SEC Division of Trading and Markets Director Discusses 24/7 Trading and the Data Deluge

TechFlow reported that on November 13, Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets, delivered a speech titled "Mo' Data, Mo' Problems" at the Baruch College conference on Trading, Liquidity, and Market Structure, stating that the rapid pace of change in today's markets places new research in an "extremely fertile" environment.

He outlined ongoing structural changes: trading is evolving toward 24/7 operations; new vehicles for risk exposure, such as tokenized securities and perpetual futures, are entering the market; central clearing in the Treasury market is imminent and will bring competition; core reform proposals for the National Market System (NMS) are under discussion; and the roles of retail investors and passive management firms exceed historical norms.

Selway noted that the research bottleneck has shifted: previously, accessing differentiated data was the primary constraint on original research, whereas now the resources needed to process ever-expanding datasets may be the greater burden, with researchers increasingly relying on "superintelligence" tools. He stated that SEC Chief Economist Josh White is heading a committee to oversee the use of these tools, while also reviving DERA's Distinguished Visitor Scholar program to enhance collaboration with academia; the speech also referenced Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong's idea that "action generates information."