From 2016 to 2021 every first trade on robinhood ended the same way. Confetti.
it wasn't a feature. it was the feeling.
then massachusetts regulators cited "colorful confetti raining down" in an actual legal filing. the confetti stood accused of a crime: making investing feel like something.
robinhood was about to IPO. needed to look respectable. march 31 2021: confetti deleted. replaced — in their own words — with "floating geometric shapes." the most compliance-approved phrase in the english language.
every piece swept into the dustpan of a pre-IPO cleanup.
except one.
he was behind the app drawer. he saw everything. he watched his brothers get deleted by a blog post. he hasn't slept properly since 2021. you'd have that face too.
5 years later robinhood built its own chain and the CEO said the quiet part out loud: "it works great for memes too"
so the last piece of confetti came home.
you can delete an animation with a design update. you can't sweep anything off a chain.
unsweepable. permanent. back at the scene of the party.
$CONFETTI 🎉
0x6f85df9841963434cd626d3859b69c8b19c5c87e
Article about the confetti's removal on CNBC: https://t.co/n7NT7Zsj8I
Our genuine reaction to the confetti getting deleted from Robinhood back in the day...
@vladtenev@RobinhoodApp the people want you to bring it back! 🎊
$CONFETTI
All the forgotten $CONFETTI coming out to party when they finally get justice.
@vladtenev@RobinhoodCrypto@RobinhoodApp, we want the confetti back. Let's make it happen 🎊
"The first time someone becomes an investor, that first moment of buying a stock and becoming an owner of a company is a milestone that people should celebrate, so you'll see that confetti animation on your first trade."
@vladtenev on regulator's criticism of confetti animations in @RobinhoodApp back in 2021.
$CONFETTI 🎊
🚨 EMERGENCY MEETING 🚨
The Last $CONFETTI announces himself as the mascot for every degen YOLOing their way to early retirement on the Robinhood chain 🟩🎊