Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jan 20, 2026

Robinhood users are revolting against the trading app after it stopped trades of GameStop

Robinhood users are revolting against the trading app after it stopped trades of GameStop

Barstool Sports, along with the blog's founder Dave Portnoy, declared "war" on Robinhood. "You are scam artists," Portnoy said in a tweet.

Robinhood users are coming for the trading app's head.

Robinhood stopped allowing users to buy GameStop on Thursday morning, only allowing users to sell, following a weeks of huge gains — from being below $5 in late 2020 to over $450 per share on Thursday morning.

Users of the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets encouraged each other to bid up GameStop's stock price, thus causing a short squeeze on the hedge funds betting against GameStop's stock value. As a result, those short-sellers lost more than $1 billion in a single day while the company's stock value shot up by hundreds of dollars per share.

On Thursday morning, citing "significant market volatility," Robinhood cut off users from trading GameStop stock (and a handful of other companies).

That decision caused a massive outcry on social media.

"Robinhood has disabled trading in $AMC $GME $NOK etc, proving that the 'little guy' was never allowed to win in a 'free market'," popular newsletter writer Joe Pompliano said in a tweet. "What a joke."




The Robinhood app listing received an influx of one star reviews on the Google Play store, causing the app to average the lowest rating.


Robinhood received an influx of one star reviews on the Google Play store.


And members of r/WallStreetBets threatened to file a class action lawsuit against Robinhood for market manipulation.

"Allowing people to only sell is the definition of market manipulation," one post on r/WallStreetBets read. "A class action must be started, Robinhood has made plenty of money off selling info about our trades to the hedge funds to be able to pay out a little for causing people to lose money now."

Robinhood, founded in 2013 by Stanford graduates Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev, allows users to trade stocks without commission. "We're proud to have created a platform that has helped everyday people, from all backgrounds, shape their financial futures and invest for the long term," the firm said in a blog post.

Instead of taking commissions on stock trades, the company says it earns revenue through a variety of other means, from financial services to a membership program ("Robinhood Gold").

Users aren't the only ones criticizing Robinhood publicly.

Billionaire Mark Cuban questioned why Robinhood restricted trading, tweeting: "So are @robinhoodapp and @IBKR ending trading in #wallstreetbets stocks because they are losing their a** on these trades? Or maybe they don't have the cash to enable the trades at this scale? Anyone have any insight on their economics?"


Barstool Sports, along with the blog's founder Dave Portnoy, declared "war" on Robinhood.

"You are scam artists," Portnoy tweeted in response to Robinhood's announcement on restricting trading. "You are crooks. You deserve to be behind bars and you know it."


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Robinhood's action "unacceptable," and called for "a hearing if necessary" to determine why the company chose to "block retail investors from purchasing stock while hedge funds are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit."

Sen. Ted Cruz seconded Ocasio-Cortez's tweet. "Fully agree," he said.

Detroit-based CEO and philanthropist Bill Pulte weighed in as well.

"This is what you call rich people trying to confuse you with fancy words," he tweeted in response to Robinhood's statement on why it's restricting stock trades of GameStop.

Robinhood representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
×