Stock Plunges Amid National Security Allegations
Shares of retail trading platform Webull dropped between 18% and 20.67% on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, following the release of a report by a bipartisan House committee highlighting national security concerns regarding the firm's operations.
The decline occurred after premarket trading saw prices fall to approximately $5.78–$5.89. The sell-off followed public warnings from lawmakers that Webull’s structural ties to China could expose U.S. investor data and capital to foreign legal demands.
Committee Chair Rep. John Moolenaar stated that Webull’s reliance on technology providers in mainland China and its opaque ownership structure put American investors and their data at risk. The bipartisan House Select Committee on China released the report, which described the trading platform as "tied in structural ways" to the Chinese government.
Committee Findings On Infrastructure And Ownership
The committee’s report identified a "profound gap" between Webull’s public marketing as an American company and its actual operational control. The findings cited ownership architecture, technical workforce composition, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing, and compliance frameworks as being linked to China.
According to the report, 62% of Webull’s staff is based in Changsha, China. The committee also identified a mainland China-based subsidiary that supports the platform's technology. The report alleges that Webull’s software development, data pipelines, and core engineering operations depend on infrastructure subject to Chinese laws, which can compel cooperation with the government, including data transfers.
National security concerns regarding the platform have "escalated" since October 2025, when the company began carrying customer cash directly. The committee described this change as creating a "structural exposure of billions of dollars in American capital." Webull Corp. is a Cayman Islands-incorporated holding company that holds $24.6 billion in customer assets, with a technology structure that also includes a Singapore-based entity and U.S. operations.
Company Response And Disputes
Webull disputed the congressional findings in a statement, calling the report "inaccurate" and containing "unsupported conclusions." The company noted that the committee published these claims without seeking clarification from the firm for more than 20 months.
A Webull spokesperson asserted that its U.S. business is conducted from headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida, and an office in New York City. The company stated that U.S. customer data is stored domestically and that access to sensitive information is controlled within the United States.