News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money anymore. Parent comment

Re:WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money an... by sgpl on Thursday January 28, 2021 @10:09AM (#25942897)
It's not just robinhood, platforms that charge commission such as IBRK [1] have halted the trade of options (which is different from not allowing buying) but it definitely suggests some behind the scenes coordination for all these online brokers to all decide this today.

[1] https://www.axios.com/robinhood-gamestop-restrictions-370adf...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money an... by dcolkitt on Thursday January 28, 2021 @10:24AM (#25943197)
Options are different than equities. The possibility of losses far exceeding the initial position is easily possible. If the customer loses all their money, the broker is in the hook.

IB clearly is concerned about the credit risk, when the stock could literally rise or fall by a factor of ten in a day. They’re still allowing trading in the underlying stock.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money an... by sgpl on Thursday January 28, 2021 @10:30AM (#25943330)
Correct me if I'm wrong but if I'm buying a call, my downside is limited to the price that I pay for the option no?

Obviously if people are selling options / etc. downside can be uncapped.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:WallStreetBets vs WallStreet: It's not about the money an... by egman_ekki on Thursday January 28, 2021 @10:28AM (#25943280)
I tried through IB and could not buy GME stock either.
[ Parent | on HN ]