WallStreetBets Exclusive, ETH, XRP, Robinhood to Close?: Editor’s Pick

In a busy week for news, let’s take a look back at the biggest news stories from the worlds of Forex, Fintech, and Crypto, in our best of the week segment.

Reddit Targets XRP, Cryptocurrency Jumps 100%

The trading week began with news that XRP became the third most valuable cryptocurrency after the Reddit-based XRP Pump discussions increased significantly.

XRP caught the attention of r/SatoshiStreetBets, a crypto-focused Reddit group, and the cryptocurrency jumped from $0.28 to $0.58 in just 48 hours.

The recent addition of nearly $13 billion in XRP’s market cap means that the digital currency is at the same level before the SEC’s action in December.

Read more on the XRP leap in price here.

GameStop Buyers Suffer Another Setback as Revolut Bans Trading

As Finance Magnates reported on Tuesday. Revolut stopped users from investing any further in Texas-based video game retailer GameStop and movie theatre chain AMC.

The challenger app attributed the move to new restrictions imposed by their technology provider, the US broker-dealer, DriveWealth, LLC.

Read more on the Revolut GameStop trading ban here.

IG Group Halts New Account Registration as Market Chaos Continues

London-listed IG Group (LON: IGG) has suspended the opening of new accounts as the trading platform is facing technical issues with the ongoing frenzy with some stocks.

The coordinated short squeeze by the amateur traders on the popular subreddit, WallStreetBets has brought many major hedge funds to their knees, which held short positions on stocks like GameStop, AMC Entertainment, and a few others.

Read more on the IG Group stopping new accounts here.

WallStreetBets Goes in for the Kill: Melvin Capital Lost 53% in January

As Finance Magnates reported on Monday, the r/WallStreetBets (WSB) saga that shook the world last week is far from over.

Hedge fund Melvin Capital lost more than 50 percent in January because of the WSB squeeze. The fund was in such bad shape that Citadel and Point72  two other hedge funds, injected $3 billion into Melvin as an emergency effort, bringing the fund’s total AUM back to roughly $8 billion.

Read more on Melvin Capital losses here.

Exclusive: WSB Founder J. Rogozinski on GME, What’s Next for WallStreetBets

In a Finance Magnates exclusive, WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski, took time out from changing global trading as we know it, to speak to Finance Magnates.

In what is understood to be Jaime’s final interview for a while (he’s just signed a movie deal) this could be your last chance to hear from the horses mouth exactly what happened with GameStop, r/Wallstreetbets and what is next for the ‘degens’.

The must-see/hear/read interview with WSB Founder Jaime Rogozinski can be found here.

ETH at $1690: Did WallStreetBets Push Ether to a New All-Time High?

As Bitcoin continues to struggle to reach the levels that it captured earlier this year, the price of Ethereum has hit a new all-time high (ATH) again.

Finance Magnates looked at why ETH is at an all-time high and whether the infamous WallStreetBets had anything to do with it.

With expert insight from Tim Sabanov, the Lead Technical Architect at Zumo, Doug Schwenk, Chairman and Chief Executive of Digital Assets Research (DAR) and others, no stone was left unturned in analysing the ETH price rises.

Read more on the ETH at an all-time high here.

Could Robinhood Shut down? Traders & Regulators Raise Questions & Criticism

Robinhood came under fire from its disgruntled user base and lawmakers alike last week after the platform made the decision to block its retail customers from trading some 50 assets. Most notable among these were GME, AMC and a number of other ‘meme stocks’ that WSB had latched onto.

The combination of Robinhood’s trading limitations and the too-close-for-comfort relationship with Citadel has enraged its customer base. Similarly, lawmakers in the United States also took aim at Robinhood after it barred retail traders from GME and other stocks.

Therefore, it is likely that Robinhood could suffer some long-term consequences for its decision to bar retail traders from certain stocks last week. But, could the damage be so severe that it might endanger the very existence of the platform?

Read our analysis here to find out more on whether Robinhood could be shut down.

World’s First Polkadot ETP to Be Listed on SIX Exchange

21Shares AG, one of the leading issuers of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), announced this week that it is launching the first-ever Polkadot ETP on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX Exchange). The company also mentioned that Polkadot was included in the 21Shares HODL basket ETP as the second-largest constituent recently.

According to the official announcement, the Polkadot ETP will allow clients to invest and diversify their portfolios. The company mentioned that it has seen a significant surge in demand for crypto assets recently.

Read more on the world’s first Polkadot ETP here.

SBI Expands Crypto Lending Services Adding XRP

SBI VC Trade, the cryptocurrency unit of major Japanese conglomerate SBI Holdings, has extended its digital currency lending support to XRP tokens, the company announced this week.

The service will be offered under VC Trade Lending and will allow XRP holders to earn interest by depositing their holdings with the platforms. SBI launched its lending services last November with only Bitcoin support.

Read more on the SBI XRP expansion here.