U.S. legislators say trading platform Webull’s China ties are national security risk
Webull shares have plunged 30% in premarket trading in New York
A special Congressional committee has found “a profound gap” between Webull’s public marketing as “an American company” and actual control of the firm / Photo: X / Webull
Online trading platform Webull, which has 28 million users worldwide, is linked to the Chinese government and poses a national security threat to U.S. finance – such is the conclusion of the bipartisan U.S. House special committee on China, CNBC reported after exclusively obtaining the committee’s report.
The committee found “a profound gap” between Webull’s positioning of itself as “an American company” and who actually controls the broker. Webull did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. According to company data, customer assets totaled $28.5 billion at the end of June 2026.
Webull shares were down 30% in early trading in New York as of this writing.
Committee findings
The company’s software development, data processing, and core engineering operations depend on infrastructure subject to Chinese law, the committee's report states. Among other things, those laws allow the Chinese authorities to compel companies to transfer data.
“Webull’s ownership architecture, technical workforce, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing, and compliance frameworks are tied in structural ways to the People’s Republic of China,” CNBC quotes the committee’s report as saying.
Concerns have escalated since October 2025, when Webull began carrying customer cash directly, the committee claims, citing a regulatory filing. It estimates that this business structure exposes billions of dollars belonging to American investors to risk.
The committee also accused Webull of providing false information about its employees in China. It claims that the company initially said it had no offices or employees in the country and that all its personnel were located in the U.S. However, the report states that the workforce of its mainland China subsidiary, Hunan Weibu, is 863 people, or 62% of the group’s global workforce.
“Webull’s China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk,” committee chair Republican Representative John Moolenaar told CNBC. He urged investors to heed the information.
About Webull
Webull was founded in 2016 by former Alibaba and Xiaomi manager Wang Anquan. The company has traded on the Nasdaq since April 2025, its peers including Robinhood, Charles Schwab, and E-Trade. According to Webull, its platform allows users to trade stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and digital assets across 18 markets.
Webull’s holding company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. According to the company, the group’s structure also includes a U.S. holding company, a tech company in Singapore, and a mainland China subsidiary that supports technology development and platform operations.
The committee had requested information from Webull about its ties to China as early as 2024.
