How did this all start?

[todeen]

Originally Posted by Fred

Then you stop and consider the Game Stop short squeeze (early 2021) and the line of knucklehead investors reading/reacting to the Reddit blogs.

A lot of those Game Stop Reddit readers got burned, badly. The smart ones (probably a small percentage) got out at the right time because they understood the market and the ignorant ones lost quite a bit. Someone had to lose in that scam.

I bumped into an old acquaintance of mine -- hadn't seen him in 10 years. I asked what he was doing for work and he said it was a long story. He hated his healthcare job during COVID, but was considered essential. So he stayed on working. Then he met a guy who started teaching him day trading. He got a pay boost during COVID as part of the stimulus package to retain healthcare workers. So he started putting cash in the Robin Hood app, small stuff like that. He quit his job, because he was getting paid more to be unemployed than to continue working. Then he fell into the Reddit Crowd. He was too late for GameStop, but gambled on AMC Theaters and sold near the top of the hype. He made "Enough." Now he is a self-employed day trader. That's his job.

You also asked the demographic who was investing in cards? My doctor Bro-in-law is about 45 yrs old. He has the money to invest. He follows all sports, but doesn't buy cards. The only reason he did not invest was because he trusted me when I told him to wait it out, things were going bonkers and he could get burned. He was buying at the wrong time.

[BioCRN]

COVID investment gains side story... I still can't believe how many people fell in love with meme stocks and the cult-like pull some of them still pull when COVID brought some very evident and special investment opportunities.

I had friends I was trying to talk into paying attention to how the market is reacting to news from China about shutdowns and how the energy market reacted and quickly rebounded after the initial news. There were multiple buy-low and very quick rebounds to take advantage of, but they were stuck falling for the latest hype on an "over-shorted" company...usually one with very weak outlook.

While I was casually making money off energy on these bounces they were busy sinking money into near bankrupt retailers because the hype chambers they were in had taken over their sanity.

I am a casual investor, like them, but once you see China shutdown rollercoaster price bounces a couple times it seems like a no-brainer to get in on the next few of them if you're actually looking to play in the market.

[mrreality68]

A variety of factors but
1. Covid stuck home
2. Government funding everyone in different forms
3. Market crashing and people wanting to put their money somewhere
4. Bitcoin rise and fall
A. Rise created wealth for many to spend somewhere
B. Decline people pulling out of bitcoin and wanting to invest elsewhere
5. Institutional investors that wanted to have funds to invest in big alternative investments
6. Ryan H and Jeff L. That bought up everything that created the frenzy for the leftovers