The stock of GameStop, a video game retailer, was trading around US$20 before becoming a household name in early 2021. It suddenly rose to nearly $350 per share, without any fundamental changes for the company B次元官网网址� and brought the wild world of cyber-investing into the spotlight.

Apps like Robinhood have B次元官网网址済amifiedB次元官网网址� financial trading and provided bored and COVID-isolated gamers with a financial outlet for their speculative urges.

ThereB次元官网网址檚 nothing special about whatB次元官网网址檚 happening in a historical financial sense. Trading is fundamental to human society, whether itB次元官网网址檚 physical or digital. Some evolutionary psychologists even believe humansB次元官网网址� need to deal with the complexity of trading between early societies affected the development of the modern human brain.

Figuring out the value of an asset is hard, and perceptions of value can differ widely for different investors. ThatB次元官网网址檚 why so many people will jump on a hot trend or stock B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 easier to follow a crowd thatB次元官网网址檚 already decided thereB次元官网网址檚 some value to be had there.

The problem with that approach is that value is so subjective. In free markets, the price of a stock is really whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

But speculating and trading are not the same thing as investing, as anyone who lost money on an ill-advised GameStop bet can tell you. Research and due diligence are much safer ways to evaluate the potential value of a company than strategies predicated on message boards and hope. Once you understand a firmB次元官网网址檚 underlying value and what drives it, youB次元官网网址檙e in a much better position to figure out if its stock is suitably priced.

The online Reddit chat rooms that power the trading in GameStop started with enthusiasts but have grown to include sophisticated players willing to take advantage of the inexperienced. ThatB次元官网网址檚 also nothing new, which is why financial markets are highly regulated. The unscrupulous have been relieving the trusting of their valuables since well before stock markets appeared in the coffee and teahouses of Europe in the 1500s to finance the exploration and trade to B次元官网网址渘ew worlds.B次元官网网址�

Speculating on these apps isnB次元官网网址檛 unlike childrenB次元官网网址檚 games like as RobloxB次元官网网址檚 Adopt Me game B次元官网网址� which also became hugely popular during the pandemic. The game lets players trade pets with each other. The most rare and in-demand pets are the most expensive. All pets have a rating that helps kids ballpark their value B次元官网网址� not unlike a brokerage analyst or a credit rating analyzing a company.

Players donB次元官网网址檛 always agree with that assessment of value though, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what B次元官网网址渕akes a market.B次元官网网址� There are great opportunities to acquire amazing pets that a player considers far more valuable.

But anyone who isnB次元官网网址檛 aware of the ratings or a petB次元官网网址檚 true value can make a bad trade and accidently give away something really good B次元官网网址� or agree to a trade that leaves them with a dud.

Not unlike whatB次元官网网址檚 happening with Robinhood and GameStop.

You can learn more about Adoopt Me and what it teaches us about real-life trading .

Romina Maurino is a freelance journalist and the editor of .

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