#WallStreetBets

r/WallStreetBets (WSB) is a Reddit community founded in 2012 that combines high-risk options trading, meme culture, and financial nihilism. The subreddit exploded from 2 million to 11 million members during the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021.

Culture & Language

WSB developed its own dialect:

• Stonks - Intentional misspelling of “stocks”
• Tendies - Profits (from chicken tenders)
• Diamond Hands 💎🙌 - Holding through volatility
• Paper Hands 📄🙌 - Selling too early
• To the Moon 🚀 - Price explosion expectations
• YOLO - Betting entire account on one trade
• FDs - Weekly options (high risk/reward)
• Wife’s Boyfriend - Self-deprecating loss humor
• Autist/Retard - Self-referential community terms (controversial)
• GUH - Sound of catastrophic loss (from viral video)

Key Moments

Infinite Leverage Glitch (Nov 2019): User “1R0NYMAN” discovered Robinhood bug allowing unlimited margin. Lost $58K, became WSB legend.

Variation-Separate Predictions (March 2020): Anonymous user correctly predicted COVID crash and rally, gained cult following.

GameStop Short Squeeze (Jan 2021): WSB coordinated buying of GME, AMC, causing massive hedge fund losses. DFV (u/DeepFuckingValue) turned $53K into $48 million, testified before Congress.

Loss Porn: Users proudly post six-figure losses for community entertainment and commiseration.

GameStop Era (2021)

The GME squeeze transformed WSB from 2M degenerate gamblers to 11M mainstream participants. Key figures:

• Keith Gill (DFV/Roaring Kitty) - Posted GME analysis for 18 months before squeeze
• Hedge Fund Losses - Melvin Capital lost 53%, eventually closed in 2022
• Robinhood Halts Trading (Jan 28) - WSB accused Citadel of manipulation

Post-squeeze, WSB fractured between GME loyalists and those seeking new plays.

Cultural Impact

WSB pioneered:

• Retail investors as coordinated force against institutions
• Meme stocks as legitimate market phenomena
• Options trading by the financially illiterate
• Loss porn as therapeutic community practice

By 2023, WSB had 13 million members and spawned numerous copycat communities, but never recaptured the GameStop lightning.

Sources:

• r/WallStreetBets subreddit archives
• Congressional testimony (Keith Gill, Feb 2021)
• “The Antisocial Network” documentary (2022)
• Bloomberg, WSJ GameStop coverage