Webull Stock Tanks 18% as Congress Flags 'Structural' Ties to China as National Security Risk

Shares in Webull tumbled on Wednesday after a bipartisan congressional panel released a report finding the popular trading app is “tied in structural ways” to the Chinese government — a connection it says poses a national security risk to American investors’ money and data. The sell-off wiped out nearly a fifth of the company’s market value in a single session, marking Webull’s biggest drop in more than a year.

The report from the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party accuses Webull of maintaining deep, undisclosed links to China across its ownership structure, technology infrastructure, workforce, cross-border data routing, corporate financing, and compliance systems.  Citing CNBC’s coverage of the findings, the committee said the company’s data flows “may remain exposed to the Chinese Communist Party’s” demands.

Webull, a commission-free brokerage often described as a Robinhood rival, says it serves around 28 million users globally and holds abot $24.6 billion in customer assets. It went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker BULL and is headed by founder Wang Anquan, a former Alibaba executi ve . Shares fell as much as 29% intraday to $5.15 before closing roughly 19% lower at $5.89, with other outlets reporting declines above 20% during the session.

The committee’s sharpest criticism was aimed at what it called a “profound gap” between Webull’s public image as an American company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, and what the panel describes as its real operational structure.In  vestigators pointed to China-based technology personnel, technology providers in mainland China, and a China-linked ownership architecture that they say is not transparent to users.

Committee chairman John Moolenaar said Webull’s China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk  .The report also alleged that the company’s software development, data pipelines, and core engineering rely on infrastructure subject to Chinese laws — rules that can compel companies to cooperate with the government, including through data transfers.

The panel said its concerns have “escalated” since October 2025, when Webull began carrying customer cash directly rather than through third-party banking partners .That shift, the report argues, created a “structural exposure of billions of dollars in American capital” — placing investors’ funds under a corporate structure the co mmittee believes answers, at least in part, to Beijing.

Webull rejected the committee’s conclusions in unusually blunt terms. A company spokesperson told reporters the report contained “significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions” and said the committee published it without ever seeking clarification from the company.

The spokesperson emphasized that Webull conducts business from its global headquarters in St. Petersburg, maintains an office in New York City, stores U.S. customer data in the United States, and controls access to sensitive customer information from within the U.S.T he company said it remains prepared to address questions directly, “with the same transparency we bring to the SEC, FINRA and regulators worldwide.” 

Scrutiny of Webull’s China connections is not new. In 2024, a group of Republican state attorneys general launched a probe into the company’s ties to mainland China and the ruling Communist Party.  The latest report brings the issue back to the center of Washington’s attention at a moment when the FCC and other agencies are taking an increasingly hard line on Chinese-linked technology companies operating in the United States.

Wall Street’s reaction was swift and unforgiving. Robinhood and Interactive Brokers also dipped during the session, though far less sharply. But rivals saw opportunity in Webull’s pain: Robinhood and trading platform Public moved quickly to lure away Webull clients, reportedly offering 3% bonuses on transferred accounts.

For now, investors are left weighing two competing narratives. The committee’s report paints Webull as a Chinese-linked company wearing an American flag; the company insists it is an American brokerage being smeared by politics.  Whichever version holds up, the market has already delivered its verdict: a fifth of the company’s value gone in a day, and a storm cloud over one of fintech’s most-watched names that is unlikely to lift soon.