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    GameStop hearing live: Robinhood CEO and others in trading saga testify before Congress

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    Key events

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    3.59pm EST15:59
    Tenev admits Robinhood did not have the collateral to back the huge increase in trade

    3.31pm EST15:31
    Are Robinhood users better off than the average investor?

    2.44pm EST14:44
    Tenev addresses the suicide of a former customer

    1.42pm EST13:42
    ​Tenev defends decision to freeze buying of GameStop

    1.04pm EST13:04
    Reddit CEO and Reddit user involved in r/WallStreetBets forum testify

    12.12pm EST12:12
    House committee hears testimony from those involved in trading controversy

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    4.19pm EST16:19

    Representative questions whether it is reckless to gamify investment
    Cindy Axne of Iowa targeted Tenev with questions about the Robinhood app’s design and the consequences of gamifying trade. She asked who truly stands to benefit from the rise of Robinhood, which Tenev has repeatedly asserted aims to “democratize” investment.
    “Your clients are not your customer – the users are the product, your customer is sitting next to you – it’s companies like Citadel securities that stand to make a fortune on retail order flow,” Axne said.
    Axne noted that Robinhood incentivizes inviting friends to the app and gamification of trading, “adding gaming elements that look like gambling.”

    Updated
    at 4.45pm EST

    4.08pm EST16:08

    Robinhood took from its customers to boost its own business model, lawmaker alleges
    Michael San Nicolas of Guam, a Democrat, congratulated the small investors who orchestrated the short squeeze: “Robinhood made that possible,” he said.
    But he also questioned Tenev about the $3bn shortage, and where the money borrowed to cover it came from. Tenev said he got $3bn from venture capitalists, which San Nicolas argued means Robinhood materially benefited from the shareholders.
    San Nicolas said Robinhood’s Silicon Valley ethos of “move fast and break things” led it to value scale over anything else.
    “That’s where I have a serious concern,” he said. “Your business model causes you to take extraordinary risks, and you took from customers to protect your position. That is very, very troubling.”

    Updated
    at 4.20pm EST

    3.59pm EST15:59

    Tenev admits Robinhood did not have the collateral to back the huge increase in trade

    Vlad Tenev admitted during questioning on Thursday that Robinhood halted buying on the platform because it did not have the funds to back the huge influx of trading in the Reddit frenzy.
    Robinhood is required to place a deposit using its own funds at a clearinghouse to cover risks until trades are settled between a buyer and seller. On 28 January, the company was informed by its clearing house, NSCC, that it had a deposit deficit of approximately $3bn – up from $124m just days before.
    Anthony Gonzalez, a Republican from Ohio, asked if Robinhood indeed had that $3bn of collateral at the time.
    “At that moment, we would not have been able to post the $3bn of collateral,” Tenev said.
    Gonzalez said that proves Robinhood was “unprepared to protect his constituents and customers from non-consensual liquidation” and “barely avoided disaster”.
    “In a sense, I love your company,” Gonzalez said. “At the same time, I believe a vulnerability was clearly exposed.”

    Updated
    at 4.23pm EST

    3.36pm EST15:36

    Reddit CEO is asked if financial advice on the forum can be trusted
    Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, conceded in questioning on Thursday that users on the forum responsible for the GameStop buy-up are an “eccentric” bunch but that they did not breach any of the platform’s terms of service.
    He said financial advice on Reddit, in fact, is better than what is seen on TV because each post has been vetted by its voting process, which requires endorsement by hundreds and even thousands of users before it is widely visible. Huffman:

    On Reddit you’re seeing retail investors who are giving authentic advice based on their knowledge, and you would not call into question positions they may hold before they talk about it on television.

    3.31pm EST15:31

    Are Robinhood users better off than the average investor?

    One issue that has come up repeatedly in today’s hearing is what Robinhood has to offer consumers, besides ease of entry into the investment space.
    Lawmakers’ questioning has offered a rare look into the profit model of Robinhood and just how much customers have made and lost on the app.
    Jim Himes, a Democratic representative of Connecticut, asked Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev whether customers would make more if they had bought a low-cost S&P 500 index fund rather than individual stocks on Robinhood’s app.
    Tenev said that Robinhood customers have made $35bn in profits, but is unwilling to say what rate of return that represents. Himes said that number means little without more context.

    Updated
    at 3.46pm EST

    2.53pm EST14:53

    Did Reddit’s coordinated buying represent market manipulation? Expert says no
    The meteoric rise of GameStop stocks was fueled largely by a frenzy on Reddit community r/WallStreetBets. Arkansas Republican Representative French Hill asked Thursday whether that constituted “market manipulation” – artificially impacting the price of a security or otherwise influencing the market for personal gain.
    Keith Gill, who is also speaking on Thursday’s panel, has been sued in a class action lawsuit accusing him of exaggerated claims and misrepresented posts as part of his role on Reddit in kicking off the GameStop market frenzy, which personally netted him more than $30m.
    “I think there’s little evidence at this time that there’s any false or deceptive conduct taking place,” said Jennifer Schulp, director of financial regulations studies at the Cato Institute speaking on the forum.
    She did say due to the anonymous nature of Reddit it is possible there is some “deceptive behavior” that could not readily be determined. Other have argued that Robinhood’s freezing of GameStop stocks in response to the buy-up itself represented market manipulation.

    Updated
    at 3.32pm EST

    2.44pm EST14:44

    Tenev addresses the suicide of a former customer

    Robinhood chief executive officer Vlad Tenev addressed in the hearing on Thursday the suicide of a 20-year-old man that was tied to the trading platform.
    The family of Alex Kearns is currently suing Robinhood in a California court after the newbie trader took his own life believing he owed $730,000 due to a glitch on the app, a year before the Reddit investing frenzy that caused many to gain or lose huge sums of money in a very short time.
    His death led to former SEC chair Jay Clayton and current lawmakers calling for better legislation to prevent such losses from happening in the future.
    In Thursday’s hearing, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri asked Tenev to explain how someone with no experience could invest such a potentially devastating amount of money in such a short time. Tenev again cited Robinhood’s mission of “democratizing finance for all”. His full response below:

    The passing of Mr. Kearns was deeply troubling to me, and to the entire company. We have taken a series of very aggressive steps to make our products safer for our customers, including adding additional education, as well as strengthening and tightening the requirements for getting options and bettering our customer support line. It was a tragedy and we went into immediate action to make sure that we are not just the most accessible option for trading for our customers but the safest as well.

    Updated
    at 3.33pm EST

    1.57pm EST13:57

    Everyone is shouting
    Representative Brad Sherman, Democrat from California, had some pointed questioning for Citadel owner Ken Griffin regarding how the average trader on Robinhood is treated compared to more wealthy Wall Street traders and larger firms.
    He asked about payment for order flow – a controversial practice in which stock brokers get a kickback for essentially selling the ability to execute trades. This allows some larger customers to avoid paying higher transaction fees. Sherman said it is a means for hiding the true costs of trading.
    Griffin kept attempting to skirt the question: “Congressman, I believe that’s an excellent question – the execution quality that we can provide as measured by terms of price improvement is heavily related or correlated to the size of the order we receive.”
    “Everybody I’ve talked to in this industry says when you’re a broker being paid for order flow, you get a worse execution,” Sherman replied, referencing the dealing in which Robinhood is paid for its customers’ trades by market-makers like Citadel.
    Finra fined Robinhood $1.25 million in December 2019 for this practice, saying it sent customer trading orders to broker-dealers without guaranteeing the best price.
    Griffin defended the payment for order flow practice, saying “it has allowed the American retail investor to have the lowest execution cost they’ve ever had in the history of US financial markets”.
    Sherman also repeatedly asked if the average Robinhood customer gets the same deals and prices as larger firms like Fidelity.
    “Is the Robinhood customer getting the same price as the Fidelity customer?” Sherman asked Griffin.
    Griffin wouldn’t say, talking around the answer and explaining that it can’t be determined “because the Robinhood community tends to be smaller in quantity” before getting cut off again.
    “You’re evading questions by making up other questions,” Sherman shouted. “You are doing a great job of wasting my time. If you want to filibuster you should run for the Senate.”

    Updated
    at 2.28pm EST

    1.42pm EST13:42

    ​Tenev defends decision to freeze buying of GameStop

    Tenev, Robinhood’s CEO, said customers would have been very angry if it had prevented them from selling off GameStop shares.
    During the Reddit-fueled meltdown, Robinhood banned the purchase of GameStop buying, but not selling. Many have speculated this was done at the behest of hedge funds who stood to lose millions from the buy-up, which Tenev disputed.
    “Preventing customers from selling is a very difficult and painful experience where customers are unable to access their money,” Tenev said. “We don’t want to impose that type of experience on our customers unless we have no other choice.”

    Updated
    at 3.24pm EST

    1.34pm EST13:34

    Lawmakers roast Robinhood CEO
    In addition to comments from Waters, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev faced intense criticism from other lawmakers.
    Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, accused Tenev of recklessly handling customers’ money.
    “You reserve the right to make up the rules as you go along,” she said.
    “I’m sorry for what happened,” Tenev replied. “I’m not going to say that Robinhood did everything perfect.”

    Updated
    at 1.47pm EST

    1.10pm EST13:10

    Chairwoman Maxine Waters is reclaiming her time
    Maxine Waters, the chairwoman of the House committee on financial services, took a stern tone with executives involved in the hearing on Thursday.

    manny
    (@mannyfidel)
    Maxine Waters: yes or noRobinhood CEO: pic.twitter.com/3oDUwsdD7P

    February 18, 2021

    She frequently interrupted Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, demanding he actually answer the questions she was posing as he meandered around the point. Waters stated “yes or no, answer the question” a minimum of ten times in the first hour of the hearing.

    Emily Stewart
    (@EmilyStewartM)
    Maxine Waters to the Robinhood CEO: “I don’t have time, I just need a yes or no answer.” Tattoo it on my arm.

    February 18, 2021

    Updated
    at 1.16pm EST

    1.04pm EST13:04

    Reddit CEO and Reddit user involved in r/WallStreetBets forum testify

    Reddit CEO Steve Huffman explained in his opening statement how Reddit moderation works, what the r/WallStreetsBets community is, and how Reddit dealt with the January stock buy-up.
    He said WallStreetBets is a “real community” with real users.
    He added that Reddit’s content policy prohibits “hate, harassment, bullying and illegal activity” and that threats or harassment of Plotkin and others were removed.
    “A few weeks ago, we saw the power of community in general and of this community in particular when the traders of WallStreetBets banded together at first to seize an investment opportunity not usually accessible to retail investors, but later more broadly to defend all retail investors against the criticism of the financial establishment,” Huffman said.
    Later, a member of that community testified. Reddit user “Roaring Kitty”, real name Keith Gill, started his opening statement by telling lawmakers “I am not a cat”.
    He stressed that he is simply an individual talking about this investment choices, not making suggestions for investments in any official or professional capacity. The goal of his posts, and of the Reddit community, was to make trading more understandable and accessible to the average person.
    “It’s alarming how little we know about the inner workings of the market,” Gill said.

    Updated
    at 3.25pm EST

    12.48pm EST12:48

    Melvin Capital CEO Gabriel Plotkin claims the company was not looking for a bailout
    Gabriel Plotkin, CEO of one of the hedge funds hit by the coordinated Reddit trades, claims Melvin did not coordinate or ask for Robinhood’s ban on trading.
    The GameStop frenzy targeted hedge funds like Melvin with huge short positions in GameStop, which had bet the share price would fall and stood to cash in when it did so. After the Reddit-fueled surge, the fund lost 53% in January. It reportedly received a $2bn+ capital infusion from Citadel as its losses grew.
    “To be sure, Melvin was managing through a difficult time, but we always had margin excess and we were not seeking a cash infusion,” Plotkin said.
    He says he was the subject of antisemitic and threatening posts on Reddit surrounding the markets incident.
    “I want to make clear at the outset that Melvin Capital played absolutely no role in those trading platforms’ decisions,” said Plotkin. “In fact, Melvin closed out all of its positions in GameStop days before platforms put those limitations in place.”

    Updated
    at 1.16pm EST

    12.38pm EST12:38

    Citadel owner Ken Griffin: we had ‘no role’ in Robinhood’s decision to restrict certain stocks
    Ken Griffin is the billionaire owner of hedge fund Citadel and high-speed trading firm Citadel Securities, which works with Robinhood.
    He said in testimony on Thursday that the firm provided securities to meet investors’ needs during the unprecedented surge of trading of GameStop stocks, but had “no role” in the decision made by Robinhood to restrict trading of those stocks.
    The incident “reflects the competence of our firm’s ability to deliver in all market conditions”, he said.

    12.33pm EST12:33

    Opening statements: Robinhood, Citadel, and Melvin Capital CEOs
    We are off running with some opening statements from the biggest players in the Reddit-fueled stock market meltdown.
    First, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev spoke about how he came to found Robinhood, talking of his childhood in Bulgaria, where the financial system was “on the verge of collapse”. Tenev said he wanted to give more people access to financial systems.
    “We created Robin Hood to economically empower all Americans by opening mutual markets to them,” he said.
    He referenced just how much money has been created by Robinhood investments, saying “the total value of our customers’ assets on Robinhood exceeds the net amount of money they have deposited with us, over $35bn”.
    Next, Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin and Melvin Capital CEO Gabriel Plotkin will speak.

    Updated
    at 1.13pm EST

    12.12pm EST12:12

    House committee hears testimony from those involved in trading controversy

    Executives from the investing site Robinhood, the social media site Reddit, and other tech companies are testifying on Thursday in the first public hearing in an investigation into a recent public trading meltdown orchestrated on social media.
    The House financial services committee will hear testimony from parties involved in the recent trading in GameStop, AMC cinemas and other companies whose share values soared to astronomical levels as small investors piled into the stocks.
    We’ll follow the hearing live throughout the day – stay tuned.

    Updated
    at 12.19pm EST More

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      in US Politics

      GameStop hearing: Robinhood founder defends halt to trading

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      Robinhood’s chief executive defended the app’s decision to halt trading in GameStop shares at a congressional hearing on Thursday, calling allegations that the company acted to help hedge funds that were hemorrhaging money “absolutely false”. The comments triggered accusations the company is creating a “smokescreen” to deflect blame.Vlad Tenev and other players in the GameStop saga appeared before the House financial services committee in the first public hearing in a wide-ranging investigation into trading in GameStop, AMC and other companies whose share values soared as small investors piled into the stocks.“The buying surge that occurred during the last week of January in stocks like GameStop was unprecedented, and it highlighted a number of issues that are worthy of deep analysis and discussion,” Tenev said.Tenev once again apologized for the trading ban. “Despite the unprecedented market conditions in January, at the end of the day, what happened is unacceptable to us,” Tenev said.The sometimes fractious hearing was largely divided along party lines, with Democrats calling for more oversight and Republicans arguing against more regulation.“Don’t you see something has gone terribly wrong here?” said Democrat congressman David Scott. He called social media-led stock market bubbles “a threat to the future of our financial system”.Republican Bill Huizenga called the hearing “political theater”, a comment that drew admonition from the committee chair, Maxine Waters.GameStop’s shares surged 1,600% in January as small investors worldwide – many coalescing on the Reddit forum WallStreetBets – piled into the troubled retailer’s shares betting against Wall Street hedge funds that had bet the share price would collapse – a practice known as short-selling. At one point, short-sellers had borrowed far more of GameStop’s shares (140%) to sell short than were available on the market.According to Tenev, Robinhood and other brokers had no choice but to suspend trading in GameStop and other hot investments during this period of “historic volatility”.Robinhood is required to place a deposit using its own funds at a clearinghouse to cover risks until trades are settled between a buyer and seller. On 28 January, the company was informed by its clearing house, NSCC, that it had a deposit deficit of approximately $3bn – up from $124m just days before.With trading in hot stocks suspended, Robinhood moved to raise $3.4bn from investors and trading was resumed.But the suspension triggered a firestorm of criticism among small investors and in Washington, with Republicans and Democrats attacking Robinhood and accusing it of backing the losing hedge funds over small investors.Christopher Iacovella, the chief executive of the brokerage-industry group American Securities Association, dismissed Tenev’s explanation and said the system had worked as it should to defend the US’s financial system.“As the GME [GameStop] short squeeze unfolded, the clearinghouse recognized that an inadequately capitalized broker-dealer could pose a risk to our markets and it took the action necessary to protect the system,” Iacovella said in a letter to the House committee. “Attempts to blame the clearinghouse or the timing of the settlement cycle for what happened during the short squeeze are a smokescreen.”Thursday’s hearing, titled Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide, is the first of a series and addressed a number of issues including the “gamification” of investing, the role of social media and potential conflicts of interest.The representatives questioned the role of Citadel, an investment firm that executes Robinhood clients’ trades and also invested in Melvin Capital Management after the hedge fund’s bets against GameStop collapsed.Both Citadel’s founder, Ken Griffin, and Melvin’s founder, Gabe Plotkin, testified at the hearing. In his testimony, Plotkin denied that Citadel “bailed out” Melvin. “It was an opportunity for Citadel to ‘buy low’ and earn returns for its investors if and when our fund’s value went up,” he said.Plotkin said January’s frenzied trading in GameStop was “untethered to fundamentals” and quoted racist messages aimed at him and others, including antisemitic statements such as “it’s very clear we need a second Holocaust, the Jews can’t keep getting away with this.”“The unfortunate part of this episode is that ordinary investors who were convinced by a misleading frenzy to buy GameStop at $100, $200, or even $483 have now lost significant amounts,” said Plotkin.GameStop’s share price has now collapsed from a high of $483 on 28 January to just over $44. But one of the small investors who helped drive the stock to dizzy heights is still a believer.In his testimony Keith Gill, a trader variously known online as Roaring Kitty and DeepFuckingValue, said his investments had made him a millionaire.“GameStop’s stock price may have gotten a bit ahead of itself last month, but I’m as bullish as I’ve ever been on a potential turnaround. In short, I like the stock,” he said. More

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      in US Politics

      GameStop: US lawmakers to quiz key players from Robinhood, Reddit and finance

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      Frenzied trading in the shares of GameStop and other companies will be the subject of what is expected to be a fiery hearing in Congress on Thursday, when US politicians get their first chance to quiz executives from the trading app Robinhood, Reddit and other players in the saga.The House financial services committee will hold a hearing at noon in a first step to untangling the furore surrounding trading in GameStop, AMC cinemas and other companies whose share values soared to astronomical levels as small investors piled into the stocks.The hearing, titled Game Stopped? Who Wins and Loses When Short Sellers, Social Media, and Retail Investors Collide, is expected to be fractious.Shares in GameStop, a troubled video games chain store, soared 1,600% in January, as an army of small investors, many using the trading app Robinhood, appeared to have bet that Wall Street hedge funds had overplayed their hand when betting the stock price would collapse – a practice known as short-selling.Spurred on by meme-toting members of the Reddit forum WallStreetBets, investors kept buying the shares, driving up the price and triggering huge losses for some hedge funds.Robinhood briefly suspended trading in GameStop and other hot stocks at the end of January and sparked allegations that the hedge funds and others may have pushed Robinhood and other trading platforms to stop the rout.The news managed to – briefly – unite Washington’s deeply divided political elite. Both the rightwing senator Ted Cruz and the progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attacked Robinhood’s decision to halt trading in GameStop by small investors.Ocasio-Cortez sits on the bipartisan financial services committee.Among those testifying are:Robinhood’s CEO, Vlad Tenev.
      Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman.
      Gabe Plotkin, founder of the Melvin Capital Management hedge fund, which was forced into a rescue after retail traders crushed its bets against GameStop.
      Ken Griffin, billionaire CEO of Citadel, an investment firm that executes Robinhood clients’ trades and also helped to bail out Melvin.
      Keith Gill, a trader variously known online as Roaring Kitty and DeepFuckingValue and a longtime GameStop booster.
      The hearing marks the first time the major players in the GameStop controversy have all been forced to publicly reckon with the anger the episode provoked among small investors and across the political spectrum.Gregg Gelzinis, associate director for economic policy at the Center for American Progress, said: “The GameStop drama raised quite a few public policy questions but first it’s important for members of Congress to understand how events played out.”Gelzinis said there were still questions about the timeline of events. More broadly, he said, GameStop had highlighted many crucial issues for regulators, including the role and regulation of hedge funds, whether or how Wall Street is using social media to drive investment strategy, the “gamification” of investing by trading apps and the economic incentives at play for the trading platforms.“What would have happened if Robinhood had failed? What would have been the knock-on effects for financial markets?” he asked. “These are huge investor protection questions.“I saw someone on Twitter describe it as a Rorschach test for financial regulators,” he added.The hearing will not be the last inquiry that the executives at the center of the controversy will face. Federal prosecutors have begun an investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US’s top financial watchdog, is reportedly combing through social media posts for signs of potential fraud.In the meantime, evidence has emerged that small investors were not the largest buyers of GameStop and other hot companies. According to an analysis by JP Morgan, institutional investors may have been behind much of the dramatic rise in the share price.“Although retail buying was portrayed as the main driver of the extreme price rally experienced by some stocks, the actual picture may be much more nuanced,” Peng Cheng, a JP Morgan analyst, told clients in a note.Gelzinis said Thursday’s hearing was likely to raise as many new questions as it answered but was a necessary first step to understanding the seismic changes in investing that GameStop highlighted.“This is only the start of the story,” he said. “It’s clear this is not just a clearcut small investor versus Wall Street story. It’s a fairly messy picture but hopefully by the end we can paint a clearer picture and draw up some public policy conclusions from it.” More

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      in Elections

      Ocasio-Cortez rejects support from Ted Cruz: 'You almost had me murdered'

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      The Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has rejected a message of support from Ted Cruz, adding the Texas senator “almost had me murdered three weeks ago”.Cruz on Thursday had endorsed Ocasio-Cortez’s call on Twitter for a congressional hearing about the decision by the online trading platform Robinhood to restrict trading in GameStop shares. But while welcoming the chance to work across party lines on the issue, Ocasio-Cortez had harsh words for Cruz.“I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed. In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign.”“While you conveniently talk about ‘moving on’, a second Capitol police officer lost their life yesterday in the still-raging aftermath of the attacks you had a role in,” she said. “This isn’t a joke. We need accountability, and that includes a new senator from Texas.”I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there’s common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out.Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.In the meantime if you want to help, you can resign. https://t.co/4mVREbaqqm— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 28, 2021
      Ocasio-Cortez is one of several prominent figures to publicly cast blame on Cruz for his role in fomenting the deadly violence on Capitol Hill on 6 January. Seven Democratic senators have filed a formal complaint, urging the Senate ethics committee to investigate Cruz, along with the Missouri senator Josh Hawley, because of their efforts to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election.Hawley and Cruz were prominent among 147 Republican representatives and senators to vote against certifying the election results, even after the Capitol attack.Five people, including a police officer, died in the unrest. At least oneof the people charged in the attack had posted death threats against Ocasio-Cortez online.Meanwhile, lawmakers have continued to express fears for their safety amid relentless partisan friction. The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Thursday said members of Congress face threats of violence from an “enemy” within and called for additional funds to protect lawmakers.Asked to clarify what she meant, Pelosi said, “It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress. Several lawmakers who voted for this month’s House impeachment of Trump have reported receiving threats, and initial moves to enhance safety procedures have taken on clear partisan undertones. Some Republicans have loudly objected to having to pass through newly installed metal detectors before entering the House chamber, while Pelosi has proposed fining lawmakers who bypass the devices.Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to Ocasio-Cortez’s second tweet. A Robinhood spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawmakers’ criticism.Several lawmakers on Wednesday expressed their concerns over Robinhood’s decision to restrict trading in several social media-driven stocks that had soared this week. The issue had pit hedge funds and other short sellers against retail buyers, many motivated by commentary on sites such as Reddit.Ro Khanna, the Democratic congressman representing the Silicon Valley region, said in a statement: “While retail trading in some cases, like on Robinhood, blocked the purchasing of GameStop, hedge funds were still allowed to trade the stock. We need more regulation and equality in the markets.”“We’re done letting hedge fund billionaires treat the stock market like their personal playground, then taking their ball home as soon as they lose.”The US representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat, called the restriction “beyond absurd”.Tlaib urged on Twitter that Congress “have a hearing on Robinhood’s market manipulation. They’re blocking the ability to trade to protect Wall St. hedge funds, stealing millions of dollars from their users to protect people who’ve used the stock market as a casino for decades.”Ocasio-Cortez said the House financial services committee investigation should not be limited to Robinhood but “should examine any retail services freezing stock purchases in the course of potential investigations – especially those allowing sales, but freezing purchases”. More