WallStreetBets traders are pushing risky equities to all-time highs. Here are 10 quotes from the forum that help explain the phenomenon.

  • Reddit’s now-famous WallStreetBets forum boasts some 6.2 million members, soaring from under 3 million a week ago.
  • The subreddit has driven stocks like GameStop and AMC to record gains over the past few weeks after initiating a short-squeeze on institutional investors.
  • Here are a few of the best quotes on the forum to give the uninitiated an idea of what WSB is all about.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The WallStreetBets phenomenon has captured the news cycle in the last week as retail traders are pitted against some renowned hedge funds.

What started as a small group on Reddit discussing risky equity positions quickly ballooned into a forum that boasts some 6.2 million members.

In the past, markets were moved by earnings reports or announcements of mergers and acquisitions, but these days a single tweet or a post on Reddit’s WallStreetBets can have significant consequences for individual stocks.

The prime example is GameStop. Members of WallStreetBets have spent the past three weeks bidding up the video game retailer, causing shares to skyrocket more than 1,200% since January 11.

WSB is a corner of Reddit where users treat markets like a game, make liberal use of profanity, and, in some cases, make tremendous gains in the process of meme’ing stocks to the moon.

A peak into WallStreetBest will reveal a few things. Observers will see instances of blind-faith speculation, obscenity-filled posts, and a lot of distrust of the media, Wall Street, brokerages, and the financial “establishment”. 

However, beneath all of that is also a tight-knit community, and a place where users say they feel like they are standing up to “the man” and to market makers who have rigged the system in their favor. You’ll see small-time investors who have secured profits that will change their lives forever.

Read more: Jefferies says these 20 heavily shorted and lightly traded stocks could see big jumps in the event of a GameStop-like squeeze

Here are 10 of the best recent quotes from WallStreetBets users, lightly edited:

Upvote counts are as of 2:29 PM EST on Friday.

  1. “AMERICANS CAN’T BUY GME, BB?!?! HELP IS ON THE WAY!! CANADIANS!! WE HAVE NO SUCH RESTRICTIONS!! BUY ALL THE GME AND BB YOU CAN!!! Not just Canadians!! The whole world is coming to help now!! WE ARE A GLOBAL FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH!!! HOLD MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS!” – from WSB user ‘SubstantialTent’ 159k upvotes.
  2. “Buy more during dips if you can, but at least hold. We just have to hold until they fold. Today’s actions by several brokers just show how desperate the hedge funds are getting. Hold with your immovable diamond hands for all that you hold dear and we will be breaking Wall Street TOGETHER while making gargantuan tendies in the end!” – from WSB user ‘uwillmire’ 135k upvotes.
  3. “It’s time for a government bailout of GME shareholders at $10,000 per share. This would be roughly equivalent to the $700 billion bank bailout in 08 that was necessary to prevent ‘systemic risk’.” – from WSB user ‘TheHappyHawaiian’ 64.3k upvotes.
  4. “LEAVE ROBINHOOD. They don’t deserve to make money off us after the millions they caused in losses. It might take a couple of days, but send Robinhood to the ground and GME to the moon.” – from WSB user ‘does-it-matter’ 206k upvotes.
  5. “Honorary WSB A—– award goes to Chamath Palihapitiya! He is out here defending us retail investors and calling out hedge funds for their manipulation and bullshit practices that have left retail holding the bag for YEARS. GME going??????” – from WSB user ‘energetic-dad’ 82.1k upvotes
  6. “IMPORTANT!! THERE ARE NO SELLERS!!! DO NOT PANIC IF YOU SEE PRICE DROP HOLD THE LINE! UPVOTE SO PEOPLE DON’T PANIC.” – from WSB user ‘SaintHakop’ 150k upvotes.
  7. “I was in my early teens during the ’08 crisis. I vividly remember the enormous repercussions that the reckless actions by those on Wall Street had in my personal life, and the lives of those close to me…To Melvin Capital: you stand for everything that I hated during that time. You’re a firm who makes money off of exploiting a company and manipulating markets and media to your advantage. Your continued existence is a sharp reminder that the ones in charge of so much hardship during the ’08 crisis were not punished….  I bought shares a few days ago. I dumped my savings into GME, paid my rent for this month with my credit card, and dumped my rent money into more GME (which for the people here at WSB, I would not recommend). And I’m holding. This is personal for me, and millions of others.” – from WSB user ‘ssauronn’, Entitled “An Open Letter to Melvin Capital, CNBC, Boomers, and WSB” 139k upvotes.
  8. “Ok listen up r——…I know it’s Friday and some of your short-term monkey brains are thinking about bailing on your brothers. Your paper hands are beginning to cramp up. I get it. BUT WE CANNOT SELL! There are still MASSIVE amounts of shorts on $GME. Still, well over 113% of total shares floated (from S3 Partners). Some old shorts have gotten out, but many NEWshorts have taken their place in the past couple of days hoping that $GME will die out.” – from WSB user ‘HoldUnitYouDie’ 17.5k upvotes.
  9. “If I can hold at -$10MM then you can hold too. ??” – from WSB user ‘lanten_fan’ 137k upvotes.
  10. “I can now write my mom a check and put my sister through Lymes (disease) treatment. This has been a very rough year, but I’m so thankful for every single one of you.” – from WSB user ‘Stammbomb’ 119k upvotes.

Read more: A veteran options trader breaks down the intricate strategy that Reddit traders used to outsmart Wall Street’s bet against GameStop — and shares 2 ways the parabolic rally could permanently alter the stock market

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