How The Trading Platform Robinhood Started Stealing From The Poor To Give To The Rich: Squashing the Little Guy to Keep Hedge Fund Giants Afloat

The Federalist ^ | 01/29/2021 | Cody Boorman

[ConservativeDude]

typical leftist tactic....say they are for the little guy, then do everything to screw the little guy

[SeekAndFind]

Cash-Strapped Robinhood Scrambles To Raise $1 Billion From The Rich

After years of carefully building its brand and reputation, Robinhood, the stock-trading app that helped invent the no-fee commission, is on the verge of collapse as it faces a mortal threat for any financial company: a bank - or in this case a brokerage run - as thousands of its core users threatened to abandon the platform after RH halted trades in shares of Gamestop, AMC and other shares that had become part of a Reddit-inspired populist revolt against the hedge fund community.

Immediately, the move sparked a wave of rumors which verged on (what some might call) conspiracy: Dependent on HFT market-makers like Citadel for most of its revenue, Robinhood was cutting off the bulls who were bidding Gamestop and a handful of other popular hedge fund shorts into the stratosphere in service to its "masters".

Robinhood wasn't the first mover: As we pointed out the other day, TDAmeritrade was the first to make the "unprecedented" move. As we suspected, it was almost immediately followed by the rest of the major day-trading brokerages.

However, as the day progressed the situation became clearer, Robinhood was in trouble.

After the market close on Thursday, Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev was on CNBC being grilled by Andrew Ross Sorkin about whether the firm was selling out the customers and core users who made it a success. Tenev swore that he and the firm had acted "preemptively" (in cutting off certain trades and cashed out some customers' positions), attempting to make clear that the firm didn't really need any liquidity.

As Dave Portnoy cracked jokes on twitter about the "irony" of a company called Robinhood stealing from the poor to give more to the rich, Tenev was telling Andrew Ross Sorkin that "we absolutely did not do this at the direction of any market maker...the reason we did it was because Robinhood is a brokerage firm, we have lots of financial requirements including SEC met-capital requirements."

Robinhood Is Said to Draw on Credit Lines From Banks Amid Tumult

Robinhood taking from the rich... to stay in business

[Ebenezer]

I really don’t understand this whole Reddit/Robinhood/GameStop affair, but at least I can sense something is wrong with all this stock-price manipulation. That cannot bode well for an economy.

[ConservativeDude]

“we absolutely did not do this at the direction of any market maker...”

that’s a bold faced lie

[detsaoT]

Pretty sure we can all figure out who our real rulers are at this point. It’s certainly not all of the dingus marionettes in Washington.

[Shanty Shaker]

These kind of people do not need directives. Their instinctive protection of certain classes is cultivated over cocktails and a dismissive attitude of the common folk. When the time for them to go to battle comes, they do not need any orders. They already know exactly what to do.

[Uncle Miltie]

Politically, The Establishment just created millions of new Anti-Establishment voters.

We need to hang Robinhood and Hedge Funds around Democrat Big State necks.

[Uncle Miltie]

They didn’t shut down because of a market maker.

They did it because China Joe called, accorsing to a source.

[Jan_Sobieski]

Just hear this morning. There are about 666 Billionaires in America. They all seem to cover for each other...

[sanjuanbob]

Like you, I don’t understand the ups and downs of all this, but it must be similar to that old Eddie Murphy movie, “Trading Places”. Funny as hell.

[bobbo666]

Tucker Carson has a really nice piece on this as of this morning. Also take a peek at TimPool’s bit on same thing.

Basically, the long-term scam is that Hedge funds have been buying trading info from outfits like Robinhood — unbeknowst to anyone. Using this they figure out what stock to short. Then, they call over to some “stock weasel” at MSNBC or thereabouts and that hack goes on the air and (with free time from the network) screams about how the stock is bad and everyone should dump it. When the stock takes a dive the hedge managers make $$$B.
All of this from Hedge funds which contribute nothing to anything (they make nothing, they employ only other stock weasels) except the insiders who get the tip off — like members of Congress.
Well, some rebellious dingalings at home because of shutdowns ( and a few hunder $$ from Congress) used Reddit to “conspire” and bought heavily of GameStop, AMC, Nokia, etc. This caused stocks to skyrocket. Not only did they make tons of $$ buying and selling as stock rose, but they stuck it to the Hedge funds who have to buy back the stock they shorted. Within 48 hours of this they lost $14B, yes billion.
That is when Robinhood ( and other outfits) showed who they trully worked for by freezing out any more buys. This bought time for the hedge fund managers to figure out how to dispose of their short sells with minimal losses.
This is not capitalism. This is crony-cap. This is insider trading. This is stock manipulation. This is the DeepState sending out a shaft at the request of WallStreet. Why say DeepState? Because short selling has been a curse for years, and no body in DC (or NYC) wants to make a change that protects middle America.

[SaxxonWoods]

I have what I feel is a cogent take, but after reading the comments already here, I’ll not waste time.

[M Kehoe]

Bttt.

5.56mm

[Basket_of_Deplorables]

“They did it because China Joe called, accorsing to a source.”

---

Impeachment!!!

[eyeamok]

Then suddenly this morning, Robinhood suspended the ability to purchase shares of GME, AMC, and others due to “market volatility.” Of course, you still can sell these shares, you just can’t buy them. And what happens to a stock when you can only sell it or hold it? People sell it and losses start to pile up. Within an hour, GME dropped from $469 to $132

And then Robinhood LIQUIDATED Personal Accounts at $118 to the Hedge Funds, STEALING 3/4ths Of their VALUE while Laughing in your Face.

There should have been Immediate SWAT Raids and Perp Walk before Dinner last night, this is the BIGGEST THEFT IN HISTORY

[Savage Rider]

The reason the individual buyer is upset is that their broker denied them the ability to buy a certain stock, and then, SOLD THEIR SHARES in said stock, WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. That is theft, pure and simple. Companies should be out of business and people in those companies should be in court. Robinhood is the most talked about, but there were other brokers who did this.

[ncfool]

Robinhood will implode SHORTLY...

[minnesota_bound]

Ping $$

[minnesota_bound]

FTA: They’re obliged to buy back more shares than is possible. The only way out of that self-made trap is a complicated mess of desperately buying, returning, rebuying from the people you borrowed them from, and returning them with losses at every step.

Sounds like a Marx Brothers routine when Groucho gets cheated out of money when Chico breaks a $20 bill for him.