1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov October 8, 2020Robinhood, the Fintech Discount Broker: Recent Developments and ConcernsFounded in 2013, Robinhood is an online and phone app-based discount broker-dealer for retail customers with an interest in trading stocks, stock options, exchange traded funds (ETF
2、s), and cryptocurrencies. It is part of a new breed of fintech firmsinnovative, technology-focused firms offering financial products. The firm is seen by some as “democratizing” access to retail securities trading; has been accompanied by industry consolidation; and has raised various public policy
3、and congressional concerns. The firm recently burst into the public eye for three major reasons: (1) it pioneered the now-widespread industry practice of charging zero trading fees or commissions for certain trades when the most inexpensive online brokers were charging $5 to $8 per trade; (2) in Mar
4、ch 2020, its trading services shut down for more than a trading day in a period of market turmoil; and (3) in June 2020, a 20-year-old college student, Alex Kearns, committed suicide after his Robinhood app indicated that he had a negative balance of $750,000 for sophisticated stock options trades,
