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> The biggest problem is Robinhood's poor messaging. It's clear their highest priority was to avoid admission that they were running out of money. They didn't w
by akiselev 6y ago
> The biggest problem is Robinhood's poor messaging. It's clear their highest priority was to avoid admission that they were running out of money. They didn't want to trigger a bank run or shake the confidence of their newly acquired users, so they tried to obscure the message as much as possible. As a result, the popular narrative assumed some sort of evil conspiracy theory.
What I don't get is, why is the fear of a bank run relevant? It's a startup and most people seems pretty YOLO about using it. I don't know anything about investor sentiment so I'm genuinely curious - I thought the SIPC covers the FDIC equivalent for RH accounts that show any semblance of trading.
In this frothy market where a bunch of investors barely do due diligence, having collateral problems from too many customers joining too fast sounds like one of those rare "great problems to have," as evidenced by the line of credit they just got extended. Even with the added risk, investors are probably lining up. I was surprised that the CEO didn't go down that line of reasoning for the marketing effect.
- ameetgaitonde 6y agoIt might not be fear of a bank run, but of enforcement from the SEC or FINRA for not maintaining sufficient net capital. If they did run afoul of these regulations, it's probably advisable to not admit it on televised interviews. That would also explain why they accepted a $1 billion investment rather than expanding their credit lines, and continued to limit purchases of Gamestop stock. Monday at open, when last week's option contracts are settled, is going to be interesting.