NEW YORK, May 22, 2026, 09:10 EDT
- UP Fintech’s Nasdaq-listed shares were indicated at $3.83 in extended trading at 8:55 a.m. Eastern, down 34.47% from Thursday’s $5.84 close.
- China’s securities regulator said Tiger Brokers, Futu and Longbridge operated unlicensed cross-border securities businesses serving mainland investors.
- UP Fintech is due to report first-quarter results before the U.S. market opens on June 2.
UP Fintech Holding Ltd’s U.S.-listed shares slumped in premarket trading on Friday after China moved to punish its Tiger Brokers unit and two peers for what regulators called illegal cross-border securities activity.
The American depositary shares, or U.S.-traded securities representing foreign shares, were marked at $3.83 in extended trading at 8:55 a.m. Eastern, down 34.47%. Extended trading refers to electronic dealing before or after the main stock-market session, when prices can move sharply on thinner volume.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission said Tiger Brokers, Futu Securities International and Longbridge Securities had conducted securities marketing, handled trading instructions and provided related services in mainland China without approval. The regulator said it planned to confiscate illegal gains and impose penalties, though it did not give a fine amount.
That is why the move matters now. The issue is not just a fine. Xinhua, citing the regulatory plan, said a two-year clean-up period would allow existing investors only to sell holdings and withdraw funds, not make new purchases or transfer in money; after that, offshore firms must shut domestic websites, trading software and related servers used for such services.
Tiger Brokers said it had stopped opening accounts for users identified as mainland China residents since 2023 and had suspended advertising and marketing aimed at those users. It said mainland China client assets were about 10% of the group’s global client assets at the end of the first quarter, and that global operations remained normal.
The timing is awkward. UP Fintech said a day earlier that it would report first-quarter results before the U.S. market opens on June 2, with a management call later that morning, leaving investors to wait for clearer detail on client assets, compliance costs and trading activity.
Futu and Longbridge were named in the same action, putting the hit to UP Fintech in a wider online-brokerage context. Reuters reported that Futu and Tiger parent UP Fintech fell more than 30% in U.S. premarket trade, while Futu said mainland investors accounted for 13% of its customer base at the end of the first quarter.
Gary Ng, senior economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis, told Reuters the government wanted outbound capital flows kept “under its scrutiny.” Steven Leung, director of institutional sales at UOB-Kay Hian in Hong Kong, said the steps could “cool down” some trading and speculative activity in Hong Kong. Reuters
Zhan Kai, a partner at Dacheng in Shanghai, called the penalties “relatively lenient for now,” while saying bigger fines or even criminal prosecution could not be ruled out, Reuters reported. The warning mattered because the CSRC’s statement left the size of the financial penalty open. Reuters
UP Fintech entered the selloff after a strong 2025. The company reported full-year revenue of $612.1 million, up 56.3%, net income attributable to ordinary shareholders of $170.9 million, and total account balance of $60.8 billion at year-end. Chairman and Chief Executive Wu Tianhua said in March the growth reflected the firm’s “internationalization strategy.” UP Fintech Holding Limited
But the risk cuts both ways. The premarket price is not a settled cash-session close, and the company says mainland client assets are a limited slice of global assets. Still, if regulators broaden restrictions, customers move assets faster than expected, or penalties land above market assumptions, UP Fintech’s trading commissions, margin-financing income and wealth-management revenue could come under pressure.
Nasdaq’s regular market was due to open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and close at 4 p.m.; its holiday calendar shows U.S. markets closed on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. That leaves Friday’s session carrying most of the first price discovery before the long weekend.
