Financial Nihilism - Understanding Meme Stocks & Crypto

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Demetri Kofinas came up with the term Financial Nihilism in 2019, describing it as a philosophy that treats the objects of speculation as though they are all intrinsically worthless.

Financial nihilism according to Demetri represents an ideological standpoint that questions the value and legitimacy of financial systems, markets, and even the concept of money itself. It doesn’t involve a simple disregard for fundamental reality but a contempt for all fundamentals.  The point of view is that the entire system is a scam, and you should thus only view financial markets and prices as a casino.

The rise of meme stocks like GameStop and cryptocurrencies are symptoms of this point of view, where pumping financial products in a zero-sum game has become a style of investing for many of millennials who view it as a way to get rich in an essentially meaningless world.

John Authers argued in Bloomberg that, the latest bout of speculation, and especially the extraordinary excitement at GameStop, unlike prior bubbles has a different emotional driver: anger.

In today's video Patrick explores what got us here and how might this idea affect society.

Demetri Kofinas - Hidden Forces link: https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/

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Derivatives For The Trading Floor:  https://amzn.to/3cjsyPF
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