GameStop Private Transactions Blocked, Politicians Also Outraged (Comprehensive)

Ruling and Opposition Parties, Progressive and Conservative Lawmakers
Unanimously Condemn Robinhood's Individual Purchase Restriction Measures
Hearing Scheduled

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the U.S. House of Representatives strongly opposed Robinhood's restriction on individual investor purchases.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] When the US stock trading application Robinhood forcibly halted individual investors' purchases of stocks like GameStop and AMC, whose prices surged due to individual buying, criticism poured in from the US political sphere.

While individual trading was restricted, hedge funds were still allowed to short sell stocks, prompting lawmakers across party lines and ideological spectrums to unanimously call for correcting the 'tilted playing field.' As this incident is expected to accelerate reforms in financial trading practices centered around major Wall Street financial firms, global financial circles are closely watching.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading progressive figure within the US Democratic Party, tweeted on the 28th (local time), "This is unacceptable. While hedge funds freely trade as they wish, Robinhood blocked individual investors' trades. As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I will support holding hearings if necessary."

Her tweet immediately resonated widely. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican who retweeted Ocasio-Cortez's statement, said, "I completely agree," and even quoted Robinhood's 2016 tweet saying, "Let people trade."

Democratic Representative Ro Khanna also joined the chorus criticizing the restrictions on individual investors' trades. He argued, "We need to reconsider taxation on hedge fund short selling and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s regulations on short selling." Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, stated, "Congress will also participate in the investigation of GameStop stocks."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.