Investors who bought UP Fintech Holding securities between April 22, 2024 and June 2, 2026 may be covered by a proposed class action alleging UP Fintech, the parent of the Tiger Brokers trading app, understated its legal and regulatory risk in mainland China before regulators there penalized its subsidiaries. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. UP Fintech Holding Limited and the individual defendants have not been found liable in this case, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is the UP Fintech Lawsuit About?
Liao v. UP Fintech Holding Limited, No. 2:26-cv-13939, was filed October 26, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. UP Fintech, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Singapore, runs the Tiger Brokers online trading platform and has a New Jersey brokerage subsidiary, TradeUP Securities. Its American Depositary Shares trade on the Nasdaq as TIGR.The complaint alleges that UP Fintech’s annual reports described the risk that it might lack licenses in some jurisdictions, including China, as a possibility while its subsidiaries were in fact doing unlicensed business in mainland China. The case follows a May 2026 crackdown by Chinese regulators on cross-border brokers. No court has ruled on any of the allegations in the complaint.
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What the Complaint Says Investors Were Not Told
The class period begins April 22, 2024, when UP Fintech filed its annual report for 2023. The complaint points to risk disclosures in that report and in the company’s later annual reports, which said the company “may not be able to obtain or maintain all necessary licenses” in multiple jurisdictions, “especially in China,” and that authorities “may take the position” that licenses were required. According to the complaint, those statements were false or misleading because they did not disclose that:- UP Fintech materially understated its legal and regulatory risk, given what the complaint calls its continued illegal activity in China
- as a result, the company’s statements about its business, operations and prospects lacked a reasonable basis
The Disclosures and Stock Drops
The complaint describes two disclosures that it says revealed the truth:- May 22, 2026: Before the market opened, Reuters reported that China had announced a crackdown on cross-border securities business and that its securities regulator would penalize online brokers, including Tiger, for soliciting business in China without an onshore license. The same day, UP Fintech filed a report with the SEC saying the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s Beijing bureau had found that certain of its subsidiaries conducted unlicensed cross-border securities business and illegal activities relating to fund and futures business in mainland China, and had imposed penalties of about 308.1 million yuan and confiscated about 103.1 million yuan of illegal income. The company said it accepted the penalty. The complaint says the American Depositary Shares fell $1.48, or 25.3%, to close at $4.36 that day.
- June 2, 2026: UP Fintech reported a first-quarter 2026 net loss of $26.9 million and said it had recognized the penalties as a subsequent event. The complaint says the shares fell $0.20, or 3.86%, to close at $4.97 that day, and a further $0.30, or 6%, to close at $4.67 on June 3, 2026.
Claims and Who Is in the Proposed Class
The complaint claims violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b-5, and controlling-person liability under Section 20(a). The defendants are UP Fintech Holding Limited, its chief executive officer Tianhua Wu, and its chief financial officer John Fei Zeng. The proposed class is everyone other than the defendants who acquired UP Fintech securities publicly traded on the Nasdaq between April 22, 2024 and June 2, 2026, inclusive. A court has not certified the class.A separate investor case over the same crackdown is pending against another online broker; see the Futu Holdings securities class action.
What Happens Next
Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, investors who want to be appointed lead plaintiff must ask the court by December 28, 2026. The court then picks a lead plaintiff and lead counsel, a consolidated or amended complaint usually follows, and defendants in securities cases commonly move to dismiss, which pauses discovery while the motion is pending.There is nothing to claim in the UP Fintech case now. If it settles, investors in the settlement class would normally receive a notice and a claim form that asks for their trading records.
Questions
Is there a UP Fintech settlement?
There is no settlement. Liao v. UP Fintech Holding Limited, No. 2:26-cv-13939, was filed October 26, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and is at the complaint stage. No class has been certified and there is nothing to claim.
Who is covered by the UP Fintech securities lawsuit?
The proposed class is everyone other than the defendants who acquired UP Fintech Holding Limited securities publicly traded on the Nasdaq, where its American Depositary Shares trade as TIGR, between April 22, 2024 and June 2, 2026, inclusive. A court has not certified the class.
What is the lead plaintiff deadline in the UP Fintech case?
December 28, 2026. Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, investors who want to be appointed lead plaintiff must ask the court by that date. The court generally presumes the movant with the largest financial interest is the most adequate plaintiff. Class members do not need to seek that role to remain part of the proposed class.
Is the UP Fintech case related to the Futu securities lawsuit?
They are separate cases against separate companies, but both follow the same May 22, 2026 crackdown in which Chinese regulators said they would penalize online brokers, including Tiger and Futu, for soliciting business in mainland China without an onshore license.
