Digital investment platform WebullThe service, which counts 28 million users worldwide, is covertly “structurally tied” to the Chinese government and poses a national security threat to U.S. finances, according to findings from a bipartisan Congressional committee shared exclusively with CNBC.
In a new report released Wednesday, the bipartisan House Select Committee on China found a “significant gap” between Webull’s public marketing as an “American company” and the St. Petersburg, Florida-based company’s actual control.
The commission found that “Webull’s ownership structure, technical workforce, technology infrastructure, cross-border data routing, corporate financing, and compliance framework are structurally tied to the People’s Republic of China.”
The commission alleged that national security concerns surrounding Webull have “escalated” since October 2025, when it began transporting customers’ cash directly, according to regulatory filings cited by the commission. The committee argues that this creates “structural exposure of billions of dollars of American capital.”
The commission said the company’s corporate structure means its “software development, data pipelines and core engineering operations” rely on infrastructure that is directly subject to Chinese government law. And these laws in China could force companies to cooperate with the government in a variety of ways, including on data transfers.
Mr Weeble disputed the report through a spokesperson, saying: “It is deeply regrettable that the task force published a report containing significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions without ever asking Mr Weeble for an explanation.”
“While Webull’s U.S. operations are conducted from our global headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida, and offices in New York City, our U.S. customer data is stored in the United States and access to sensitive customer data is controlled by the United States,” a spokesperson said in an email. “We remain ready to answer any questions directly with the same transparency we provide to the SEC, FINRA, and regulators around the world.”
Webull’s stock price plunged 18% in morning trading.
Webull
Rep. John Moolener (R-Mich.) told CNBC in a statement that Webull’s “China-based operations put U.S. investors and their data at risk.”
“By leveraging mainland Chinese technology providers and opaque ownership structures linked to China, Webull is exposing data to its biggest adversaries,” said Moulenard, who chairs the House of Commons committee that published the report. “Investors should be mindful of this information when selecting trading partners.”
Webull, which is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, says it operates a “global network of licensed brokerage firms” and provides investment services in 18 markets around the world. The online brokerage says it offers retail and institutional investors 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.
Wang Anquan, a former manager at Alibaba and Xiaomi, founded Webull in 2016. Competitors include: robin hood, charles schwab and E-Trade.
A parliamentary committee that requested information from the company in 2024 said Webull represented a national security risk because it “could leave critical back-end systems, personnel, and data flows exposed to the Chinese Communist Party’s compulsory intelligence laws and coercive demands.”
The committee said in its report that Webull Financial’s “complex corporate and technology framework” was directly tied to China.
Webull Corp. is a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands that reportedly has $24.6 billion in client assets. The company also has a U.S. holding company known as Webull Holdings (US) Inc., but the report said its technology structure also includes Webull Technologies Pte. Ltd. Ltd. is an entity based in Singapore. And the report says Webull uses a subsidiary based in mainland China to support technology development and platform operations. The company’s origins can be traced back to Hunan Fu Information Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese company that first set up business.
The report’s release follows a largely amicable summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in September, and ahead of further talks between the two leaders later this year. This reflects concerns on Capitol Hill that the Chinese government may be planting seeds within the U.S. financial system that could then be used to disrupt the U.S. economy in the event of further conflict.
The commission also alleges that Webull misrepresented the number of employees based in China. The committee said in its report that the company initially told the committee that it had “no offices or employees based in China” and that “all of our employees reside in the United States.” However, the committee said the company’s operations remained concentrated in China, with its mainland subsidiary Hunan Weibu having grown to 863 employees, or 62% of its global workforce.
