Robinhood Is Having Its ‘DeleteUber’ Moment and Public Is Profiting From It

Robinhood Is Having Its ‘DeleteUber’ Moment and Public Is Profiting From It

After popular investment application Robinhood froze trading of GameStop and AMC stock early Thursday, the financial services company's top competitors saw opportunities for personal growth.Public, another leading investment app, quickly rolled out a promotional offer that incentivized membership referral, as Robinhood's customer review ratings plummeted and the corporation became subject widespread criticism, as well as a class action lawsuit."We are doubling the free stock slice value for member referrals today. Tell your friends," Public wrote on Twitter, posting its message on the heels of Robinhood's announcement regarding trade restrictions. The latter company cited "market volatility" as its rationale for suspending trade activity of certain stocks, which also included American Airlines, BlackBerry, Koss and Nokia, alongside GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.However, many accused Robinhood of appeasing Wall Street hedge funds to the detriment of investors using its services, with numerous critics, including Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, comparing the move to "market manipulation."Among the other companies whose shares were placed under Robinhood's restrictions, GameStop and AMC stocks saw surges in trading activity this week. Investors poured funds into both corporations' stocks—a strategy that can be traced back to Reddit's /WallStreetBets chat forum—which sent market values soaring and caused significant losses for