High-frequency trading is automated trading characterised by very short holding periods, high message rates and co-located infrastructure. It is a capability, not a strategy, and it is lawful. Most high-frequency activity is market making, arbitrage or execution.
Also known as HFT. market microstructure · updated 2026-09-08
See also
Market maker— A market maker quotes both a bid and an ask continuously, earning the spread in exchange for supplying immediacy. Market making in…
Latency arbitrage— Latency arbitrage is profiting from being able to act on a price change before slower participants can update their own quotes. It…
Co-location— Co-location is renting rack space in or next to an exchange's data centre so that the physical distance to the matching engine is …