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Episode 358Jan 29, 2021

Here’s how Robinhood (and short selling GameStop) actually work

We’re deep in the weeds on stonks again today. The “Stonk Weeds.”

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This photo illustration shows the logo of trading application Robinhood on a mobile phone in Arlington, Virginia on January 28, 2021.
This photo illustration shows the logo of trading application Robinhood on a mobile phone in Arlington, Virginia on January 28, 2021.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

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Two things you need to know about the situation with GameStop, WallStreetBets and that whole mess today: First, retail traders aren’t actually the customers at Robinhood, the stock-trading app that many of those retail traders are mad at. Second, while the potential losses of retail stock buyers max out at 100%, if a hedge fund is selling short, as they often do, the losses can be infinite. We’ll fill you in on what you need to know — or you could just watch this.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

The Team