WallStreetBets (WSB) token appeared on CoinMarketCap, which took zero place ahead of BTC in terms of capitalization. This joke relates to Reddit users’ revenge on institutional traders.
The CoinMarketCap service posted a warning on the WSB page that no such asset actually exists. This means that Bitcoin is still the leader in the cryptocurrency market. The fictional token is valued at $ 483, and its capitalization is $ 24.8 billion. There are 51,442,000 WSB in circulation, and the daily trading volume of WSB is allegedly $ 100 million.
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These numbers did not appear out of nowhere. Most likely, they denote the performance of the American retail chain GameStop, which sells game consoles and computer games. Its shares turned out to be the subject of a dispute between hedge funds, which opened positions for a decrease, and thousands of users of the WallStreetBets subreddit, which began mass buying in order to “punish” market manipulators.
The participants of the subreddit managed to raise the price of GME more than five times. The rally in stocks led hedge fund Melvin Capital to lose billions of dollars in short positions. After that, the American platform for retailing stocks and cryptoassets Robinhood suspended the purchase of GME shares, ostensibly to “control market manipulation.” Broker Ameritrade has suspended trading in these shares for a similar reason.
These sparked massive outrage: retail investors are prohibited from buying stocks, while hedge funds are free to trade them as they see fit. Social network Facebook has removed the official Robinhood traders community group. American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that such actions were unacceptable, and Congressman Paul Gosar asked the US Attorney General to investigate. Robinhood is also being sued for trying to manipulate the smooth functioning of the financial market. The lawsuit received widespread public support.
The WSB token was created and posted on CoinMarketCap in support of the WallStreetBets community making headlines around the world. Now, the token takes a place next to Bitcoin, sharing with it the principles of the free market and the right to full ownership of assets, which should not be managed by hedge funds and other exchange sharks.
As of April 1, 2020, in the midst of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Coimarketcap has already tried to pull off a similar joke with the “toilet paper token.” However, she did not find support in the community.
