Matt Levine: The meme stock

There’s a lucrative industry surrounding being in on the joke. At the start of 2021, traders added more than $150 billion to the market cap of GameStop, AMC, and 48 other businesses. Robinhood even put these stocks on a restricted trading list because of their volatility (and the fact they can be used as a proxy for the craze). But, there might be more to this investment trend than just hype. Matt Levine explores the soaring industry of the meme stock and the unprecedented value membership of an online community that is making millions. “They’re buying Dogecoin because there are a lot of fun online communities and memes about Dogecoin, and they get to feel a part of those communities when they buy Dogecoin and post about how they will never sell it. And that sense of community is valuable. It’s worth something like $30 billion, the market value of all the Dogecoins in circulation.”