Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev explains why GameStop trading was restricted
Robinhood blocked investors from buying shares of GameStop last week only after a Wšall Street clearinghouse sent the stock-trading startup a dead-of-nigš“ht demand for $3 billion to support the trades, CEO Vlad Tenev said.
Under questioning from billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk, Tenev broke down how Robinhood restricted trading on several “meme stocks” while under pressure from the National Securities Clearing Corporation, a financial institution that clears and settles stock trades between brokers.
āSpill the beans, man ā what happened last week?ā Musk asked Tš²enev during an on Clubhouse, an audio-streaming app.
āThe people demand an answer, and they want to know the details and the truth,” he added.
As Tenev explained, Robinhood has to deposit money with the clearinghouse ā commonly known as the NSCC ā based on several factors, such as the volatility ofš¦¹ tradinšg activity and āconcentration intro certain securities.ā
At 3:30 a.m. Pacific time on Thursday ā the morning after Redditās WallStreetBets message board sparked a flurry of trading in GameStop and other āmeme stocksā ā Robinhood received a request from the NSCC for a rouš ·ghly $3 billion deposit, a far larger number than normal, according to Tenev.
āJust to give contexāt, Robinhood, up until that point, has raised ā¦ around $2 billion in total venture capital up until now,ā Teānev said. āSo itās a big number.ā
The NSCC eventuallyą² lowered the request to $700 million after Robinhood officials outlined a plan to āmanage riskā in GameStop and other volatile stocks on Thursday, according to Teneš¶v.
That was why Robinhood temporarily blocked traders from buying new GameStop shares, a move that sparked wideź¦”spread āØoutrage and several lawsuits. Robinhood has since allowed its customers to buy limited numbers of GameStop shares and options contracts.
Musk ā who expressed support last week for the Reddit forum thatās ābeen waging war on Wall Street short-sellers ā said the NSCC should be more transparent about why it asked Robinhood for such a massive deposit.
āI guess peoą¼ple really just want to know ā if you had no choice, then you had no choice, itās a gun-to-the-head situation. And then thatās understandable,ā Musk told Tenev. āBut then whoever put that gun to your head should be willš¶ing to answer to the public.ā
āWhat everyone wants to know is, like, did somš ething maybe shady go down here?ā Musk askedš the embattled CEO. āIt seems weird that youād get a sudden $10 billion demand, you know, at three in the morning,ā he added before Tenev corrected him on the amount.
Tenev replied that he āwouldnāt impugn shadiness to it,ā š”noting that the NSCC worked with Robinhood to reduce š¼the required deposit.
āIs anyone holding you hostage right now?ā š„Musk wondered in responš·se. Tenev tried to reassure him, saying, āNo, no, Iām OK.ā
Musk grilled Tenev during his debut appearance on Clubhouse, an invite-only app populšar with the Silicon Valley set that allows users to essentially host their own talk shows.Ā
Tenev’s drop-in appeared to surprise Musk’s host, tech investorĀ Sriram Krishnan, who had to change the settings to let Tenev speak at Musk’s request.
While Musk seemed sympathetic to Tenev, his explanation didn’t quell the outrage of rookie investors on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum who helped pump up GameStop’s share price last week.
“Makes him sound incompetent at best. Corrupt as f— at worst,” a user named bahkins313Ā .Ā
The NSCCās parent company, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, stood by its deposit requirements, saying the Nį©į©į©į©į©į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©š±į©į©į©SCC collects šmoney āaccording to calculations that are set forth in its rules.ā
āWhen volatility increases, portfolio margin requirements increase too, and NSCC clearing members may pass on these costs to their clients, including brokerages that clear through them,ā the Depository Trust & Clš earing Corporation told The Post in a statement. āMargin requirements protect the entire industry against defaults and systemic risk in volatile markets.ā
Separately, Robinhood said it raised another $2.4 billion from shareholdļ·½ers just šdays after existing investors pumped in $1 billion in funding.
The online brokerage in aĀ Ā on Monday said the round was led by Ribbit Capital, withš participation from existing investors including ICONIQ, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Index Ventures and NEA.Ā