London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, May 31, 2025

Robinhood users are revolting against the trading app after it stopped trades of GameStop

Robinhood users are revolting against the trading app after it stopped trades of GameStop

Barstool Sports, along with the blog's founder Dave Portnoy, declared "war" on Robinhood. "You are scam artists," Portnoy said in a tweet.

Robinhood users are coming for the trading app's head.

Robinhood stopped allowing users to buy GameStop on Thursday morning, only allowing users to sell, following a weeks of huge gains — from being below $5 in late 2020 to over $450 per share on Thursday morning.

Users of the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets encouraged each other to bid up GameStop's stock price, thus causing a short squeeze on the hedge funds betting against GameStop's stock value. As a result, those short-sellers lost more than $1 billion in a single day while the company's stock value shot up by hundreds of dollars per share.

On Thursday morning, citing "significant market volatility," Robinhood cut off users from trading GameStop stock (and a handful of other companies).

That decision caused a massive outcry on social media.

"Robinhood has disabled trading in $AMC $GME $NOK etc, proving that the 'little guy' was never allowed to win in a 'free market'," popular newsletter writer Joe Pompliano said in a tweet. "What a joke."




The Robinhood app listing received an influx of one star reviews on the Google Play store, causing the app to average the lowest rating.


Robinhood received an influx of one star reviews on the Google Play store.


And members of r/WallStreetBets threatened to file a class action lawsuit against Robinhood for market manipulation.

"Allowing people to only sell is the definition of market manipulation," one post on r/WallStreetBets read. "A class action must be started, Robinhood has made plenty of money off selling info about our trades to the hedge funds to be able to pay out a little for causing people to lose money now."

Robinhood, founded in 2013 by Stanford graduates Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev, allows users to trade stocks without commission. "We're proud to have created a platform that has helped everyday people, from all backgrounds, shape their financial futures and invest for the long term," the firm said in a blog post.

Instead of taking commissions on stock trades, the company says it earns revenue through a variety of other means, from financial services to a membership program ("Robinhood Gold").

Users aren't the only ones criticizing Robinhood publicly.

Billionaire Mark Cuban questioned why Robinhood restricted trading, tweeting: "So are @robinhoodapp and @IBKR ending trading in #wallstreetbets stocks because they are losing their a** on these trades? Or maybe they don't have the cash to enable the trades at this scale? Anyone have any insight on their economics?"


Barstool Sports, along with the blog's founder Dave Portnoy, declared "war" on Robinhood.

"You are scam artists," Portnoy tweeted in response to Robinhood's announcement on restricting trading. "You are crooks. You deserve to be behind bars and you know it."


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Robinhood's action "unacceptable," and called for "a hearing if necessary" to determine why the company chose to "block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit."

Sen. Ted Cruz seconded Ocasio-Cortez's tweet. "Fully agree," he said.

Detroit-based CEO and philanthropist Bill Pulte weighed in as well.

"This is what you call rich people trying to confuse you with fancy words," he tweeted in response to Robinhood's statement on why it's restricting stock trades of GameStop.

Robinhood representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Macron Dismisses Viral Video of Wife's Gesture as Playful Banter
Cleveland Clinic Study Questions Effectiveness of Recent Flu Vaccine
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Junior Doctors Threaten Strike Over 4% Pay Offer
Labour MPs Urge Chancellor to Tax Wealthy Over Cutting Welfare
Publication of UK Child Poverty Strategy Delayed Until Autumn
France Detains UK Fishing Vessel Amid Post-Brexit Tensions
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
Nigel Farage Pledges to Reinstate Winter Fuel Payments
Boris and Carrie Johnson Welcome Daughter Poppy
×