Computerization has transformed financial markets with high frequency trading displacing human activity with proprietary algorithms to lower latency, reduce intermediary costs, enhance liquidity and increase transaction speed. Following the “Flash Crash” of 2010 which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunge 1000 points within minutes, high frequency trading has come under the radar of multi-jurisdictional regulators. Combining a review of the extant literature on high frequency trading with empirical data from interviews with financial traders, computer experts and regulators, we develop concepts of regulatory adaptation, technology asymmetry and market ambiguity to illustrate the ‘dark art’ of high frequency trading. Findings show high frequency trading is a multi-faceted, complex and secretive practice. It is implicated in market events, but correlation does not imply causation, as isolating causal mechanisms from interconnected automated financial trading is highly challenging for regulators who seek to monitor algorithmic trading across multiple jurisdictions. This article provides information systems researchers with a set of conceptual tools for analysing high frequency trading.

中文翻译：

---

高频交易的监管、技术和市场“黑暗艺术三部曲”：研究议程

计算机化通过高频交易改变了金融市场，用专有算法取代了人类活动，以降低延迟、降低中介成本、增强流动性和提高交易速度。继 2010 年道琼斯工业平均指数在几分钟内暴跌 1000 点的“闪电崩盘”之后，高频交易受到了多辖区监管机构的关注。结合对现有高频交易文献的回顾以及对金融交易员、计算机专家和监管机构的采访获得的经验数据，我们提出了监管适应、技术不对称和市场模糊性的概念，以说明高频交易的“黑暗艺术”。调查结果表明，高频交易是一种多方面、复杂和隐秘的做法。它与市场事件有关，但相关性并不意味着因果关系，因为将因果机制与相互关联的自动化金融交易隔离开来，对于寻求跨多个司法管辖区监控算法交易的监管机构来说极具挑战性。本文为信息系统研究人员提供了一套用于分析高频交易的概念工具。