Social Media, Securities Markets, and the Phenomenon of Expressive Trading

A new category of retail stock trader has emerged: the “expressive” trader. An expressive trader is not motivated by profit alone, but trades as a form of social protest, political speech, or aesthetic expression. GameStop’s meteoric surge in price in January 2021 revealed the power expressive traders can exert on the market. This Essay explores the phenomenon of expressive trading and its implications for issuers, markets, and regulators.

The Essay sets forth potential defensive measures available to issuers against the consequences of expressive trading, and cautions regulators against hasty action to address expressive trading.