Crypto platform Webull is getting slammed over its alleged China ties

Shares of Webull, the crypto trading platform that has faced scrutiny over its alleged China ties, have tanked nearly 76% since it went public through a special acquisition corporation early last year – but that should hardly be a surprise if you read On The Money.Shares of Webull, the crypto trading platform that has faced scrutiny over its alleged China ties, have tanked nearly 76% since it went public through a special acquisition corporation early last year – but that should hardly be a surprise if you read On The Money.Since at least 2023, this column has been reporting growing concern in Congress over whether management of the discount broker with 28 million users worldwide is too cozy with the Chinese surveillance state.The worry is that the firm collects sensitive customer data on Americans that could be shared with Chinese spies–something the company has steadfastly denied.On Wednesday, the bipartisan House Select Committee on China put a finer point on those concerns in a 23-page report titled “Free Trades, Hidden Ties Exposing Webull’s China Links.”According to the report, “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,” also referred to as the PRC in the paper. Webull in the past has described itself as “both a US and Chinese company,” and has argued that its American customer data is stored in the US and is 100% secure from foreigners.

But the report notes that a Chinese national, Anquan Wang, is Webull’s founder, chairman and CEO. The report also notes that Wang controls the company through a dual-class share structure with 79.2% of the company’s voting power, meaning Wang can “control the election of directors and other major corporate decisions requiring shareholder approval.” The Committee said its findings underscore “national security concern...