House panel calls Webull’s China ties a security risk; stock drops 30%

A bipartisan US House committee found that Webull, the Nasdaq-listed brokerage with 28 million global users, is tied to China “in structural ways” and poses a national security threat to US finance, according to Cnbc, which received the findings before their release on Wednesday. The stock fell nearly 30% in premarket trading.

The House Select Committee on China had been examining Webull’s Chinese developers, ownership structure and safeguards for American customer data since December 2024, Financemagnates reported. At 11:03 a.m. EDT, Webull shares were down 21.1% at $5.75, with volume approaching 28 million shares, after a near-30% drop earlier in the session.

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Key facts

• Webull’s latest annual report said founder and CEO Anquan Wang beneficially owned 16.4% of outstanding shares but controlled 79.2% of voting power as of 31 March 2026 through a dual-class share structure.
• The company’s mainland Chinese subsidiary employed 863 people at the end of 2025, or 62% of its global workforce, and provides research, development and technical support.
• Webull reported $24.6 billion in total customer assets at the end of 2025, a figure that includes securities held in custody by Apex Clearing.
• The committee alleged the company first told it that it had no offices or employees in the PRC and that all employees were located in the United States, while its Hunan Weibu subsidiary grew to 863 employees.
• Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., who chairs the panel, said Webull’s China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk.

Ownership, staff and data routing

The committee said “a profound gap” exists between Webull’s public marketing as an American company and actual control of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm, according to Cnbc. Its report contends that Webull’s ownership architecture, technical workforce, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing and compliance frameworks are tied to the People’s Republic of China, and that critical backend systems, personnel and data flows may remain exposed to Chinese intelligence laws and coercive demands.

Webull pushed back. A spokesperson said it was deeply disappointing that the committee published a report with significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions without ever seeking clarification from the company, and that the US customer data operation is run from Florida and New York, with sensitive data access controlled in the US. Financemagnates noted that the company has previously described allegations about its China connections as based on outdated or inaccurate information.

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The two outlets differ in emphasis on what the report proves: Cnbc describes the committee’s assertions of a structural exposure of billions of dollars in American capital, while Financemagnates states that the material reported so far does not establish that Chinese authorities obtained Webull customer information or that customer data was compromised, and that the report itself would not impose restrictions on the company.

Cash handling changed before the report

Separately from the committee’s findings, Webull completed a transition in October 2025 to an omnibus clearing arrangement with Apex Clearing, Financemagnates reported. Individual accounts were previously introduced to and carried by Apex under a fully disclosed model; customer cash is now deposited with and carried directly by Webull, while Apex continues to clear and settle securities transactions and custody customer securities.

Webull traces its origins to Hunan Fumi Information Technology Co., Ltd., the Chinese company that originally launched the business, and its structure includes a Cayman Islands holding company, Webull Holdings (US) Inc. and Singapore-based Webull Technologies Pte. Ltd., per Cnbc. The panel’s report was released after a largely friendly September summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and before further meetings later this year.

Why it matters

The findings land on a US-listed brokerage that gives retail investors round-the-clock access to stocks, ETFs, options, futures, fractional shares and digital assets across 18 markets, competing with Robinhood, Charles Schwab and E-Trade. A congressional report does not itself change Webull’s licenses or force it to move operations, but it raises the prospect of regulatory scrutiny and shifts how US customers and counterparties weigh the platform’s ownership and data controls.

What to watch

The publication of the report should clarify whether the committee is seeking action from financial regulators or other government agencies, and whether Webull supplies a fresh response. This is not financial advice; equity markets are volatile and uncertain.

Written by

Benjamin

Benjamin Carter covers business, finance, and the stock market for StockPil, focusing on the trends and data that matter to everyday investors.

Sources: Finance Magnates, Cnbc