Institutional players to embrace extended trading hours, crypto present in many trading strategies, data volume surges, and AI shakeout
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Louis, New York – 3 December 2025 – 2025 proved to be a pivotal year for global capital markets. Surging market data volumes, constrained data center capacity, and shifting liquidity patterns created persistent pressure on trading infrastructure and workflows. Against this backdrop, Exegy, a leader in market data and trading technology, is sharing its outlook for the forces that will shape 2026.
David Taylor, CEO of Exegy, said: “Over the past year, we’ve seen clear shifts in how liquidity forms, how data moves, and how firms think about their technology stack. In 2026, we expect those trends to continue. Extended trading hours in U.S. equities are gaining traction, and with that comes a noticeable increase in retail influence on liquidity and price formation. Data volumes will keep rising as well, and more importantly, the variability of those volumes will increase — creating the kind of unpredictable spikes that strain legacy systems. We also expect crypto to appear more broadly as part of institutional cross-asset strategies, which will drive demand for more integrated access across traditional and digital markets. All of this points to a year where firms will need to stay adaptable and make thoughtful decisions about their infrastructure.”
- Extended trading hours in US equity markets
As major U.S. exchanges explore expanded trading windows, we expect institutional skepticism toward 24/7 trading to ease in 2026. Retail investors remain the primary driver, with rising APAC and EU demand pushing brokers to support execution outside the traditional U.S. session. This retail activity is creating a natural pathway for broader institutional involvement.
We are already seeing early signs of this shift. Several Japanese non-bank liquidity providers have begun participating on 24X, the first fully regulated 24-hour U.S. equities exchange—indicating growing institutional engagement alongside retail demand.
This evolution expands the liquidity cycle and introduces new overnight price signals that institutional desks will need to incorporate into their workflows. It also exposes a structural gap: Reg NMS does not apply to extended or overnight trading. As retail participation increases during these hours, we expect mounting pressure to evaluate whether these protections should extend across a 24-hour market.
- The maturing of crypto
As U.S. regulators show broader acceptance of digital assets, we expect institutional strategies to continue expanding across the full spectrum of traditional and crypto markets. Firms are increasingly looking to bridge spot crypto, tokenized assets, and traditional securities within unified workflows. At the same time, crypto-native players are seeking greater participation in established markets, reflected in the continued use of bitcoin futures and other regulated products on traditional venues such as CME. These cross-asset interactions have already contributed to mergers and acquisitions in the space, and we expect further consolidation in 2026 as firms aim to provide seamless access across both digital and traditional asset classes.
- Volumes and surges of data
Market data volumes have risen steadily over the past several years, but the more pressing challenge is the increasing variability of that traffic. Geopolitical events, global participation, and highly automated strategies continue to produce sharp, unpredictable spikes that strain legacy systems. In 2026, we expect both overall volumes and intraday burstiness to grow, widening the gap between firms that have invested in higher-capacity, resilient infrastructure and those still operating on platforms not designed for this level of volatility. Firms that modernize early will be positioned to absorb these surges; others will likely face mid-year disruptions that force reactive upgrades.
- Sell-side competitive edge
Sell-side institutions operating trading desks, brokerages, dark pools, and ATSs will face continued shifts in 2026 as market structure evolves, and new participants enter the space. With additional buy-side firms exploring direct market access models, competition is broadening and prompting firms across the industry to reevaluate where they differentiate and how they allocate technology resources. For many mid-tier sell-side institutions, 2026 will be a year of strategic decisions—balancing client service, execution quality, and investment in infrastructure to remain competitive in a more diversified landscape.
- Shakeout in the AI market
2026 will be the year the AI market resets. After a surge of creativity and rapid investment, we expect firms to shift from experimentation to proof of value. Many AI business models will not make that transition. Capital will consolidate around solutions that deliver measurable outcomes, and the rest will fall away.
The most profound change in capital markets will occur in wealth and asset management, where AI can directly shape portfolio construction and client engagement. Meanwhile, AI will continue automating middle- and back-office functions and accelerating the adoption of tokenized, fractionalized securities. The result will be a smaller, more focused ecosystem — and a clearer divide between AI that is compelling and AI that is merely novel.
Exegy provides trading-technology infrastructure to firms across the latency spectrum, including Tier 1 global financial institutions. As the industry prepares for another year of rapid change, Exegy remains committed to working closely with clients and investing in innovation informed by a deep understanding of market challenges. To support ongoing dialogue around these themes, Exegy has launched a bi-yearly Executive Outlook newsletter, where our leadership team shares market observations and forward-looking insights. Subscribe here.
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About Exegy Inc.
Exegy is a global leader in low latency market data, trading, and execution technology, delivering innovative, end-to-end solutions that power the world’s capital markets. Backed by Marlin Equity Partners, Exegy delivers comprehensive, end-to-end infrastructure solutions to a broad spectrum of market participants, including buy-side and sell-side institutions, trading venues, and independent software vendors.
Designed for scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency, Exegy’s high-performance solutions leverage fully managed, purpose-built appliances, FPGA-accelerated systems, and advanced enterprise software. As the only global provider offering a full spectrum of latency solutions, Exegy enables clients to optimize performance, reduce complexity, and gain a strategic advantage in today’s complex trading landscape.
With a client-centric approach and a commitment to continuous innovation, Exegy’s global team delivers expert solutions tailored to meet the evolving needs of the financial industry.
For more information, visit exegy.com.
