Tape

The tape is the public record of executed trades, showing price and size. Wash trading and painting the tape both work by putting misleading entries onto it.

instruments and markets · updated 2026-09-08

Where does tape come up?

This term is used in the following manipulation techniques, each explained in full on its own page.

• Wash trading — Wash trading is buying and selling the same asset with no change in beneficial ownership and no market risk, so that a trade prints publicly and creates a false impression of activity or price.
• Painting the tape — Painting the tape is executing a series of transactions to create a misleading appearance of activity or of a price trend on the public trade record, in order to draw other participants in.

Enforcement actions involving these techniques

See also

• Wash trade — A wash trade is a transaction in which the same beneficial owner is on both sides, so no ownership changes hands and no market ris…
• Painting the tape — Painting the tape is executing a series of transactions to create the appearance of activity or a particular price trend on the pu…

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