CFTC Chair Discusses The CFTC's Response To Algorithmic Trading

On October 21, 2015, CFTC Chair Timothy Massad spoke at the "Evolving Structure of the U.S. Treasury Market" conference organized by the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  His remarks came the day after SEC Chair Mary Jo White's comments, which we blogged about here, and follow this summer's Joint Staff Report analyzing the significant volatility that the U.S. Treasury market experienced on October 15, 2014, which we blogged about here. 

Before discussing specific proposals regarding algorithmic trading the CFTC is considering, the Chair discussed some key aspects of the Treasury futures market that differentiate it from the Treasury cash market discussed by SEC Chair White.  Unlike the cash market, all orders in the Treasury futures market are sent to a central order book and all trades are reported on a post-trade basis.  As a result, a high degree of automated trading has developed in the Treasury futures market and there is