Webull shares tumble after lawmakers flag structural ties to Chinese government

The House Select Committee on China issued a report alleging that Webull’s critical backend systems and data channels could remain exposed to the Chinese Communist Party’s mandatory intelligence requirements. Following the report, the broker’s shares slid 18%, reflecting investor concerns over national-security risks tied to the firm’s structural links to China. Webull, a Cayman Islands-incorporated holding company with a U.S. subsidiary, markets itself as an American firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida, but also runs a technology branch in Singapore and a subsidiary on the Chinese mainland.

The committee highlighted that the company began holding customer cash directly in October 2025, potentially placing billions of dollars of American capital at risk. Webull’s founder, Wang Anquan, previously an executive at Alibaba, defended the firm, asserting that U.S. customer data is stored in the United States and that the firm is transparent with regulators such as the SEC and FINRA. In parallel, a coalition of Republican attorneys general has launched an investigation into Webull’s ties to China’s ruling party.