High Frequency Trading Conversation Goes Mainstream

There has been an explosion of discussion around high frequency trading across Main Street and Wall Street following the 60 Minutes piece and release of Michael Lewis' new book Flash Boys.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been explaining the "skimming" and "front running" process behind high frequency trading for years. See Dark Pools: Understanding The World Of High Frequency Trading

Here was an interview earlier this afternoon with Michael Lewis:



And the biggest highlight of the day came later when the head of the BATS exchange collided with the star of Lewis' book on CNBC. The entire trading floor on the NYSE stopped for twenty minutes to watch the battle take place.



The fact that people are actually discussing this topic is great for the future of the market. However, we will see whether Katsuyama's new exchange grows large enough and fast enough to stop the the next flash crash before it arrives.

Someone else that was all over this topic years ago was Mark Cuban. For a great interview on the topic with Mr. Cuban see Mark Cuban On High Frequency Trading.