When WallStreetBets fueled the GameStop rally in 2021, Wall Street learned a hard lesson: online communities, armed with trading apps and a viral sense of purpose, could move markets at scale. That moment was dismissed by some as a one-time anomaly, but four years later, the rise of social trading platforms suggests it was only the beginning. Social trading platforms are transforming stock investing by blending community, AI, and retail power. Discover how this trend may trigger the next market shake-up in 2025–2026.
By 2025, platforms that allow investors to share strategies, copy trades, and analyze real-time sentiment have surged in popularity. From Robinhood’s community features to eToro’s global copy trading model, and even TikTok finance creators influencing retail flows, social trading is evolving into a mainstream force.
Now, analysts are asking: could these platforms trigger the next major market shake-up in 2026 — not through hedge fund decisions or central bank moves, but through millions of coordinated retail investors acting with digital precision?
What Is Social Trading and Why Is It Growing?
Social trading combines the traditional stock brokerage with features of social media. Users can not only place trades but also follow, interact with, and even replicate the moves of top-performing investors in real time.
Key drivers behind the growth:
- Community Engagement: Younger investors prefer platforms that feel collaborative rather than isolated.
- Ease of Access: Commission-free trading and fractional shares lower entry barriers.
- Transparency: Traders can showcase performance histories, encouraging followers.
- AI Integration: Platforms now integrate AI-driven insights, helping retail investors analyze sentiment and market momentum.
According to Statista, over 80% of Gen Z investors in the U.S. use social platforms for investment decisions. Meanwhile, eToro reported that its user base surpassed 35 million accounts globally in 2025, up from 20 million in 2021, driven largely by social trading adoption.
Lessons from the GameStop Era
The GameStop saga showed how collective retail power can pressure institutional investors. In January 2021, GameStop’s stock price surged over 1,500% in two weeks, forcing hedge funds with short positions to absorb billions in losses.
While the frenzy cooled, it sparked a new mindset: the crowd has power. Fast-forward to 2025, and this philosophy underpins platforms that actively encourage group action. Now, rather than a loosely organized subreddit, entire apps are designed to enable coordinated retail behavior.
The question is whether regulators and financial institutions are fully prepared for a repeat on a larger scale.
New Features Driving Social Trading Platforms in 2025–2026
Modern social trading platforms are going beyond just forums and chat boards.
- Copy Trading 2.0: Investors can auto-replicate trades of top performers in real time. eToro and ZuluTrade lead globally, while Robinhood is piloting similar features.
- AI Sentiment Tracking: Platforms analyze Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok chatter to surface “trending trades” in real time.
- Gamification: Leaderboards, streak rewards, and “investing badges” mirror mobile gaming to retain user engagement.
- Community Portfolios: Groups of investors can now pool insights and collectively manage thematic portfolios, a feature being tested in Asia and Europe.
These tools blur the line between investing and social networking, giving retail investors a stronger voice but also raising concerns about volatility and herd mentality.
Retail Power vs. Institutional Stability
The rise of social trading is shifting the balance of market influence.
Retail investors once accounted for less than 10% of daily U.S. equity trading volume. By mid-2024, their share had risen to around 23%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. With social trading platforms projected to expand this further in 2026, institutions can no longer ignore retail flows.
However, institutions argue that herd-driven investing leads to instability. In March 2025, a sudden retail-driven surge in small-cap biotech stocks triggered temporary liquidity shortages, prompting SEC monitoring. While no systemic risks emerged, it highlighted the potential for volatility when millions of users act simultaneously.
Regulation on the Horizon
Regulators are increasingly scrutinizing social trading. The SEC, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), and regulators in Asia are considering new rules around:
- Transparency of performance claims by “star traders.”
- Limits on gamification, which critics say may encourage reckless trading.
- Risk disclosures for copy trading, ensuring users know they can lose money even when copying successful traders.
Still, regulation struggles to keep pace with innovation. By the time rules are implemented, platforms may have already pivoted to new models.
Global Growth and Retail Expansion
Social trading is not just a U.S. phenomenon.
- Europe: eToro dominates with millions of users, while Revolut is expanding its trading community tools.
- Asia: Platforms like Tiger Brokers and Futu (moomoo) are blending social chatrooms with brokerage services.
- Latin America: Social-first apps like Vest are targeting young, first-time investors.
This global spread means the next retail-driven market shock may not even originate in the U.S., but from an emerging market platform with viral adoption.
Opportunities and Risks for Investors
For retail investors, social trading offers a unique blend of education and opportunity. New traders can learn from experienced ones, access global markets, and benefit from community knowledge.
For institutional investors, however, social trading presents both competition and unpredictability. Hedge funds that underestimated retail power in 2021 learned an expensive lesson — one that could be repeated on a grander scale in 2026.
The key risks:
- Volatility: Herd-driven rallies can inflate bubbles.
- Misinformation: Not all influencers provide accurate or honest advice.
- Dependency: Copy-traders risk becoming over-reliant on others without learning fundamentals.
The Future Outlook for 2026
Looking ahead, analysts predict that by 2026, one in three retail investors worldwide will be active on a social trading platforms. The combination of AI, mobile-first communities, and gamification is expected to make trading more interactive, more social, and potentially more disruptive.
Some experts suggest that the market may experience miniature “flash mobs” of capital, where stocks experience sudden surges in liquidity and price volatility due to coordinated social trading action.
This could either democratize markets further or create new risks of instability. The outcome depends on how platforms, investors, and regulators adapt.
Conclusion
The rise of social trading platforms signals a profound transformation in global finance. No longer are markets the exclusive domain of institutions and high-net-worth individuals. Today, millions of retail investors are joining forces, empowered by apps that blur the line between investing and social networking.
Whether this leads to smarter collective action or volatile bubbles remains uncertain. What is clear is that markets in 2026 will not move solely on fundamentals and Fed decisions, but also on memes, communities, and viral sentiment.
As Mattias Knutsson, Strategic Leader in Global Procurement and Business Development, has observed, “The power of networks — whether in supply chains or financial markets — lies in their ability to amplify both opportunity and risk.” That lesson may define how social trading reshapes the next era of investing.
