'Finfluencer' Options Alerts Drive Buying Surges That Quickly Fade, Study Finds

A new study suggests traders paying for options alerts on Discord may be helping create the gains they are trying to chase, according to Bloomberg.

Researchers examining 15 paid Discord trading communities found a consistent pattern. An influencer posts an options trade, followers pile into the contract, volume explodes and the price jumps. The excitement usually does not last.

Retail activity following these alerts reached roughly 14.5 standard deviations above normal, while recommended options gained an average of about 3% during the first minute. Within roughly two hours, most of that price impact had disappeared.

Bloomberg notes that this gives an obvious advantage to whoever entered before sending the alert. Followers arriving seconds or minutes later are already paying higher prices. After transaction costs, the study found subscribers generally lost money even when they reacted almost immediately.

“The finfluencer generally would get in at a lower price, and then the herding of their followers pushes the price up,” said Oklahoma State University finance professor Brian Roseman. “Their influence is driving the price up rather than their actual skill selecting good options.”

A May 2025 eBay trade illustrates the pattern. Shortly after the market opened, a Discord poster told followers to buy eBay calls expiring two days later. The contracts quickly surged roughly 30%. Within minutes, the poster celebrated the gain and said he had already taken a quick profit. The move later faded.

Many trading personalities attract audiences on X and YouTube before directing followers into private Discord groups charging monthly fees. Members receive specific options trades, suggested entry prices and sometimes instructions for when to sell.

The recommendations are typically highly speculative. The median option in the study had just three days until expiration, cost around $1.25 and provided approximately 30 times leverage. Subscribers responded most aggressively to the riskiest trades, even though those recommendations tended to perform worse.

University of Kentucky finance professor Russell Jame described the activity as closer to gambling than investing, with traders drawn to the possibility of enormous percentage gains from relatively little capital.

Researchers also found increased activity in some contracts before alerts appeared, although they could not determine whether anyone knew about the recommendations beforehand or influencers were simply selecting options already moving. The much clearer pattern came afterward, when buying surged following alerts and selling increased when followers were told to exit.

The study does not accuse the Discord operators of misconduct, but it raises questions about where paid social media commentary ends and financial advice begins.

There is also a powerful marketing effect. A string of modest losses can easily be overshadowed by the occasional option that doubles or triples. Those spectacular winners make compelling promotional material even when followers lose money on average.

As Emory finance professor T. Clifton Green explained, subscribers will inevitably experience winners and losers. But people attracted by claims of extraordinary success may ultimately find themselves in a system producing small losses on average.