In this news:
Shiv Sharma, President & COO, Stocktwits marked his attendance at the NXT Conclave held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on March 1.
While talking about the retail investors, Sharma at the event, stated, "As part of this trend as well, you're seeing, but you're seeing retail investors who now consume media and consume stock market news on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, where it's not banned. But then YouTube as well. Right? Let's go back. And so, but then as part of the same trend, you're seeing crypto come in as well. And crypto is now here to stay, it's more popular than even equities for Gen Zs in America and in globally and in some parts of the world. And you're seeing folks who can but who just kind of relate to it better than stocks because it's easier to understand in some ways it's actually not, but in some ways it's easier to relate to, it's easier to access in some, but in some regard and it's kind of more fun because you can make more money and then lose more money, and at the same time.
Shiv Sharma added, " So it's, it's only getting started from here. So Trump announced the day before his inauguration, but but that he was going to launch a meme coin. And that meme coin hit $10 billion in market cap, $10 billion. It's. But it's dropped since then. But but 10 billion is a massive market cap. You know, for a coin that really has no fundamental value.
Shiv Sharma Sheds Light On Sports Betting
Talking at the NXT Conclave, Shiv Sharma stated, "On top of that, you're seeing meme coins explode. So, for example, if you see over here, this is the actual, it's the actual YouTube video cover where an influencer is talking about the next Pepe coin. And so Pepe Coin was a very popular meme coin. And he's saying the coin that he found can go up 20, 2000 or 22,000,000%, which is which is insanity, right? And then it's not just crypto by the way. It's also sports betting. So sports betting in the US is now becoming very popular. A Robinhood who's the same crypto, who's same equity and equity and crypto broker discussing the previous slide is now getting into sports betting also. And now the U.S is legalizing sports betting. But state by state."
He added, "And so about half of the US now has sports betting allowed. So this trend of kind of you know, very aggressive investing, you could say it's only getting started now if you go to India, you're seeing a kind of similar backdrop. Right. So you know, but the same way the Nasdaq and S&P has has done quite well. But the Indian markets have also done quite well. And so it's not just the indices, it's a blue chip names that we all know. You, but I'm sure you guys own many of these names as well. I mean your portfolios. So Airtel LNT, ICICI, Infosys, TCS have all done very well over the last five years. And it's not just the big names, it's also the the, but it's also the new age tech stocks who are now also playing catch up because, you know, they all went public back in the VC kind of boom a few years ago where the valuations were stretched, their hype by media.
Shiv Sharma at the event shared, "And now what's happened is that because their valuations are now come down a bit, they're now focused on profitability. The competition is now dying because there's less VC funding available there now. But they're all now doing very well in the stock market. And so if you see the returns over the past year, they've all outperformed the nifty pretty materially.
And that's a completely massive shift. We all understand it's an early it's an early number. We're very early in the cycle. And I think it's good for India. I think it's good for society and we all want it to happen. The issue is, is that the demographic of this audience is very young. And these folks, frankly, do not have knowledge of investing in education at scale.
The the rise of influencers in the bull market
Shiv Sharma at NXT Conclave said, "And so I was very happy to see that personally, what had happened now in this period of time, from roughly 2020 during Covid and the bull market period until about a year ago, you've seen the rise of influencers. And influencers are folks who are not professional investors in most cases, who are entertainers, who have moved to the finance market to cover finance topics to help fill the gap in investing education. And this is dangerous, right? Because these folks are not professional investors. They're not regulated. They may own these stocks they're pushing, and they're not qualified to actually teach young people how to invest."
He continued, "And so again, so CV stepped in, a few months ago. And but then for the second time and they've cracked down significantly on influencers and they've effectively killed this industry. So this was mainstream media. This was discussed everywhere you would go about one year ago. And now it's almost dead overnight. Right. And so now what's happening is that if you're an influencer, you can no longer act in the name of investing education and you cannot sell your stock tips for money to retail investors. And that's a huge thing. And so while for a while said he has done a fantastic job, and I and I genuinely, applaud them heavily, the I mean, there are some learnings we can learn from influencers who've done a very good job. I mean, at the end of the day, they were getting millions of views on a daily basis.
Shiv Sharma: Very dangerous trend in India
Speaking at the event, Shiv Sharma said, "It happens in every market, and it manifests itself in every bull market cycle. This is how the stock market has worked for years. Second, in India, this is a very dangerous trend given the lack of investing, education. Third, is that the way we teach investing education has to materially evolve. So, it has to be, it has to be in the form of more engaging content. It has to be more relatable to Gen Z. We cannot go and tell Gen Z how they want to learn, investing right and forth. I'm investing is best learned by the apprenticeship model."
About NXT Conclave:
As nations navigate complex economic landscapes, rapid technological advancements, and the urgency of sustainability, NXT Conclave 2025 served as a catalyst for action. Designed to accelerate innovation, influence global policymaking, and foster strategic collaborations, NXT will play a defining role in shaping the future of industries, economies, and societies.
More than just a summit, NXT drove tangible action. Attendees witnessed the game-changing product debuts, pioneering research presentations, and policy frameworks set to influence industries and governments worldwide. Live demonstrations of next-generation AI, quantum computing, and transformative technologies offered a glimpse into the future.
With exclusive leadership roundtables, NXT brought together the brightest minds to forge partnerships that drive sustainable growth, technological advancement, and geopolitical stability.
The inaugural NXT Conclave 2025 brought together some of the most influential global leaders, with Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi as the Chief Guest, reaffirming India's leadership in global governance and innovation.
Check the full interaction here:
.png)
