If - hypothetically, ignoring the nominal legalities - it were possible to do the same on Reddit without leaving too obvious a trail, what's to stop one or a small number of players from running a virtual operation that creates this kind of sentiment for trading?
And then betting for or against it - or perhaps both, in sequence - for some very easy money?
It's a good point. Many of the more popular subs are transparently astroturfed, and more than a few mods are bought and paid for. Reddit is already neck deep in information warfare. I'd be surprised if what you describe isn't already happening, although who knows at what scale.
We know how easy and cheap it is to buy anonymous Twitter and Facebook accounts and use them to create a convenient illusion of crowd sentiment.
We also know that Bitcoin appears to have been pumped and dumped through a number of cycles.
https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/interview/cry...
If - hypothetically, ignoring the nominal legalities - it were possible to do the same on Reddit without leaving too obvious a trail, what's to stop one or a small number of players from running a virtual operation that creates this kind of sentiment for trading?
And then betting for or against it - or perhaps both, in sequence - for some very easy money?