CommonStock Launches First Social Investing Platform for Stocks and Cryptocurrencies

Fintech startup closes nearly $2M Seed funding and launches app that combines accessible investment knowledge with the ability to learn and earn through conversations with peers

CommonStock today launched the first and only web and mobile application that offers social investing for traditional stocks and cryptocurrencies encouraging users to learn, earn and invest as a team. The first of its kind, the app allows communication and education through interaction amongst peers. Similar to the traditional Bloomberg Terminal, CommonStock places tools once solely utilized by professional stock traders in the hands of trading newbies, enthusiasts and professionals alike. The company also announced it has closed a nearly $2 million Seed round of financing from Social Capital, Resolute VC, and Studio VC.

Sitting at the nexus of technology and investing, CommonStock utilizes API connections to all major brokerages and crypto exchanges to allow users to more efficiently trade and monitor assets. Regardless of a person’s trading experience, CommonStock centers on financial literacy through their core social feature, Groups. Groups connects peers to invest as a team or in a friendly competitive setting, based on the Group’s goals. Much like a social media newsfeed in stock-ticker form, Groups can monitor, and track stocks then send messages, or share research and charts to coordinate or copy trades.

“The biggest barrier for any new investor is that they don’t know where to start,” said David McDonough, Founder and CEO of CommonStock. “Finance and investing was a black box to me, until I learned how to invest through my family and friends. It was only natural that we’d want to create a place for people – at any stage of their investment life – to interact with their family and peers and learn about the market while doing so. CommonStock unites people who want to start investing, gain trading expertise and knowledge, and those who are passionate about the industry.”

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Investing is an essential piece of financial wellness and while mainstream adoption has been growing, it is still elusive, particularly amongst millennials. Nearly one third of millennials say they don’t know whom to trust when investing and 24 percent say they don’t know how to get started, according to a survey by Ally Invest. CommonStock introduces the first technology that enables people to research stocks, chat about strategy, execute transactions, monitor portfolio performance, and invest with friends in the form of a modern-day investment club. During its two-month pilot program, CommonStock has seen a 1.5x day over day increase in daily usage, with some people spending as many as 8 hours per day using the platform.

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“CommonStock makes investing more accessible and engaging by making it social,” said Mike Hirshland, partner at Resolute Ventures. “We are excited to support CommonStock as they open investment research – historically the province of professionals and very serious investors – to even the most casual investor.”

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Today, CommonStock is opening its full availability to all iOS users, with Android availability coming later this year. CommonStock is available to anyone and is free to download. Users do not have to connect to a brokerage or crypto-exchange to use the platform, but it is highly encouraged in order to harness the full potential of the app.  There are no trading fees associated with using CommonStock. Further education tools and features will be rolling out in the second half of 2018.

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