(Bloomberg) -- Webull Financial is now offering futures and commodities trading as investors look for more ways to hedge price moves without owning an underlying asset.
The online brokerage application, which is preparing to go public, is offering the service just to US investors at first with plans to expand globally in the future, it said Monday in a statement.
“Understanding the significance of using futures is beneficial to all investors looking to diversify their portfolios,” Arianne Adams, chief strategy officer and head of derivatives at Webull said in prepared remarks.
Futures contracts give investors the ability to bet on the value of a commodity at a forthcoming date. They are traded on exchanges such as CME Group Inc., the largest futures exchange in the US, and require a brokerage account that’s approved to trade futures. They can also be used as a hedging tool, to protect against volatility or unexpected events.
Webull, which offers commission-free trading, started in 2018 as an equities-trading platform. It later expanded into options to become one of the top ten retail brokerage platforms in the US. Retail brokerage apps like Webull gained traction during the pandemic, when day-trading became popular with investors stuck at home. Rival brokerage apps like Charles Schwab, E*Trade and TastyTrade already also offer futures trading.
After a period of setbacks, Webull is now preparing to go public by merging with a blank-check vehicle or SPAC. The online brokerage announced a deal last month with SK Growth Opportunities Corp. that gives the combined company a pro forma enterprise value of about $7.3 billion. They plan to list on Nasdaq, after clearing certain approvals.
Read More: Online Brokerage Webull Shed Crypto Exposure Ahead of SPAC Deal
Webull says it has 20 million registered users and operates in 15 regions globally. The company inked an agreement in 2021 to become the official basketball jersey patch partner for the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and to be featured on the jerseys of the WNBA’s New York Liberty.