MSTR & BMNR: Reddit User Loss Highlights Risks of Emotional Investing in Crypto Proxies

A 22-year-old Reddit user lost most of their savings over two months by repeatedly adding to losing options positions in MSTR and BMNR, attributing the loss to following the “diamond hands” meme [0]. Comments criticized the user’s approach as gambling rather than investing, noting MSTR is a Bitcoin proxy (not a standalone stock) and advising direct crypto purchases instead of crypto-linked equities [0].

MSTR (a Bitcoin-focused holding company) has fallen 52% since May 2025 and 30% in one month, with its performance highly correlated to Bitcoin volatility (underperforming BTC by 27pp YTD) [1,3,4]. The company holds ~3% of all Bitcoin and recently bought 8,178 BTC for $835.6M amid market drops [2]. BMNR (crypto mining tech) is down 25.2% YTD with a 52-week range of $3.20-$161, holding over 2.4M ETH; it will release FY2025 earnings on Nov 21 [6,7,8,9].

The Reddit user’s loss aligns with research showing extreme volatility in crypto-proxy stocks like MSTR and BMNR. Comments emphasizing direct crypto investment over these stocks are supported by MSTR’s underperformance relative to Bitcoin [3,4].

: MSTR’s continued Bitcoin accumulation may amplify losses if BTC prices drop further [2]. BMNR’s upcoming earnings (Nov 21) could trigger additional volatility [8]. : For long-term crypto bulls, MSTR offers exposure but with higher risk than direct BTC; BMNR’s immersion cooling tech may benefit from future mining demand if crypto markets recover.