One conversation I hope we'll have about what's happening right now is what the consequences are of creating experiences that make the task of trading securities feel like playing a slot machine.

You definitely don't have to run a casino to make a gambling experience.

I think there's a common misconception that until Robinhood, it was difficult for a regular person to open trades with a couple hundred dollars. Brokerages have been doing that for years.

What RH revolutionized is the feedback loop and the illusion of instant results.

On Robinhood, you can make a deposit on a whim and be trading with that money instantly. You can trade partial stocks. And RH simplifies the experience down to a bare minimum of information, making things seem very straightforward — when they aren't.

Is this the only problem? Absolutely not. There is so much to unpack here, and consumers aren't to blame for the way the market has taken shape today.

But as someone with a major gambling problem in my past, I recognize a lot of familiar things lately.