Good points. To be more precise, I think that an open source approach to system research and design can be hyper-competitive versus closed-door secret-squirrel development run by a committee looking for short-term wins. This project benefits me firstly because I get feedback on my initial scratchings and maybe even collaboration on areas outside my comfort zone. And it could well enable me and others to avoid having to work for the sociopaths.
I am biased in thinking that monitoring the market and trading at low latency isn't fundamentally a bad thing, and shouldn't be taxed because others are too lazy to do the same thing. I certainly think that hft has been used by evil people to front-run unknowing third-parties, often in collaboration with middle men and women who turn a blind eye to the morality of their business models.
Others are two lazy? It's my understanding that the average Joe has no access to the hardware and low latency network connections to be able to do this on his own.
There is a rather large economic rent attached to HFT at the moment. If my project or others like it can eat into that rent a touch, it might not stay that way.
Exactly, if you take the position that gains from HFT are basically "stolen" profits from otherwise more productive market participants, then any that can be "stolen back" is a win.
> It's my understanding that the average Joe has no access to the hardware and low latency network connections to be able to do this on his own.
Yes, but for US equities this is purely economical: _anyone_ can buy colocated rackspace, direct market data feeds, and direct connectivity. The average Joe does not want to do this any more than he wants to build his own tennis-shoe factory.
I am biased in thinking that monitoring the market and trading at low latency isn't fundamentally a bad thing, and shouldn't be taxed because others are too lazy to do the same thing. I certainly think that hft has been used by evil people to front-run unknowing third-parties, often in collaboration with middle men and women who turn a blind eye to the morality of their business models.