Tenev made the comments during a hearing of the House financial services committee, which is investigating the late January short squeeze that targeted shares of
"The buying surge that occurred during the last week of January in stocks like
"Preventing customers from selling is a very difficult and painful experience where customers are unable to access their money," he added. "We don't want to impose that type of experience on our customers unless we have no other choice."
Tenev also address the suicide of one of Robinhood's traders,
"First of all, I'm sorry to the family of
He said the company is taking steps he believes will prevent future misunderstandings, including changing the app's interface; providing live, phone-based support; and hiring an education specialist.
Reddit CEO
Last month, members of the Reddit group WallStreetBets bought shares in
The effects of the squeeze on
Robinhood ultimately restricted trading of those shares out of fear that it couldn't cover the losses, raised hundreds of millions or dollars in new capital and then lifted the restrictions.
The run on certain stocks subsequently drew praise and claims of hypocrisy from some who said the short sellers and hedge funds who took the losses finally got a taste of their own medicine. The movement led to closer scrutiny from lawmakers and even Treasury Secretary
"Initially, this squeeze led to heavy losses for some short sellers, particularly hedge funds, and led to substantial financial gain for some retail investors," the committee said in a statement. "Eventually, the stock prices started to decline and many investors were faced with steep financial losses."
Congressional
In his testimony, Gill told the committee he is not part of any hedge fund, didn't organize the run on
"Like many people, sometimes I post on social media my thoughts and analysis about individual stocks and whether they are correctly valued," he said in his opening remarks. "I did that with
"Hedge funds and other
"And in a year of quarantines and [COVID-19], engaging with other investors on social media was a safe way to socialize. We had fun."
While the
"Sweeping legislation is pretty unlikely given the divide in
"But there could be some rulemaking that comes out of this from the regulatory agencies.
"The January short squeeze raises questions regarding whether legislators and regulators should take a closer look at existing rules governing short sales and related disclosures," the committee said. "It also raises important questions about the efficacy of anti-market manipulation laws and whether technology and social media have outpaced regulation in a manner that leaves investors and the markets exposed to unnecessary risks."
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