The situation
If you’ve been holding Webull stock, the vibes are currently off. The platform’s shares have nosedived nearly 76% since it went public last year. This week, the stock took another 19% hit, closing at $5.89 on Wednesday after a scathing new report dropped.
The report
The bipartisan House Select Committee on China released a 23-page investigation titled “Free Trades, Hidden Ties.” The committee claims Webull’s infrastructure, workforce, and data routing are structurally linked to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A major red flag for the committee is founder and CEO Anquan Wang, who maintains 79.2% of the company’s voting power through a dual-class share structure, effectively giving him total control over major decisions.
The data drama
The core concern is that Webull’s data practices could expose American investors to surveillance risks. While Webull maintains that U.S. customer data is stored in the U.S. and is secure, the Committee argues the issue isn't where the data sits, but who has the power to access it. The report accuses the platform of misrepresenting where key employees work and claims a subsidiary accepted Chinese government funding tied to CCP loyalty. Webull has pushed back hard, calling the report inaccurate and stating they were never contacted for clarification during a 20-month period. They maintain they are fully compliant with the SEC and FINRA.
Why it matters
This is highkey giving TikTok-era anxiety. Just like the debate over ByteDance and TikTok, Congress is worried that U.S. user data is vulnerable to foreign intelligence. If you use Webull for your trading, it’s worth watching whether the government moves to extend “foreign adversary data protections” to brokerage records, which could force major changes to how these platforms operate.
