Trading at the Speed of Light: How Ultrafast Algorithms Are Transforming Financial Markets

Ā· Princeton University Press
3 reviews
Ebook
304
Pages
Eligible
59% price drop on Oct 3

About this ebook

A remarkable look at how the growth, technology, and politics of high-frequency trading have altered global financial markets

In today’s financial markets, trading floors on which brokers buy and sell shares face-to-face have increasingly been replaced by lightning-fast electronic systems that use algorithms to execute astounding volumes of transactions. Trading at the Speed of Light tells the story of this epic transformation. Donald MacKenzie shows how in the 1990s, in what were then the disreputable margins of the US financial system, a new approach to trading—automated high-frequency trading or HFT—began and then spread throughout the world. HFT has brought new efficiency to global trading, but has also created an unrelenting race for speed, leading to a systematic, subterranean battle among HFT algorithms.

In HFT, time is measured in nanoseconds (billionths of a second), and in a nanosecond the fastest possible signal—light in a vacuum—can travel only thirty centimeters, or roughly a foot. That makes HFT exquisitely sensitive to the length and transmission capacity of the cables connecting computer servers to the exchanges’ systems and to the location of the microwave towers that carry signals between computer datacenters. Drawing from more than 300 interviews with high-frequency traders, the people who supply them with technological and communication capabilities, exchange staff, regulators, and many others, MacKenzie reveals the extraordinary efforts expended to speed up every aspect of trading. He looks at how in some markets big banks have fought off the challenge from HFT firms, and how exchanges sometimes engineer technical systems to favor certain types of algorithms over others.

Focusing on the material, political, and economic characteristics of high-frequency trading, Trading at the Speed of Light offers a unique glimpse into its influence on global finance and where it could lead us in the future.
A remarkable look at how the growth, technology, and politics of high-frequency trading have altered global financial markets In today’s financial markets, trading floors on which brokers buy and sell shares face-to-face have increasingly been replaced by lightning-fast electronic systems that u...

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3 reviews
NOdrugstraficocoiotfantasiadcasamento Nodrugs
September 14, 2026
URGENT PLEASE URGENT HELP ME URGENT PLEASE I still eat meat and am nourished by the Holy Spirit, who DEVOURS THE FLESH and convicts of righteousness, sin, and judgment Mangio ancora carne e mi nutro dello Spirito Santo, che DIVORA LA CARNE e convince di giustizia, di peccato e di giudizio Life inspires GamešŸŽ® before the thefts, before the torture in the hospital, the ten years of the stolen cell phone, and all the crooked schemes of the auqadelas lgbtq drug-trafficking ringleader; the Polices šŸš” were already hunting PokĆ©mon back then, and they still are No intelligent person wants to use drugs, so they mix drugs with sugar to lure children No drugs, no addictions; respecting the law is the most important religion in the universe Socialism, communism, and injustices for example lgbtq+ mutilation psychopatism issues are criminal pandemics that kill people rampantly across the globe šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– ICE šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– DHS šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– CBP šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– ERO Assistenza sanitaria senza furti Healthcare without theft for body RESPECT FOR THE LAW THE MOST IMPORTANT REGION OF THE UNIVERSE RISPETTO PER LA LEGGE LA REGIONE PIƙ IMPORTANTE DELL'UNIVERSO Todos e serpenti infidi che mi hanno derubato in questi dieci anni di ingiustizia raccoglieranno gli stessi frutti e faranno la stessa fine di quel auqadelas šŸ judas All the treacherous snakes who have robbed me during these ten years of injustice will reap the same harvest and meet the same end as that judasšŸ auqadelas HELP ME URGENT PLEASE
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FFFAAABBBIIIAAANNNAAA NOdrugs NOlgbtq NOsugar
September 15, 2026
URGENT PLEASE URGENT HELP ME URGENT PLEASE I still eat meat and am nourished by the Holy Spirit, who DEVOURS THE FLESH and convicts of righteousness, sin, and judgment Mangio ancora carne e mi nutro dello Spirito Santo, che DIVORA LA CARNE e convince di giustizia, di peccato e di giudizio Life inspires GamešŸŽ® before the thefts, before the torture in the hospital, the ten years of the stolen cell phone, and all the crooked schemes of the auqadelas lgbtq drug-trafficking ringleader; the Polices šŸš” were already hunting PokĆ©mon back then, and they still are No intelligent person wants to use drugs, so they mix drugs with sugar to lure children No drugs, no addictions; respecting the law is the most important religion in the universe Socialism, communism, and injustices for example lgbtq+ mutilation psychopatism issues are criminal pandemics that kill people rampantly across the globe šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– ICE šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– DHS šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– CBP šŸ§ŠšŸŖ– ERO Assistenza sanitaria senza furti Healthcare without theft for body RESPECT FOR THE LAW THE MOST IMPORTANT REGION OF THE UNIVERSE RISPETTO PER LA LEGGE LA REGIONE PIƙ IMPORTANTE DELL'UNIVERSO Todos e serpenti infidi che mi hanno derubato in questi dieci anni di ingiustizia raccoglieranno gli stessi frutti e faranno la stessa fine di quel auqadelas šŸ judas All the treacherous snakes who have robbed me during these ten years of injustice will reap the same harvest and meet the same end as that judasšŸ auqadelas Faster than the speed of light, like the One faster than the speed of light who imprisoned the devil before the rising of the sun Più veloce della velocitĆ  della luce, come Colui che ĆØ più veloce della luce e che imprigionò il diavolo prima del sorgere del sole
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About the author

Donald MacKenzie is professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh. His books include Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets.
Donald MacKenzie is professor of sociology at the University of Edinburgh. His books include Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance and An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial Models Shape Markets.

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