Webull

Webull traces back to 2016, founded by Wang Anquan, a former Alibaba and Xiaomi employee, initially under a China-based fintech company. Webull Financial LLC, the US broker-dealer entity, was approved by FINRA in 2018, and Webull Corporation, the global holding company, is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Webull went public on Nasdaq under the ticker BULL in April 2025 through a SPAC merger.

In the US, Webull Financial LLC is registered with the SEC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC, giving standard SIPC coverage of up to $500,000 (including a $250,000 cash sublimit), with excess coverage through Lloyd's of London on top. This protects securities held, not trading losses.

Webull's Chinese ownership ties have drawn scrutiny: several US state attorneys general opened inquiries into data handling in 2024, and at least one state restricted Webull on government devices. Founder Wang Anquan retains majority voting control, and a significant share of staff work through a China-based subsidiary. That context is worth knowing regardless of your view on the underlying concerns.

Webull operates through separate regulated entities outside the US. Its UK arm is FCA-authorized, its Australian entity holds an ASIC licence, its Singapore entity is MAS-regulated, and its Japanese entity is registered with the FSA, with further operations in markets including Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and Malaysia. Product availability, fees and promotions differ by country, and an offer advertised on the US site generally does not apply to accounts opened through a local Webull entity.

US customers get commission-free trading on stocks, ETFs and options, though certain index options carry a per-contract fee. Webull offers traditional, Roth and rollover IRAs with no account minimums, plus a cash management sweep for uninvested cash. Crypto trading, run through Webull Pay LLC, was folded back into the main app in 2025; crypto trades carry no stated commission but a roughly 100-basis-point spread applies on both sides, which functions as the real cost. A free paper trading mode lets users practice with virtual funds.

Webull's standing new-account offer is free stock for funding a brokerage account, open to US residents only. The mechanics matter more than the headline: you get real fractional or full shares of a US-listed company with a market cap above $2.5 billion, credited within five business days of qualifying, and you have 30 days from signup to make the qualifying deposit. Under the current campaign, depositing $500 or more nets about $20 in fractional shares; other campaigns instead award a randomly selected share worth anywhere from about $8 to $1,600, so a large outcome is not guaranteed.

The condition to watch is the 30-day lock: you can sell the awarded shares whenever you want, but proceeds from that sale cannot be withdrawn until 30 days after the sale. No trading activity is required to earn or keep the stock, which makes this a deposit-and-wait offer rather than a cash-in-hand bonus. Webull has also run deposit match promotions and transfer-fee reimbursements for customers moving an account from another broker. A referral program pays existing customers additional free stock when a referred friend opens an account and deposits at least $100 within 30 days, drawn from the same reward pool with the same random-value structure.

Free stock received through a Webull promotion is taxable. The fair market value of the share on the date it is credited is generally treated as income in the year received, and any gain when you later sell is a separate capital gain or loss. Webull issues tax forms for this; check with a tax professional for your account type and country.

Common ways people miss out: not making the deposit within the 30-day signup window, depositing less than the promotion's minimum, transferring in assets instead of new cash (transfers do not always qualify), or having held a Webull account previously, since first-deposit offers are one per person. Selling immediately and expecting instant cash access is another mismatch: the 30-day withdrawal lock on sale proceeds applies regardless.