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Bingo. The transactions business has largely been commoditized (esp because of the vast array of ATSes that are available to be traded on), so the only way to f

Bingo. The transactions business has largely been commoditized (esp because of the vast array of ATSes that are available to be traded on), so the only way to force business and guarantee month-over-month revenue is in market data and connectivity (it also explains why NYSE, Nasdaq, and Cboe have leaned very heavily on data/connectivity business lines for generating new revenue over the last ten years; or in Nasdaq's case especially focusing on 'peripheral' businesses). Listings as well generates some revenue, but is a much harder business to get into.

steveBK123 2y ago
The market data business is quite an oligopoly
- HolyLampshade 2y ago
  It is, sadly. Through the entire chain of custody. Of the many things I despise in the industry, market data and connectivity costs are near the top. It’s a fully captured market, and customers don’t have a choice when the producer decides to raise prices.
  - steveBK123 2y ago
    It's not just the prices, its the quality. You pay unbelievable sums to TR/Refinitiv/whatever they are called now and they ship you a HD/point you at an S3 bucket which contains a mix of valid/incomplete/corrupt/blank files which you then spend months checking. Oops, here's a new bucket for that. Oh oops, sorry again, we just found those files. Ooops, our parser had an error try again! BMLL seems to be trying to disrupt this space, wishing them well.
    - HolyLampshade 2y ago
      I am actually on the direct consumer side, but I feel for you. Occasionally we'll take intermediate data though from third parties, and good god the quality is atrocious. This is especially true for datasets that don't have a single authoritative source, like corporate calendar actions, where you have to consume data from 3-4 vendors and reconcile for a 'shared consensus' on simple shit like..."When is a company going to release quarterly earnings?" I'm ever grateful that I do not work in asset classes that are not centrally traded and centrally cleared. I recognize there's more money to be made in the uncertainty, but holy crap it drives me insane.

steveBK123 2y ago

The market data business is quite an oligopoly

HolyLampshade 2y ago
It is, sadly. Through the entire chain of custody. Of the many things I despise in the industry, market data and connectivity costs are near the top. It’s a fully captured market, and customers don’t have a choice when the producer decides to raise prices.
- steveBK123 2y ago
  It's not just the prices, its the quality. You pay unbelievable sums to TR/Refinitiv/whatever they are called now and they ship you a HD/point you at an S3 bucket which contains a mix of valid/incomplete/corrupt/blank files which you then spend months checking. Oops, here's a new bucket for that. Oh oops, sorry again, we just found those files. Ooops, our parser had an error try again! BMLL seems to be trying to disrupt this space, wishing them well.
  - HolyLampshade 2y ago
    I am actually on the direct consumer side, but I feel for you. Occasionally we'll take intermediate data though from third parties, and good god the quality is atrocious. This is especially true for datasets that don't have a single authoritative source, like corporate calendar actions, where you have to consume data from 3-4 vendors and reconcile for a 'shared consensus' on simple shit like..."When is a company going to release quarterly earnings?" I'm ever grateful that I do not work in asset classes that are not centrally traded and centrally cleared. I recognize there's more money to be made in the uncertainty, but holy crap it drives me insane.