Have the Hedge Funds Infiltrated Reddit’s WallStreetBets?

The media keeps saying WallStreetBets is going after silver; WallStreetBets members say it’s a campaign to co-opt and divide them.

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Today on the Brief:

• Elon Musk talks bitcoin on Clubhouse
• India trying to ban crypto?
• DEXs have best month ever in January

Our main discussion: Has WallStreetBets been infiltrated by hedge funds?

Reddit community WallStreetBets became headline news last week when its short squeeze of GameStop (GME) nearly brought a famed hedge fund to its knees. According to Twitter personalities and the mainstream media, the community has now turned its focus to squeezing silver.

Except, one cursory look at the subreddit shows that isn’t the case. Instead, it is full of posts about how hedge funds and media are trying to promote the silver story to distract and divide the community.

In this episode, NLW tries to break down what’s happening and argues that now that WSB has become a market force, these sort of attempts to influence its conversation are going to become de rigeur.

See also: GameStop, Robinhood and the Failure of Un-Free Markets

Image credit: Nicky Loh/Bloomberg via Getty Images