DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

Webull came under sharp scrutiny after a bipartisan congressional panel concluded that the digital investment platform is connected in structural ways to China’s government. The House Select Committee on China said those relationships represent a national security threat to the American financial system.

The committee’s report, scheduled for release Wednesday and shared exclusively with CNBC, identified what it called “a profound gap” between Webull’s promotion as “an American company” and the actual control of the firm. Webull is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“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,” the committee found.

The panel said its national security concerns have “escalated” since October 2025, when Webull began holding customer cash directly, according to a regulatory filing cited by the committee. It alleged that this arrangement creates a “structural exposure of billions of dollars in American capital.”

According to the report, Webull’s corporate structure leaves its software development, data pipelines and core engineering operations dependent on infrastructure subject to Beijing’s laws. The committee noted that Chinese laws can compel companies to cooperate with government demands, including requests involving data transfers.

Webull rejected the report’s conclusions. A company spokesperson said, “It is deeply disappointing that the Select Committee published a report containing significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions without ever seeking clarification from Webull.”

“Webull’s U.S. business is conducted from its global headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida and its office in New York City, while U.S. customer data is stored in the U.S. and access to sensitive customer data is controlled by the U.S.,” the spokesperson said via email.

The spokesperson added, “We remain prepared to address any questions directly and with the same transparency we bring to the SEC, FINRA, and regulators worldwide.” Webull’s stock plummeted 18% during morning trading following the report.

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., chairman of the House committee, said Webull’s “China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk.” He urged investors to consider the committee’s findings when selecting financial service providers.

“Using technology providers in mainland China and an opaque China-linked ownership structure, Webull exposes its data to our foremost adversary,” Moolenaar said. “Investors should heed this information when choosing who they do business with.”

Webull trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange and reports 28 million users worldwide. The online brokerage says it operates a “global network of licensed brokerages” and provides investment services across 18 markets.

The company says retail and institutional investors receive 24/7 access to global financial markets through its platform. Customers can trade global stocks, exchange traded funds, options, futures, fractional shares and digital assets.

Former Alibaba and Xiaomi manager Wang Anquan founded Webull in 2016. Its competitors include Robinhood, Charles Schwab and E-Trade.

The committee, which requested information from Webull in 2024, said critical backend systems, personnel and data flows may remain exposed to mandatory intelligence laws and coercive demands from the Chinese Communist Party. It described Webull Financial’s corporate and technology framework as directly tethered to China.

Webull Corp. is a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and the report found that it holds $24.6 billion in customer assets. Webull also has a United States holding company called Webull Holdings (US) Inc.

The report said the broader technology structure includes Webull Technologies Pte. Ltd., an entity based in Singapore. It also identified a mainland China subsidiary supporting technology development and platform operations, while tracing Webull’s origins to Hunan Fumi Information Technology Co., Ltd.

The committee further alleged that Webull misrepresented the size of its workforce in China. According to the report, Webull initially said it “does not have any offices or employees based in the PRC,” and that “all Firm employees are located in the United States.”

The committee said Webull nevertheless remains operationally concentrated in China. It reported that the company’s mainland subsidiary, Hunan Weibu, had expanded to 863 employees, representing 62% of Webull’s global workforce.

The report’s release follows a largely friendly September summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping and comes before additional meetings expected later this year. It also reflects Capitol Hill concerns that China could establish positions within the American financial system capable of disrupting the economy during a future conflict.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.