Stocktwits.com, a social media site at the heart of last year’s retail trading mania has launched a crypto trading platform with the aim of tapping into the growing interest in trading bitcoin and other digital tokens.
The New York-based company disclosed that it is partnering with cryptocurrency exchange FTX US, which was valued at $8 billion in its first funding round last month.
Stocktwits Executive Officer, Rishi Khanna, stated that while crypto is the first leg, it’s not where the company stops.
The company is planning to launch U.S. equities trading by early next quarter, with trading in stock options, crypto derivatives and other asset classes lined up ahead Khanna added.
Stocktwits members use a cashtag, a dollar sign before a stock ticker, to share their stock tips or ideas related to a company. The social media firm then analyses posts and message volumes around the ticker to aggregate sentiment and list out the most touted stocks on its platform.
The CEO added that the company’s new feature introduces a transaction-based revenue model, which would add to its primary revenue stream on the social media site, advertising.
Stocktwits’ existing investors include Alameda Research Ventures, ffVC, Foundry Group, Social Leverage, Times Bridge, and True Ventures.
Along with Reddit’s wallstreetbets, Stocktwits was among the online message boards used by an army of retail traders last year to drive huge gains in meme stocks GameStop (GME.N) and AMC (AMC.N), costing bearish hedge funds valued at billions of dollars.
