3 US Regulators Probing Robinhood’s Actions Amid GameStop Trading Craze

Robinhood, the popular trading app for stock, options, gold and cryptocurrencies, has said it is fielding enquiries from several U.S. watchdogs over recent trading halts and other issues.

• According to a Reuters report on Saturday, the company said Friday that it's in settlement talks with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority over temporary curbs to trading of certain stocks, as well as its policies on options trading.
• It's also been contacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General’s Office, per the report.
• Robinhood had put a stop to trading shares of GameStop (GME) and others like Nokia (NOKIA) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) (and later cryptocurrencies) as a social media-driven retail trading frenzy attempted to force a squeeze on short sellers in January.
• The restrictions were later lifted, with Robinhood citing a spike in clearinghouse collateral requirements as the reason for the curbs.
• Some of the regulator enquiries also reportedly relate to hacks of Robinhood user accounts in October.
• The brokerage is expected to launch an IPO this year at a valuation of $20 billion, Reuters said.

See also: What Really Happened When Robinhood Suspended GameStop Trading