From what I understand, Citadel, the mother company of Melvin Capital, one of the largest short-sellers that got in trouble, is responsible for 60% of Robinhood

From what I understand, Citadel, the mother company of Melvin Capital, one of the largest short-sellers that got in trouble, is responsible for 60% of Robinhood's revenue, buying user data from them. Robinhood might be protecting their largest customer. Edit: it's possible Citadel pays Robinhood for something else instead. And it's possible they don't fully own but only invested in Melvin. Still, there do seem to be pretty clear ties.