What Happened: WallStreetBets, the group of investors known best for the GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) saga, has launched single stock offerings on its blockchain-based decentralized application (DApp).
The WSB DApp will now offer synthetic versions of real-world stocks such as Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR).
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WallStreetBets told Benzinga in an exclusive press release that this “explosive addition” to its DApp would further synthesize DeFi and traditional markets to create an “elevated crypto Robinhood app for retail investors on the blockchain.”
The tokenized versions of these stocks were enabled through a partnership with Mirror Protocol (CRYPTO: MIR), a synthetic asset protocol built on the Terra blockchain which gives users exposure to “mirrored-versions” of real-world assets by reflecting their prices on-chain.
How It Works: WSB DApp users can leverage order routing to trade these fungible synthetic tokens that essentially make the stock market available on the blockchain.
The benefits of trading these on the blockchain include the ability to trade them 24/7 and the lack of geographic barriers imposed on foreign investors, as is the case for most stock exchanges across the world.
“The ultimate goal of WallStreetBets is to place power in the hands of everyday investors so they can carve out a financial future free from market manipulation, not just within the crypto sphere but the financial sphere as a whole - and the introduction of single stocks brings us closer to that ideal,” said Jaime Rogozinski, founder of WallStreetbets and strategic partner of the WSB DApp.
Why It Matters: “The elevated experience we’re now offering significantly pushes the boundaries of trading, and we believe it’s going to help draw even traditional investors into a freer and fairer market.”
Rogozinski’s efforts to build the WSB DApp come despite restricting crypto-related discussions on the original Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets.
Last week, he told Benzinga that he was wrong to assume that crypto was an uninteresting asset class still in its infancy.
According to him, a lot of people want exposure to the price action in crypto markets but the barriers to entry need to be simplified.
Read next: EXCLUSIVE: WallStreetBets Founder Talks GameStop, AMC, Robinhood, Crypto On 'Power Hour'