“This is setting us up in an environment where you’re going to start seeing aggressive innovation,” said Denier, who has led Webull’s U.S. brokerage since 2017.
“You start to see a bit more of asking for forgiveness rather than asking for permission,” he added.
It’s the type of bold move that never would have been possible under the Biden administration, Denier said. Webull also recently partnered with Kalshi, but Denier has said Webull doesn’t plan on offering sports-related contracts.
“I think a lot of boundaries are going to be tested,” he said.
“It’s going to be with the undertone that crypto investing is still investing at its core,” Denier said, “even though it is an unregistered and unsecuritized product.”
“As we start getting more mature, and as our customers start getting more mature with us, their needs are changing,” Denier said, “and we are adapting to meet their needs.”
Webull sets up as a locally regulated broker-dealer or licensed financial services firm in each country where it operates. That means Americans’ customer information must stay within the U.S., Denier said, and can only be accessed by employees of the U.S. broker-dealer based in the country.
“That is not dissimilar from most fintech companies, by the way,” Denier said. “However, unlike most fintech companies, we are a regulated entity and always have been a regulated entity.”
The SEC, he said, does not see Webull as a Chinese company.
“I think, over time, especially being a public company, the idea that we have Chinese investors will fade away as the cap table starts changing,” Denier said, referencing the document that shows equity ownership of a company.
And for now, the relationship with regulators seems sunny.
