Webull was founded in 2016 by Wang Anquan and began operations under Hunan Fumi Information Technology, a Chinese holding company.[8][9][10] Wang hired Anthony Denier as CEO of the U.S. Webull brokerage that same year. Hunan Fumi Information Technology received backing from Xiaomi, Shunwei Capital, and other private equity investors in China.[11]
In May 2017, Webull Financial LLC was established and, in January 2018, the Delaware-based LLC became a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FINRA, and all 53 states and territories within the United States.[12] In 2019, Webull Corporation was incorporated in the Cayman Islands to be the ultimate parent company of all Webull entities. In 2022, Webull further reorganized to move Hunan Fumi Information Technology outside of the group.[13][14]
History
Foundation and early history (2016-2019)
Webull was founded in 2016 under Hunan Fumi Information Technology, a chinese holding company, by Wang Anquan, a former employee of Chinese technology companies Alibaba Group and Xiaomi.[9] On May 24, 2017, Webull Financial LLC was established as a Delawarelimited liability company.[15][6][16] Wang hired Anthony Denier as CEO of the U.S. brokerage that year and the two mapped out their strategy on napkins at a Mexican restaurant in New York City.[10]
In January 2018, Webull became a licensed securities company in the U.S, licensed with the SEC and FINRA.[12] In September 2019, Webull Corporation was established in the Cayman Islands to serve as the parent company of Hunan Fumi Information Technology, the Webull platform, and all Webull subsidiaries.[13]
2020s (2020-present)
In May 2020, the company received SEC approval to launch a robo-advisor on its platform.[17] By August 2020, the platform had over 11 million registered users, and in October 2020, it had 750,000 daily active users.[18][19] In November 2020, Webull began supporting cryptocurrency transactions.[20] In December 2020, Webull launched in Hong Kong.[21]
On January 27, 2021, primarily due to events related to the GameStop short squeeze, Webull recorded its highest-ever number of active daily users, at 952,000, and the Webull app was downloaded across the Apple App and Google Play stores an estimated 100,000 times.[11] That week, approximately 1.2 million people downloaded the Webull mobile app, which the company reported as a 1,548% week-over-week increase.[22] On January 28, 2021, Webull was directed by its clearing house to temporarily halt buy orders for stocks affected by the GameStop short squeeze.[23][24][11]
In June 2021, Webull began talks of an initial public offering to raise up to $400 million.[25][26] On February 28, 2024, Webull announced that it had signed an agreement to publicly list on the Nasdaq through a special-purpose acquisition company deal with SK Growth Opportunities Corporation (NASDAQ: SKGR).[27][9]
In 2022, Webull Corporation restructured to move Hunan Fumi Information Technology outside of the Webull group.[13] That same year, Webull launched in Singapore,[28]Australia[29] and South Africa.[30]
In June 2023, Webull moved cryptocurrency trading to a separate app called Webull Pay.[31] By the end of 2023, Webull had 4.3 million funded accounts, with $8.2 billion USD worth of customer assets.[9] That year, Webull expanded offerings to Japan,[32] the United Kingdom[33] and Indonesia.[30]
On April 11, 2025, Webull completed its merger with SK Growth Opportunities Corporation and began publicly trading (NASDAQ: BULL).[41]
Partnerships and sponsorships
In September 2021, BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty, entered into a global multi-year agreement with Webull and the company became the official jersey patch partner for both teams.[42][43] Terms of the agreement for the jersey patch weren't announced, but people familiar with the agreement told CNBC that it is a multi-year pact that pays the Nets roughly $30 million per year.[44]
In April 2025, Webull announced a 2025 season partnership with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.[41] The partnership includes community initiatives such as hurricane relief fundraisers, financial literacy events with local schools and volunteering.[45]
Controversies
Webull has received controversy owing to its ties to Chinese companies, with Anthony Denier, Webull's U.S. CEO, describing Webull as "both a U.S. and Chinese company" in 2019.[46] Webull has additionally received criticism from U.S. lawmakers and states attorneys general over those ties. In 2024, a coalition of state attorneys general launched a probe into Webull over user privacy issues and concerns about the company's links to Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interests.[46][47]
2023 FINRA fine
In 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined Webull $3 million over the company's response to customer's complaints as well as its failure to conduct due diligence when allowing users to trade options.[48]
In 2024, attorneys general from 14 U.S. states launched a probe into Webull centered on data privacy concerns and its potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party.[50] In April 2024, the Indiana Attorney General initiated a multi-state inquiry into how Webull handles U.S. customer data, given the company's historical ownership and activity within China. In response, Denier stated that Webull operates each brokerage locally, with customer information in the US strictly stored there, explaining that "there is no one outside the US that has access to any US customer information."[9] In June 2024, the state of Tennessee banned Webull on all government-issued devices.[46]
Userbase
The company has stated it has approximately 20 million users worldwide as of February 2024.[50] Anthony Denier, the company's CEO, claimed that Webull's userbase attracted more advanced and experienced investors than competing platforms, such as Robinhood.[51] As of March 2025, Webull Corporation operated in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Indonesia, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, and Mexico.
^ abc"Fumi Technology". Tech Behind Fintech. March 11, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
^"Form S-1". www.sec.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
^"Webull Financial LLC". Delaware Department of State: Division of Corporations. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
