Lawyers representing cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) faced off against those for the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts over the legality of a state regulation that could affect how the company markets itself to potential investors.
Under Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Galvin, the office's securities division filed a complaint against Robinhood in December 2020 alleging the platform illegally targeted inexperienced investors, claiming the practice was in violation of the state’s fiduciary duty standards. Galvin reportedly said at the time that Robinhood was marketing itself as “some sort of game that you might be able to win” and aimed to revoke the platform’s broker-dealer license in Massachusetts.