[dickjocke]

Robinhood isn't a bitcoin company. That's just a feature they have. Its main product offering is the commision free trading--and their presence pushed a lot of big players to adopt the same offering. The wallstreetbets gang is silly and all, but I think they have really democratized stock trading, and made the whole idea seem much more accesible. I think they founders are former finance guys. I hope this doesn't sound like guerilla marketing. I don't even use the app, I have used it but I'm just not that interested in picking stocks. I just think it's cool as an ex-code monkey to entreprenur story.

[triceratops]

> I think they have really democratized stock trading

I would think Vanguard did that already. Most people should be trading ETFs, not individual stocks.

[ska]

That's a separate issue I think. They obviously do different things.

[idnefju]

I believe you still need a broker for ETFs, which usually carry brokerage fees.

[ksherlock]

With mutual fund companies, including Vanguard, generally you can open an account directly with them and buy directly from them (including partial shares, automatic monthly purchases, and dividend/capital gain reinvestments).

[triceratops]

Vanguard doesn't charge brokerage fees for their own ETFs. They also went fee-free for individual stocks this year.

[astura]

Most brokers don't charge commission on a large variety of select low cost efts

[Itsdijital]

Wallstreetbets doesn't trade stocks.

[tree3]

> I think they have really democratized stock trading

How does "free" = "democratizing"? Stocks have been easily accessible for years to retail investors.

> their presence pushed a lot of big players to adopt the same offering

Misleading, big brokers were already going down this path.

[robjan]

How much did it cost to place a trade for a $100 stock previously? RH definitely helped more people gain access to directly trading shares on the stock market, regardless of whether or not they were responsible in doing so.