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A 20-year-old trader who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on Robinhood trading app dead by suicide

While some people get richer thanks to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency in general, there are many unfortunate cases. In it, a 20-year-old young man named Alex Kearns committed suicide because he thought he suffered heavy losses when trading on Robinhood.

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Alex Kearns

The suicide of a 20-year-old Robinhood trader

Less than 24 hours after Alex checked his account at the Robinhood trading application, he found himself at a loss of $ 730,165. Robinhood is a popular cryptocurrency and stock trading application. From 2016 to the present, Robinhood has owned from 1 million users to 10 million users, with loyal followers on social media.

But, Alex seems to have misunderstood Robinhood’s financial statements. On the little yellow note that Alex left on his bedroom door was an ominous message, saying to turn on the computer. Then a four-letter letter appeared on the screen: “If you’re reading this, then I am dead.”

Bill Brewster, a cousin by marriage and an analyst at Sullimar Capital, told CNBC in a phone interview:

“He thought he was exposed, he thought that ending his life would protect his family from the exposure. He got on his bike and never came home.”

Alex’s body was found on Friday. Alex is currently a sophomore at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, studying management and has a growing interest in financial markets.

In his will for the family, Alex accused Robinhood of putting him at risk. He walked the puts he bought, and the shares sold “should have canceled,” but in hindsight, he said he had “no clue” what he was doing.

The will state:

“How was a 20-year-old with no income able to get assigned almost a million dollars worth of leverage? There was no intention to be assigned this much and take this much risk, and I only thought that I was risking the money that I actually owed.”

In a statement to CNBC, a Robinhood spokesman said:

“We are deeply saddened to hear this terrible news, and we reached out to share our condolences with the family.”

Suicide is the result of many contributing factors and not the result of a single event. However, the tragedy is a reminder of the risks and potential for significant losses, which can come with sophisticated trading tools such as options.

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