WallStreetBets Trader Who Turned $35,000 into $8 Million Launches First-Ever Stonk Madness Tournament

Stock Market Enthusiasts to Pick Their Winners Out of a 64-Ticker Bracket, with a Grand Prize Lamborghini Huracan Awarded to the Flawless Bracket

PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–There’s a new game in town for young investors looking for a high-drama tournament all their own. It’s called Stonk Madness, a new experience where stock market enthusiasts can pick winners from a bracket of 64 rival tickers.

Here’s how it works:

• Head to StonkMadness.com to sign up.
• Players can set their brackets through March 18, 2024.
• Each day, two rival stocks will go head-to-head, and the stock with the largest percentage gain at market close will win the round.
• The tournament progresses from March 19 through April 5, 2024 until one stock remains as the Stonk Madness champion.

The game is free to play, and there are compelling prizes up for grabs for the top 20 bracket-pickers, including a Grand Prize Lamborghini Huracan awarded should someone post a flawless bracket.

More than 40 million Americans pick brackets each March as all eyes focus on the drama and surprises that come with college basketball playoffs¹. With that, some 30 million new investors opened brokerage accounts since 2020², and for many of them, the stock market is entertainment as much as it’s a wealth-building play.

“Watching stocks has become sport for millions of young investors,” Stonk Madness creator and AfterHour CEO Kevin Xu said. “The anticipation of Nvidia’s recent earnings call was like our Super Bowl, and market events have become must-watched cultural moments. Stonk Madness was born out of the idea that retail investing can be both wildly entertaining and incredibly educational at the same time.”

The tournament’s founder, Kevin Xu, got into stock trading during the pandemic. Like many others during that time, he became active in the Reddit WallStreetBets community, and rapidly gained attention by transparently posting each of his trades, including the full dollar amount, to other investors. As it turned out, Kevin was able to turn his initial $35,000 investment into over $8MM (without losing it), all while sharing his trades with the community.

Following this experience, Xu put his background in engineering and product—he’s formerly held roles at Stripe and YouTube—to work on the mission to embrace the inherent entertainment of the stock market and encourage more transparent conversations about money.

About AfterHour:

AfterHour is the ultimate financial media platform built for the Internet generation, and the only social app that turns market activity into insights and entertainment. With ridiculously-transparent trade data, 24/7 stock chats, and real-time signals, AfterHour helps investors discover alpha within a community of verified gurus and degens. The AfterHour app is available on iOS and Android. Learn more at: https://afterhour.com/.

Stonk Madness is not associated with the NCAA or March Madness in any way nor intended to be financial advice. Predictions and results are for entertainment purposes only. Investing involves risk and investments may lose value. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The logos of various companies are for informational purposes only. Stonk Madness is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by these companies. All logos are trademarks of their respective owners and are used under the principles of fair use. We make no claim of ownership over these trademarks. AfterHour © 2024 All rights reserved. This website is operated by AfterHour Inc. AfterHour is a technology platform, not a registered broker-dealer or registered investment adviser, and does not provide investment advice.

¹Source: Duke Today (2022)

²Source: The Economist via Public’s Retail Investor Report (2023)

Contacts

Kevin Xu

201-667-2073

press@afterhour.com