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Digital investment platform Webull, which counts 28 million global users, is quietly "tied in structural ways" to China's government, representing a national security threat to U.S. finance, according to a bipartisan congressional panel's findings shared exclusively with CNBC. The bipartisan House Select Committee on China in its new report being released Wednesday found "a profound gap" between Webull's public marketing as "an American company" and actual control of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based firm. "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 asserted that national security concerns around the company have "escalated" since October 2025, when Webull began carrying customer cash directly, according to a regulatory filing the panel cited. The committee alleges that creates a "structural exposure of billions of dollars in American capital." The committee said the company's corporate structure means the firm's "software development, data pipelines, and core engineering operations" are dependent on infrastructure subject directly to Beijing's laws. And those laws in China can compel firms to cooperate with the government in myriad ways, including data transfers. Webull took issue with the report, saying via a spokesperson, "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. "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% in morning trading. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., told CNBC in a statement that Webull's "China-based operations put American investors and their data at risk." "Using technology providers in mainland China and an opaque China-linked ownership structure, Webull exposes its data to our foremost adversary," said Moolenaar, who chairs the House committee that issued the report. "Investors should heed this information when choosing who they do business with." Webull, which trades on the Nasdaq stock exchange, says it operates a "global network of licensed brokerages," offering investment services in 18 markets around the globe. The online brokerage says it provides retail and institutional investors with 24/7 access to global financial markets. Users of the platform can trade global stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, futures, fractional shares and digital assets on the service. Former Alibaba and Xiaomi manager Wang Anquan founded Webull in 2016. Its competitors include Robinhood, Charles Schwab and E-Trade. The congressional committee, which had requested information from the company in 2024, said Webull represents a national security risk because "critical backend systems, personnel and data flows may remain exposed to the Chinese Communist Party's mandatory intelligence laws and coercive demands." The committee said in its report that Webull Financial's "intricate corporate and technology framework" is tethered directly to China. Webull Corp. is a Cayman Islands-incorporated holding company, and the report found it holds $24.6 billion in customer assets. And although the company has a U.S. holding company known as Webull Holdings (US) Inc., the report says the company's technology structure also includes Webull Technologies Pte. Ltd, which is a Singapore-based entity. And the report says Webull uses a mainland China-based subsidiary that supports technology development and platform operations. The company traces its origins to Hunan Fumi Information Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese company that originally launched the business. The release of the report comes on the heels of a largely friendly summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September, and it comes ahead of further meetings between the two leaders later this year. It reflects concerns on Capitol Hill that the Chinese government could be planting seeds inside the U.S. financial system that could later be used to disrupt the American economy in the event of further conflict. The committee also alleges Webull misrepresented the number of its China-based employees. In the report, the committee said the company initially told the committee it "does not have any offices or employees based in the PRC," and that "all Firm employees are located in the United States." But the committee says the firm remains operationally concentrated in China, with its mainland subsidiary, Hunan Weibu, growing to 863 employees, or 62% of the company's global workforce.
document fetched 2026-10-08 02:56 · canonical https://cnbc.com/2026/10/07/webull-china-national-security-risk-congress.html