Reddit’s WallStreetBets Community Moves Into Crypto

Key Takeaways

• Moderators at /r/WallStreetBets have created a new subreddit dedicated to the discussion of cryptocurrency.
• Previously, moderators limited cryptocurrency discussion due to concerns that it would consume the entire forum.
• Reddit's /r/WallStreetBets is controversial due to its role in massive GameStop (NYSE:GME) short selling that took place this year.

Moderators at Reddit’s /r/WallStreetBets community have decided to create a spinoff subreddit focusing on cryptocurrency.

Crypto Forum Has Been Created

The new subreddit is called /r/WallStreetBetsCrypto and will be operated by the same moderators in the same format, according to an announcement published on Wednesday.

Though /r/WallStreetBets allows members to discuss most types of investment, cryptocurrency discussions are largely prohibited on the main subreddit. Moderator bawse1 explained that crypto-focused discussion has been considered since April, but was not implemented due to concerns about crypto topics taking over the forum entirely.

“We always kept crypto out of /r/wallstreetbets because it just isn’t what this community is about,” he noted.

Later, he found a way “to allow at least some discussion” by allowing only Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin conversations. That policy was implemented in April and was intermittently reversed, leaving members with no reliable way to discuss cryptocurrency.

WallStreetBets Remains Controversial

WallStreetBetsCrypto gained notoriety earlier this year when members shorted GameStop stock (GME) en masse via Robinhood’s trading app. The incident led Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) to briefly suspend trading. Later, the U.S. government became involved as it held hearings attended by the CEOs of Reddit and Robinhood.

January’s Dogecoin surge was tangentially tied to /r/WallStreetBets as well. Though discussion of Dogecoin did not take place on the subreddit, one user on Twitter associated with the group was single-handedly responsible for mass investment in the asset.

The new crypto-focused subreddit is unlikely to have as much of an impact as its parent group any time soon. While /r/WallStreetBets has 10.8 million readers, /r/WallStreetBetsCrypto has just 13,800 readers.

Furthermore, an earlier unrelated subreddit called /r/cryptosteetbets has attracted 30,000 readers so far.

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