PALO ALTO, USA – Webull, a Chinese-owned trading app, became the second most popular app in the US last Thursday, the day online brokerages imposed restrictions on retail investors buying GameStop, AMC Entertainment and several other volatile stocks.
Webull’s app was installed approximately 100,000 times worldwide from the App Store and Google Play on Jan. 28, up 270% per week, according to data from market analysis company SensorTower.
The rising number of downloads led Webull to take second place on Thursday among all free iPhone apps in the US App Store and No. 3 among all free apps in the US Google Play Store, up from about 60th the day before .
Founded by former Alibaba Group employee Wang Anquan in 2016, Webull has attracted more than 620 million yuan ($ 96 million) in venture capital investments from prominent funders, including Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, according to data analytics firm IT Juzi.
On Thursday, Webull’s app had been installed roughly 9.3 million times worldwide since its release, making it a not insignificant contender for Robinhood Markets, a leading stock trading app for retail investors in the U.S. that has sold over 13 million as of 2020. users.
Webull ranked second among all free iPhone apps in the US App Store on Thursday, January 28. (Photo by Yifan Yu)
Webull’s particular wave of downloads on Thursday came after Robinhood halted its users’ ability to buy securities including GameStop, AMC, Nokia and other high-volatility stocks fueled by Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum-led retail investors offering stocks that hedge funds will collapse. .
GameStop shares are up a whopping 2,450% since closing in 2020, when small investors stacked up and forced hedge funds to lose billions on their short positions.
Hedge funds were given a short reprieve after Robinhood on Thursday prevented customers from buying more shares of companies like GameStop.
Robinhood’s decision to limit users’ ability to trade certain stocks has been heavily criticized, including by US Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – a prominent Wall Street critic – calling it “unacceptable” on Thursday.
Robinhood resumed users’ ability to buy a limited number of certain high-volatility stocks on Friday.
However, Robinhood isn’t the only company that has restricted user trading in the highly volatile securities. Webull stopped trading several stocks on Thursday a few hours before the restrictions were lifted.
Webull CEO Anthony Denier said in a TV interview Friday that it was not the company’s decision to temporarily restrict trading, but because of concerns from a third-party clearing firm, which was beyond its control.
“We are part of this revolution that is underway,” Denier said during the interview.
Webull’s swift action to lift restrictions on buying GameStop and other stocks has been praised by some retail investors. “Webull has taken a stand against brokers taking sides with the institutions and has resumed trading in GME and AMC,” reads a post on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.
“Disclaimer: It’s a Chinese company. I know some of you might be bothered by that,” the post continues.