Are Memecoins the Next Evolution of Wall Street Bets?

Nathaniel Popper, author of The Trolls of Wall Street, talks about how Wall Street Bets and memecoins reflect broader societal changes, including the shifting status of men.

Jun 14, 2024

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Nathaniel Popper just published his latest book, "The Trolls of Wall Street," covering the Wall Street Bets phenomenon. Funnily enough, his book comes at a time when there are striking similarities with the current memecoin mania in crypto.

In this episode, Popper explores the rise of online investing communities like Wall Street Bets and their reflection of broader societal changes, particularly among young men.

He also touches on the parallels between the trolling culture of these communities and the rise of figures like Donald Trump, and delves into the hidden dangers and psychological influences of memes in modern investing.

Show highlights:

The rise of online money communities and the shift towards investing based on ideas rather than traditional financial fundamentals
How the changing roles of young men in society have influenced the growth of crypto and online financial communities
How Robinhood's design choices changed retail investing, sparking FOMO and controversy by making trading as easy as a swipe
The hidden dangers of memes in modern investing, and how they balance fostering community with driving speculation
Why Trump's ties to the crypto community highlight the mix of serious intent and trolling

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Guest

Nathaniel Popper, author of The Trolls of Wall Stree

Links

Previous coverage of Unchained on memecoins:

The book:

Meme culture

WSJ:
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CoinDesk: In Defense of Meme Coins
What else could memecoins be? By Vitalik Buterin

Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.

HOST

Laura Shin

Laura Shin is a crypto journalist, host of the Unchained podcast, and author of “The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze” (Public Affairs, 2022). Formerly a senior editor at Forbes, she was the first mainstream journalist to cover crypto full-time, and her podcasts and videos have had more than 15 million downloads and views. Shin has spoken about cryptocurrency at places such as TEDx San Francisco, the International Monetary Fund, Singularity University and the Oslo Freedom Forum.

She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors from Stanford University and has a master of arts from Columbia University’s School of Journalism. She lives in New York City.