Lawyers representing cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood faced off against those for the Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts over the legality of a state regulation that could affect how the company markets itself to potential investors.

Under Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts William Galvin, the state 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.

Robinhood has argued that the Massachusetts securities regulator exceeded its authority in attempting to enforce the fiduciary duty rules. In March 2022, a judge largely dismissed the regulator’s position, leaving the matter on hold pending appeal, with oral arguments scheduled for May.

(by Turner Wright)