As every veteran forex trader will tell you, the path to success in trading requires that you gain an edge on the market. Typically, traders have relied upon their trusted technical indicators to shift the odds in their favor, but the growing trend these days is to check in on the experts and what they are saying on social media platforms. One of the most popular forums of late is Reddit. But what are the safest Forex trading pages on the platform?
What is Reddit? Reddit is a social media platform, created by two students at the University of Virginia in the United States in 2005. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The website enables social news to flow and accompanying discussions under organized sections, often referred to as “communities” or “subreddits”.
Reddit has gone through several successful funding rounds and morphed into the 19th most visited website on the Internet. In August of 2021, Fidelity Investments helped the firm raise $700 million. Reddit is private and now valued at $10 billion. In December of 2021, the firm announced plans to go public and has filed the necessary initial documentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The number of discussion topics on Reddit is endless. News and politics are a given, but everything from sports, movies, video games, and yes, forex trading, are among the family of Reddit communities. Current estimates are that the moderators, the creators and overseers of each subreddit, rule over 1.2 million subreddits, but roughly only 138,000 are active. The user population is presently around 330 million. There are rules, but the general theme is to give moderators a good deal of latitude in shaping the community of their choice.
Community designators begin with “r/” or “/r/”. For example, “r/Forex” is often the most recommended subreddit devoted to forex trading and traders, but useful information can be gleaned from a multitude of other trading relating communities like “r/Daytrading”, “r/Algotrading”, “r/Cryptocurrency”, or ones of a more general nature, “r/Wallstreetbets” or “r/Investing”. As for followers, it was recently reported that the Gold subreddit has 46,000 members.
Are there risk concerns with this information source? As always, opinions about market conditions and directions are always just that – opinions. There are rules that members and contributors must follow, but there is always the possibility of a scammer lurking about, just waiting to trap an unwitting victim with a “pump-and-dump” scheme or a crowdfunding ruse. Beware of suspicious links designed to strip your computer of private information via implanted malware or to trick you into handing over data related to your personal identity, credit cards, or bank accounts. Always be vigilant.
How popular is Reddit? Major trading institutions in banks are known to have software robots that monitor activity in the more active trading communities, once again to determine if the odds can be shifted in a favorable fashion. There have also been incidents of insider fraud where traders have shared private information that could impact the markets. Of note was the recent market frenzy over Game Stop, evidence that Reddit communities can move markets. “r/Wallstreetbets” was also known to have assisted in the short squeeze in early 2021.
How safe are the subreddits devoted to trading? Activity and safety do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. As the trading public interest in cryptocurrencies has accelerated, so has the popularity of crypto related communities on Reddit. Today cryptocurrencies are the most trafficked topics on this social platform with over 6.6 million mentions in 2021. Dogecoin won top honors, while Bitcoin ranked fifth in terms of this popularity criteria.
The average forex trader, however, visits the Reddit Forex communities in search of free signals, advice, and general information. The veracity of the directions given on a free basis is open for speculation. If possible, the reputation of the source of the signal will mitigate your safety concerns, but experts can be wrong. Information on this site is at best a guide. Beware of scammers, and learn to depend upon your personal due diligence to guide your efforts.
The Safest Forex Pages on Reddit
While moderators may have control over much of what appears in a subreddit, the safety of the information is dictated by the way Reddit operates. Users may submit a post, but then the other users may vote up or down, depending upon their agreement or not. Posts with the most up votes achieve a higher ranking and become more visible. Without support, a post can easily disappear from view.
For forex traders, the following seven subreddits have stood the test of time, but discretion is still advised when evaluating the opinions of other Reddit users:
1) r/Forex
This community boasts 271,000 members. Owned and operated by FXGears.com, this thread invites you to discuss whatever you wish related to training ideas, psychology, strategies, or other forex topics with professional traders. The rules are prominently displayed in the right margin. For example, no solicitations or promotions allowed. The home page also listed ten related communities for additional research.
2) r/Daytrading
This chatroom is not totally devoted to foreign exchange, but the posts do relate to daytrading in general and tangentially to forex issues. 1.1M traders participate, although at any one time, there may be less than one thousand members involved. “Hot” items lead the list, and participants are advised not to glorify past wins without explaining the context in detail. As with r/Forex, ten related communities are also provided.
3) r/CryptoCurrency
This chatroom is decidedly larger in number, some 5.8 million members. If you are looking for the latest forecast, there is a “Predictions” tab, which is live. The moderator for this page also posts a leaderboard for the previous month and filters that can be applied to comments. The filters may come in handy since the tendency for members to exaggerate is more pronounced in the crypto arena. The good point is that there is news on all programs, not just the major tokens.
4) r/Dogecoin
The attention generated by Dogecoin has been remarkable. It has a chatroom of its own with 2.4 million followers. There were 10,400 online when we visited the site page. The site was the top Reddit opinion site from a traffic basis in 2021, a feat in itself. Early adopters may have come and gone after recording their profits, but the community has grown to astronomical heights, considering that no one can say with certainty what this token may achieve or if it could possibly surpass Bitcoin or Ethereum. Proceed with caution, and use your best judgment when taking in what the page has to offer.
5) r/Algotrading
Yes, there is a chatroom devoted specifically to the automated trader, once again of a general nature but with tips for the forex trader, as well. The fact that there are 1.6 million members is evidence that the topic is worthy, although less than 700 members were active when the page was viewed. The moderator encourages discussions on such topics as quantitative trading, statistical methods, econometrics, programming, implementation, and automated strategies. Filters and related communities are also provided.
6) r/Investing
The moderator in this case has a sense of humor. The title for the chatroom reads “Lose money with your friends!” There are over 2 million members, an indication that there are a lot of friends that have come up short while investing, whether it is with forex, stocks, options, or what have you. The members online were 4,700, an indication of a great deal of interest in equities, which dominates the discussion thread. In addition to related communities, the moderator also provides helpful links to frequently asked questions, useful online resources, and recommended reading.
7) r/Wallstreetbets
Lastly, we come to the chatroom that received credit for the Game Stop debacle, which drove the share price up more than 700% and alerted the shorting community of the best opportunity in ages. Over 13 million call this chatroom home, thereby suggesting that it would not be difficult to impact a financial market if the membership were so inclined. There is strength in numbers. In fact, in January of 2021, over 1 million members joined the community in a single day. The site has become a Mecca for getting the inside scoop on market trends and major events.
Concluding Remarks
A new reality in the trading world is that discussions held on social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter have demonstrated the ability to move financial markets. It is an open debate whether this controversial capability is good or bad, but experienced traders are now looking to these platforms for signals that could give the much-desired edge in a transaction. One analyst noted that Twitter is used to post information, but Reddit is more like a debating society to test the data gleaned from other social media websites, like Twitter.
The truthfulness of this information is also questionable, whether it is evaluated from an opinion perspective or whether fraudulent bad actors are up to no good. These social media platforms are open forums. Anything and everything can be shared. As with everything on the Internet, it is difficult to determine the credentials of a contributor, but a strong following is always a good indication of trustworthiness. The subreddits discussed above have demonstrated a good track record, but in all cases, put your faith where it is warranted and avoid the scammer’s siren call.