[spiderfarmer]

I think you don't understand what wallstreetBETS is all about.

It's not investments. It's playing the casino. They are betting. And proud of it.

And this is one of the first times they have an advantage over the rest of the table. Because a couple of hedge funds overplayed their hand on a stock small enough to be influenced by the people active in that sub.

They are ready to lose it all just for the lulz. It's entertaining. Expensive, but thrilling.

The same counts for BTC "investments". There are no fundamentals. It's all irrational bets. Bad for the solvency of some, but that's what all casino's are.

[paradox242]

This is what so many people who aren't familiar with the WSB culture are missing. They wring their hands and worry that the "retail investors will be caught holding the bag". True, someone will, but even for those too slow to move on the eventual reckoning I think they are already more than okay with any losses. There has been enough publicity now that it's pretty clear that this stock is a battlefield and any casual observers had best stand back until the dust settles. For the most part the only people getting hurt here are combatants who are ready for this sort of thing.

[drewcon]

No I do understand that. And I’m suggesting that is a bad thing.

It’s also illegal, which seems to have been left out of all the conversations.

“ The rush by short sellers to cover produces additional upward pressure on the price of the stock, which then can cause an even greater squeeze. Although some short squeezes may occur naturally in the market, a scheme to manipulate the price or availability of stock in order to cause a short squeeze is illegal.”

https://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/regsho.htm

[maxerickson]

What's the standard for manipulation?

If retail investors publicly coordinate buys is that manipulation?

What if they pool their assets and appoint a controller? ("make their own managed fund").

[gajotron]

the standard (as a regulated person) is intention - you don't even have to succeed at moving the price in order to be guilty of market abuse/manipulation

[heliodor]

What is illegal or not in finance feels more or less arbitrary.

[flatfilefan]

I’m sorry if I’ve just missed that in your linked text but doesn’t sec text concern only short selling and not actual buying?