As r/WallStreetBets causes GameStop, BlackBerry, and others to surge, online trading platforms like Robinhood and WeBull have rapidly climbed US app store ranks

- The flurry of Redditors taking on Wall Street appears to have resulted in a usage boom for share trading apps.

CNBC 2021-01-28 Ryan Browne

Context & Ripple Effects

Webull entered the episode after a year in which its US user base had grown tenfold to more than 2 million, while Reddit discussion was already lifting not just GameStop but other frequently mentioned stocks such as AMC. The app-rank jump therefore captures brokerage demand converging with a social-media-driven trading burst.

The demand was not frictionless: Robinhood, E*Trade, Fidelity and other brokerages experienced service outages during the trading frenzy. That makes app-store visibility consequential for platforms whose ability to handle peak activity was immediately under strain.

First-order effects

Robinhood and Webull gain a prominent acquisition channel as retail traders seeking access to the heavily discussed stocks push their apps up US download rankings.
Brokerage users face execution and access risk during the surge, with the reported outages affecting Robinhood alongside established rivals.

Second-order effects

E*Trade and Fidelity must compete for the same wave of retail demand while addressing reliability concerns exposed by the brokerage outages.
The concentration of Robinhood users in GameStop—56% held at least some of the stock according to its app notice—ties the platform's customer activity closely to a single social-trading episode.

Third-order effects

Social platforms become a more important source of market-moving retail attention; Wall Street institutions later began tracking Reddit, Twitter, and Discord for trading opportunities, formalizing that feedback loop.
If retail trading continues to organize around online communities, brokerage competition will increasingly hinge on absorbing sudden, synchronized demand rather than only on low-fee access.

The trend: Retail brokerages are becoming distribution points for social-media-coordinated trading, while professional investors treat online conversation as a market signal.

Discussion

Vox Emily Stewart on x
How a bunch of Redditors made GameStop's stock soar, much to the chagrin of the hedge funds attempting to short it.
@profgalloway Scott Galloway on x
What happened here (i.e., GMS)? —It's about sex... —Specifically, young men not having (enough) sex —Sex leads to relationships, obligations and guardrails (don't get in fights, we need you. Don't gamble your paycheck, we need to save for a house)
@jeneps Jennifer Epstein on x
Biden team is “monitoring the situation” around GameStop.
@jbillinson Josh Billinson on x
Looks like Robinhood just stopped supporting GameStop, AMC, Blackberry, and Nokia. Users can close out positions but can't buy more https://twitter.com/...
@nope_its_lily Lily on x
Robinhood is killing GME and AMC. https://twitter.com/...
@alibreland Ali Breland on x
i can report from the telegram channels that the nazis appear to be trading gamestop and amc as well
@khoustephanie Stephanie Whitfield on x
An investor shared these screen grabs this morning showing Robinhood is limiting purchases of Reddit stocks: AMC, Blackberry, Nokia and GameStop #khou11 https://twitter.com/...
@cirnoplusplus Cirno on x
>This man on Fox News just said that they should “ban social media from talking about short stocks” https://twitter.com/...
@hshaban Hamza Shaban on x
Part of the GameStop absurdity and chaotic revelry is seeing news outlets publish Reddit usernames with a straight face https://twitter.com/...
@ericbalchunas Eric Balchunas on x
THEY DID IT: $GME was the most traded equity on the planet today w/ $20b in volume, more than $SPY, $AAPL and even the Mighty $TSLA. Surreal. https://twitter.com/...
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
https://twitter.com/...
@senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x
For years, the same hedge funds, private equity firms, and wealthy investors dismayed by the GameStop trades have treated the stock market like their own personal casino while everyone else pays the price.
@alexstamos Alex Stamos on x
The WallStreetBets manipulation of $GME is now the best template for how one could monetize an influence operation.
@slasher Rod Breslau on x
lmao GameStop hits 230 after hours and is now worth more than $10 billion. WSB, reddit, and gamers, the internet is undefeated https://twitter.com/...
@haymarketbooks @haymarketbooks on x
https://twitter.com/...
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
$AMC up over 240% now! https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
Blockbuster Video is a membership-based video entertainment service that preparing the launch of a cutting edge streaming service that will have *huge* potential both in the US and China https://twitter.com/...
@mattzeitlin Matthew Zeitlin on x
It's too perfect that the Reddit boom is in movies, video games, and soda https://twitter.com/...
@broderick Ryan Broderick on x
I think this is halfway to really understanding what the GameStop pump is doing. If our economy is hooked up to an internet dominated by corporate-owned social platforms that incentivize virality, then, at certain point, commerce and virality just become the same thing. https://t…
@charliebilello Charlie Bilello on x
The 10 most heavily shorted stocks in the Russell 3000 entering the year are now up an average of 223% YTD. $GME Data via @ycharts https://twitter.com/...
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
Apparently the Dow is down because “Some investors may have had to liquidate long positions to cover their unraveling short bets on GameStop stock and others. All three major U.S. indexes in the red”
@zeithistoriker Quinn Slobodian on x
The Reddit GameStop thing is worth it alone to make people say hilarious things like this https://twitter.com/...
@b_fung Brian Fung on x
Former SEC chair calls for an agency investigation into online stock trading platforms and likens them to the way social media takes advantage of users' behavioral psychology: https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
New Mets owner Steve Cohen had to bail out Melvin Capital because a bunch of stock trading kids on Reddit massively pumped up GameStop, putting Melvin's $13 billion at risk of disappearing. If that leads to the Mets cutting payroll, it would be the most Mets story ever.
@brandyljensen Brandy Jensen on x
oh no the wrong people are manipulating the stock market
@edmundlee Edmund Lee on x
When Reddit daytraders are beating hedge funds you know the bubble is coming for you $gme https://www.wsj.com/...
@barry Barry Petchesky on x
This is, without context, maybe the funniest sentence imaginable, and with context it's not much less funny https://twitter.com/...
@mannyfidel Manny on x
this is what happens when you randomize a GTA character https://twitter.com/...
@iowahawkblog David Burge on x
America's most tragic mental illness problem: gleeful subreddit shitposters making millions from the stupid decisions of my now-bankrupt hedge fund friends https://twitter.com/...
@grady_booch Grady Booch on x
The former SEC chairman: “The SEC can take steps right now to curb the day-trading frenzy and help safeguard the investing public.” Let me edit that: “We can take steps right now to safeguard things we've been doing behind closed doors for decades.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@syndicate Tom on x
Honestly i'm so happy to say I've followed this for a few days now.. literally history in the making! 🚀🚀🚀 Regardless of the outcome, what a crazy rollercoaster it's been to watch 😅 https://twitter.com/...
@senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x
It's long past time for the SEC and other financial regulators to wake up and do their jobs - and with a new administration and Democrats running Congress, I intend to make sure they do.
@senwarren Elizabeth Warren on x
With stocks soaring while millions are out of work and struggling to pay bills, it's not news that the stock market doesn't reflect our actual economy. https://www.vox.com/...
@bdsams Brad Sams on x
I like that the narrative is retail traders banding together is the problem and not a hedge fund shorting 140% of the available stock to destroy a company.
@cnbc @cnbc on x
Melvin Capital closed out its short position in GameStop on Tuesday afternoon after taking a huge loss, the hedge fund's manager told @andrewrsorkin. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@bopinion @bopinion on x
The people investing in the likes of GameStop today are driven by righteous anger about: ➡️ Generational injustice ➡️ The perceived corruption and unfairness of the way banks were bailed out in 2008 ➡️ Lacerating poverty and inequality https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@countdankulatv @countdankulatv on x
If the last 4 years has taught us anything, it's that this phrase means the White House intends to do absolutely nothing. https://twitter.com/...
@markets @markets on x
Trading was halted on Tootsie Roll stock after soaring 53% into record territory as retail traders pour into heavily-shorted stocks https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@balajis @balajis on x
Crypto and WallStreetBets have the same spirit: a vision of truly free markets where *everyone* plays by the same rules. We're all seeing the thumb on the scales for stock prices today. And we'll see it for dollar prices tomorrow. https://twitter.com/...
@deepakshenoy Deepak Shenoy on x
Gamestop is now at $33 billion market cap. They should quickly do a $1bn sale of equity at this price - and pay off debt.
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
In a few days or weeks we're going to be reading stories of people inspired to put all they had in $GME, $AMC & $BBBY only to lose a bunch of money. This is inevitable and will hurt. A lot. https://twitter.com/...
@pattymo Patrick Monahan on x
Ten year-old me calling Electronics Boutique every day for a week asking if Link's Awakening had come in yet https://twitter.com/...
@emilygorcenski @emilygorcenski on x
There are like four different entirely relevant historical threads happening at the same time and every single one of them is mindbendingly stupid in the most hilarious way possible https://twitter.com/...

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