London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 13, 2026

Robinhood narrows stock trade restrictions

Robinhood narrows stock trade restrictions

The companies restricted include GameStop, Koss Corporation, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Express Inc., Naked Brands Group, Genius Brands International, BlackBerry Limited, and Nokia Corp.

Robinhood has narrowed its stock trade restrictions from 50 to eight companies on Sunday, including GameStop, Koss Corporation, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Express Inc., Naked Brands Group, Genius Brands International, BlackBerry Limited, and Nokia Corp.



Securities now lifted include Tootise Roll, American Airlines, Starbucks, General Motors, Beyond Meat, Bed Bath & Beyond and Rolls Royce, among others.

According to the company's support page, investors will be limited to 10 shares and 10 options contracts of AMC, 700 shares and 700 options contracts of BlackBerry, 20 shares and 20 options contracts of Express Inc., 1 share and 5 options contacts of GameStop, 600 shares and 600 options contracts of Genius Brands International, 2 shares of Koss Corp., 600 shares of Naked Brands Group and 2,000 shares and 1000 options contracts of Nokia Corp.



The new restrictions, which are aggregate limits for each security and not per-order limits, include shares and options contracts that an investor already holds. These limits may be subject to change throughout the day.

Robinhood notes that investors who already hold a greater number shares or contracts than the limits listed above will not have their positions sold or closed. However, they will be unable to open more positions of the securities unless they sell enough of their holdings to be below the respective limit.

Investors will also be unable to open new fractional shares but may open new whole share positions according to the limits listed. Recurring investments for the listed securities will also be skipped until the restrictions are lifted.

The stock restrictions were put in place as the mobile brokerage app confronted high trading volume over the past week. The high volatility was spurred by a speculative investing discussion forum on Reddit called WallStreetBets. The group of Reddit users banded together to buy up GameStop's call options, causing the struggling retailer's shares to soar to unprecedented levels and hurting market short-sellers. The group then proceeded to target other heavily-shorted stocks.

Robinhood co-founder Vladimir Tenev said in a Twitter thread on Thursday that as a brokerage firm, the company has many financial requirements, including "SEC net capital obligations and clearinghouse deposits", which fluctuate based on market volatility and exist to "protect investors and the markets."

"It was not because we wanted to stop people from buying these stocks," Robinhood added in a blog post. "We did this because the required amount we had to deposit with the clearinghouse was so large—with individual volatile securities accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in deposit requirements—that we had to take steps to limit buying in those volatile securities to ensure we could comfortably meet our requirements."

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday that it is monitoring developments and will “act to protect retail investors when the facts demonstrate abusive or manipulative trading activity that is prohibited by the federal securities laws.” In addition, New York Attorney General Leticia James said she would launch her own review into the market activity.

The move has also prompted two separate lawsuits against the investing platform. The first lawsuit filed in the Southern District Court of New York alleges that Robinhood "purposefully, willingly, and knowingly" restricted certain securities transactions, including GameStop. The other filed in the Northern District Court of Illinois alleges that the app manipulated its platform.


In addition, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has floated the possibility of an investigation into the matter by the House Financial Services Committee, which has received bipartisan support from other lawmakers like Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Congressman Ro Khanna, D-Calif., as well as business leaders like Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Ocasio-Cortez added that the inquiry should "not be solely limited to Robinhood."

Other competitors who previously restricted securities include TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwabb, WeBull, E*TRADE, and Interactive Brokers.


Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a tweet Sunday evening that any SEC and Congressional investigations of decisions to restrict access to trade GameStop "must happen ASAP."

"We cannot have a stock market where palyers are also refs," Schumer said.

GameStop shares have soared 1,545% since Jan. 12.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
UK Residents Gather to Watch Rare Partial Solar Eclipse
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice Faces Criticism Over Legal Threat Against Guardian Journalist
Michael Forsyth Elected Speaker of the House of Lords
Cambridge Researchers Launch £20 Million Human Organoid Drug Testing Programme
Heathrow Loses European Passenger Traffic Lead to Istanbul Airport
Households Near New UK Electricity Pylons to Receive £250 Annual Energy Bill Discount
UK Government Estimates Zero-Hours Contract Ban Could Cost Employers Up to £3 Billion a Year
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
UK Police Chiefs Urge Government to Block Early Release of Andrew Harper Killers
UK Government Holds Emergency Cobra Meeting as Drought and Heatwave Raise Wildfire Risks
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
Police Conduct Cross-Border Raids Against Northern England Drug Network
Nicola Sturgeon Protested at Edinburgh Festival Fringe Event
Major UK Retail Chain Enters Administration With One Hundred Fifty-Four Stores Set to Close
Heathrow Renews Call for Runway Expansion After Losing Europe’s Busiest Airport Ranking
Government Condemns One Million Pound Thames Water Executive Bonus Amid Drought
NHS England Says More Than One Hundred Thousand Hepatitis C Patients Have Been Cured
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Calls for End to West Bank Settler Violence
UK Prepares for Deepest Partial Solar Eclipse Since Nineteen Ninety-Nine
UK Heatwave Triggers Amber Health Alerts as Economic Losses Reach Four Point Four Billion Pounds
UK Offers Electricity Bill Discounts to Communities Hosting New Power Infrastructure
Bank of England Expected to Hold Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Five Percent
UK Government Moves to Ban Subscription Traps and Misleading Retail Discounts
Andy Burnham Gives Councils New Powers to Block Betting and Vape Shops
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Nicola Sturgeon Says She Has No Contact With Estranged Husband After SNP Embezzlement Case
Police Arrest Two Men After Aberdeenshire Defense Technology Office Break-In
Greater Manchester Councils Gain Powers to Restrict New Vape and Betting Shops
Coroner Finds Treasury Workplace Failures Contributed to Personal Assistant’s Suicide
English and Welsh Courts Ban Meta Smart Glasses Over Recording and Privacy Risks
Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Double UK Inflation and Trigger Recession, Forecasters Warn
UK Expands Global Talent Visa Scheme to Support Research-Intensive Companies
UK Equity Funds Suffer Record One Point Six Billion Pound Outflow Amid Capital Gains Tax Fears
Three-Quarters of England Enters Drought as Fifth Summer Heatwave Raises Economic Risks
UK Hiring Stabilizes for First Time Since 2022 as Employers Adjust to Higher Payroll Costs
UK Chancellor Orders Whitehall Spending Cuts as Public Debt Exceeds Three Trillion Pounds
UK Manufacturing Output Records Fourth Straight Month of Growth
UK Condemns Russian Torture of Ukrainian Prisoners and Recruitment of Foreign Nationals
Long-Lost Royal Navy Warship HMS Tiger Found in English Channel After 118 Years
Northern Ireland Finance Minister Seeks Urgent Treasury Talks Over Regional Budget Pressures
UK Government Targets Subscription Traps and Misleading Discounts in New Consumer Rules
Alleged Cartel Boss Daniel Kinahan Extradited From Dubai to Face Criminal Charges
AI Chatbots Challenge Traditional News Consumption and Raise Job Concerns
Andy Burnham Government Promises Crackdown on Exploitative Business Practices
UK University Funding Model Faces Growing Pressure From Unsustainable Student Debt
Government Urged to Subsidise Energy Bills for Vulnerable UK Households
×