"We firmly believe a financial transaction tax would injure Americans trying to save for retirement," Griffin said. The hearing convened seven expert witnesses to discuss proposals to reform U.S. stock market structure following extreme volatility in so-called meme stocks like GameStop Inc. On Feb. 18, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a leading critic of Robinhood’s role in the GameStop trading, pressed Vlad Tenev on his business model. That may ultimately create a powerful narrative boost for him as he faces down a class-action lawsuit alleging that his YouTube videos constituted bad financial advice, a claim Gill refuted calmly and diplomatically by returning to his core talking point: He likes the stock. -1.24%, Griffin, not surprisingly, is not a fan of a financial transaction tax. AMC, Last Friday, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the chairwoman of the said committee, announced the following names to testify as witnesses to the hearing entitled, “Game Stopped? and Express Inc. House committee holds hearing on GameStop 01:50 Lawmakers grilled Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev for more than five hours Thursday over the online brokerage firm's role in … Melvin Capital learned a very painful lesson when the hedge fund was blindsided by an army of Reddit traders. Robinhood ignited a firestorm last month when the free trading app suspended purchases of GameStop, AMC and other stocks that were sent to … Faces Scrutiny From House Lawmakers Vlad Tenev, the chief executive of Robinhood, apologized for temporarily limiting trading of GameStop … The U.S. Capitol is on lockdown after reports of gunfire outside the building, make it more difficult for companies to remain private for longer, U.S. gains 916,000 new jobs in March and signals strengthening economy, This simple change would eliminate much of the COVID-19 vaccination chaos, Tesla will sell sustainable credits to Volkswagen in China, according to report, Republican lawmakers hit back at Delta after CEO blasts Georgia voting law as undemocratic, Fauci says U.S. may not even need AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine: report, Weekend reads: These investments can help you profit from Biden’s $2.3 trillion spending plan, Strong Tesla sales are a ‘drop the mic’ moment, analyst says, CDC issues new travel guidance for people who are fully vaccinated, These 3 industries may benefit the most from 5G. Melvin ultimately accepted a $2.75 billion cash infusion (don't call it a bailout, according to Plotkin) led by rival hedge funds Citadel and Point72. GameStop hearing paints Silicon Valley as public enemy #1. Reddit and Keith Gill, however, got the opposite treatment. The implication, Ocasio-Cortez said, was that trading on Robinhood isn't truly free after all. But he was somewhat evasive when Congresswoman Madeleine Dean asked him to elaborate. “The gamification drives you to this, but also the illusion that Robinhood is able to create that there’s no cost to you because there’s no commission.”. “I was quite honestly surprised at how easy it was to begin making complex options trades,” said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst for Americans for Financial Reform who formerly held positions on the equity trading derivatives desks at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. Robinhood's role in GameStop stock spike scrutinized by Congress. "There will be closer monitoring of message boards," he said. Kelleher said that features on the Robinhood app, like the use of push notifications and colorful and engaging graphics are “scientifically designed to short circuit and cut out the thoughtful process that people engage in balancing risks and rewards.”, Of particular concern to witnesses was the ease with which Robinhood allowed people to trade options, which are often much riskier than stocks. At one point, the short interest on GameStop was an unthinkable 140% -- a scenario that Plotkin said is unlikely to be repeated. The hearing will take place on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at 12 p.m. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev admitted that the app did not have the liquidity needed to meet an early-morning demand from its clearinghouse for $3 billion on January 28. 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