Surveillance on every book we quote
FlowTrack monitors client order books across centralised and decentralised venues, detecting wash trading, spoofing, mirrored flow and self-trading. It runs on the same books our desk quotes, and findings are disclosed to the client rather than held internally.
What FlowTrack monitors
FlowTrack is deployed on live client books across centralised and decentralised venues. It reconstructs activity venue by venue and flags the patterns that indicate a market is being manipulated rather than traded.
- Wash trading
- Trades where beneficial ownership does not change, inflating apparent volume without transferring risk.
- Spoofing
- Orders placed to create an impression of depth and withdrawn before they can be filled.
- Mirrored flow
- Matched activity across accounts or venues designed to look like independent interest.
- Self-trading
- An account or related set of accounts trading against itself, whether deliberately or through uncoordinated systems.
Why a desk surveils its own book
The conventional argument against this is that no desk wants its own activity examined. That is precisely the reason to do it. A market maker has more ability to distort a book than anyone else trading on it, and asking clients to take on faith that it is not doing so is the weakest part of the category’s standard pitch.
Running surveillance on books we quote means our own flow is in scope. When an exception is raised that originates with us, it goes to the client the same as any other. That is uncomfortable by design: a control that cannot produce findings against the party operating it is not a control.
It also means manipulation by third parties is caught by the firm best placed to see it, because we are already reconstructing the book continuously in order to quote it.
What is market surveillance?
Systematic monitoring of trading activity to detect manipulation. It reconstructs what happened on a book, identifies patterns that legitimate trading does not produce, and escalates them. In regulated markets it is a licensing requirement. In digital assets it is largely absent, which is a substantial part of why the category has the reputation it does.
What manipulation patterns does surveillance detect?
FlowTrack monitors for wash trading, spoofing, mirrored flow and self-trading across centralised and decentralised venues. These are the patterns that inflate apparent activity or manufacture apparent depth, and they are what a listing committee or an institutional counterparty is trying to rule out when they examine a token’s market.
Why does a market maker surveil its own books?
Because the market maker is the participant with the greatest ability to distort the book, and a firm asking to be trusted on that point should be able to show its working. Our own flow is in scope, exceptions originating with us are disclosed to the client like any other, and the alternative is asking clients to take our conduct on faith.
What happens when surveillance finds something?
The exception is raised with the client with the underlying activity attached, so they can see what triggered it rather than receiving a verdict. Where it originates with a third party we advise on venue escalation. Where it originates with our own flow it is disclosed on the same terms, and we explain what caused it and what changed as a result.
What you receive
- Continuous monitoring across the centralised and decentralised venues where your token trades
- Exceptions raised with the underlying activity attached, not a summary verdict
- Our own flow included in scope and disclosed on the same terms
- A record suitable for presenting to a listing committee or counterparty running diligence
How we engage
Engagements begin with a conversation about the instrument, the venues involved and what you are trying to achieve, followed by a written scope. Terms, including how we are compensated, are disclosed in summary before anything is signed.
We do not publish pricing, because scope varies enough that any number on a page would be wrong. Ask and we will tell you.
Surveillance from a firm with no position in your market is a document. Surveillance from the firm quoting your book is a commitment, because the findings can be about us.