’s worth pausing to think about what trolling is: it’s a universe where everything seems like a joke. When Trump announced his candidacy, it seemed like a joke, and most people treated it that way. However, beneath that joke, he tapped into many things deep within American voters. He was willing to say things that no one else dared to say, and people wanted to hear those things.
This kind of serious and yet whimsical stance has been present in Bitcoin, Trump, and GameStop from the beginning. It’s easy for people to get lost in the surface comedy and overlook what truly moves people. Bitcoin, Trump, and GameStop are all like that. People always treat them as a joke and move on, but they keep coming back because there’s something deeper behind them.
Even when these things are successful, they are often overlooked. Bitcoin was successful in 2013 and 2014 when its price reached $1,000, but when its price dropped, people thought it could be ignored. The same happened with Trump after January 6, 2021, and with GameStop. People thought they could ignore these phenomena after the initial fervor, but years later, they still hold significance. There’s something deeper that resonates with people, and that’s the essence of trolling.
Whether or not Trump acknowledges it, he has a lot in common with the mindset of the Wall Street Bets community. They see him as one of their own, someone who can smile and defeat opponents unexpectedly. This simultaneous presence of humor and serious intent has deeply influenced our culture.
Laura Shin:
Yes, your book reflects what’s happening now very well.
Nathaniel Popper:
Think about the person holding the “buy Bitcoin” sign behind Janet Yellen. It was just a joke, but nothing could have drawn more attention to Bitcoin. In the attention economy of the internet, the bigger the joke, the more attention it gets, and the more real it becomes.
Laura Shin:
That’s why we see the value of meme coins constantly rising. This has to do with the way the internet works, with people making money through ads, and ads depending on attention.
Nathaniel Popper:
People used to make money through ads, but ads didn’t necessarily make anyone lose money. However, with meme coins like Dogecoin, we see more unseen losers.
Laura Shin:
Yes, of course. I’ve spoken to some people who bought Dogecoin at the peak.
Nathaniel Popper:
Even Elon Musk promoted it on Saturday Night Live until he admitted it was just a joke. Trolls are always willing to eventually admit they’re not serious.
Laura Shin:
Yes, but he probably made a lot of money from it. Anyway, Nathaniel, this has been a great conversation. Your book is being published at the perfect time, as these events are back in the headlines.
Nathaniel Popper:
The history of the internet is very cyclical and periodic. Bitcoin is a typical case, and we keep seeing this cycle continue.
Laura Shin:
Yes, we’re entering another bull market, so we’ll see how these events play out this year. Thank you so much for being on “Unchained.”
Nathaniel Popper:
Thank you for having me, Laura.
