If the closing bell has long been a business model, then 24/7 trading is an attempt to break it. As the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange race to introduce around-the-clock trading, the question is who stands to gain and who might lose.
Mati Greenspan, CEO and founder of Quantum Economics, told CoinDesk the answer is simple: “The biggest losers from 24/7 stock trading won’t be traders: they will benefit greatly. When traders can’t trade, middlemen will make money in the long run.”
Greenspan, also a market analyst, claims that when markets reopen after what he calls major events, “a handful of firms will determine the first tradable price. Typically, they will explicitly use the price that triggers a stop loss for the client, closing the client’s position at a loss, and making a profit for the broker who is essentially trading with the client.”
When Greenspan was asked whether brokers were coordinating around pricing while markets were closed, he said bluntly: “Yes, it’s total manipulation.”
“They basically control the price and it usually takes a few hours to strategize,” he said. “It’s usually stop hunting. When big news happens over the weekend, the bank tends to price arbitrarily at the open.”
His comments come as several major U.S. exchanges seek to offer round-the-clock trading services. The New York Stock Exchange said it is seeking SEC approval for 24/7 trading. Nasdaq announced similar plans in December. CME plans to launch 24-hour cryptocurrency futures in 2026, currently awaiting approval, and Cboe recently expanded U.S. index options to 24/5 trading.
“Reasonable denial”
While Greenspan’s comments may be viewed as accusations, it’s not hard to see why this approach would stand out in after-hours markets. Thin liquidity leaves prices more vulnerable when the usual trading hours end, at 4 p.m. ET.
“After the market closes at 4 p.m., you no longer have the same liquidity,” said Joe Dente, a floor broker at the New York Stock Exchange. “People have gone home and the liquidity isn’t there, so you’re going to see wider spreads.”
Widening spreads and shrinking order books have created an environment where price movements can be exaggerated compared to regular trading sessions, he said.
Academic research also supports the idea that extended trading hours are structurally different from core market hours. A widely cited joint study from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Rochester found that after-hours price discovery is “much less efficient,” citing lower volumes and thinner liquidity that limit how quickly information can be incorporated into prices.
Asked whether manipulation had already taken place during these periods, Dent said it was “possible” but noted that “the events of 24-hour trading would make things susceptible to manipulation,” referring to what was already happening in the after-hours market.
At the same time, Greenspan noted that these alleged manipulations “are not entirely above board, so they [brokers who might be taking part in such actions] Tend to maintain reasonable denial. “
This is where the lines start to blur between actual manipulation and evidence that such behavior occurred.
A widely cited SSRN study on opening price manipulation showed how brokers can influence prices during pre-open auctions by submitting and canceling large orders, temporarily pushing stocks away from their fundamental value before broader liquidity returns.
Research has found that such manipulation can create distorted opening prices that are corrected once the entire market begins trading, causing losses to investors who bought at high prices. Because these distortions occur before normal trading volumes resume, the resulting price movements may be indistinguishable from ordinary market movements.
Another broker familiar with overnight trading practices, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said thin liquidity overnight sometimes makes it easier for coordinated strategies to affect the price of stocks that are not widely traded.
This isn’t just anecdotal evidence.
In late 2025, the SEC settled a multi-year deception scheme that involved the use of deceptive orders to change the price of thinly traded securities. Regulators also fined Velox Clearing $1.3 million for failing to detect “layering” and “deception” in volatile stocks.
Meanwhile, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) noted in its 2026 Annual Supervisory Oversight Report that the firms “failed to maintain appropriately designed supervisory systems and controls, including identifying and reporting potentially manipulative activity conducted in after-hours trading.”
A win for retail?
Regardless of whether it is difficult to point out how common these accusations are, one thing is for sure: traders would be the ultimate winners if trading were conducted 24/7, especially retail traders.
In today’s electronic markets, traders who react fastest to market news have a structural advantage.
“Whoever has the fastest computer and the best programmer will always have an advantage,” Dent said, noting that algorithms can react to news and orders “in a nanosecond.” He added that it would be difficult for individual investors to keep up with the pace. “How do humans keep up with this?”
When markets are closed, it becomes more difficult for small investors to react to these events, putting those retail or small traders at a huge disadvantage.
Pranav Ramesh, head of quantitative research for options at Nasdaq and co-founder of Leadpoet, said thin markets could amplify these risks.
“Coordination among brokers may often manifest itself as industry-wide coordination around routing and execution practices, particularly where the majority of retail traffic ends up going to a small number of wholesalers,” he said. Speaking in a personal capacity, Ramesh said: “Outside of normal times, scrutiny can be more difficult because the market is smaller and investors have fewer direct reference points to gauge execution quality.”
Sources familiar with broker routing and liquidity practices told CoinDesk that pricing power during thin trading is real, especially when major news is released during market shutdowns. According to these sources, coordination around routing, spreads and execution practices has historically been easier during periods of widening gaps precisely because retail traders were unable to participate.
That’s exactly what round-the-clock trading will solve for traders, according to Greenspan, who said 24/7 markets would completely eliminate the weekend vacuum, undercutting fintech companies’ advantage.
The recent conflict in the Middle East is a perfect example of how this can lead to more trading opportunities when the markets are closed. Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid trades on the blockchain 24/7, and traders are increasingly interested in betting on traditional financial assets, including oil and gold, on weekends when traditional exchanges are closed.
It has become so popular that the platform has a weekly derivatives trading volume of over $50 billion, while generating $1.6 million in revenue in a 24-hour period, more than the entire Bitcoin blockchain. The platform also recently added S&P 500 perpetual contracts.
Needless to say, if major exchanges were open to 24/7 trading, they would likely benefit from trading fees as well.
It remains to be seen whether around-the-clock trading will ultimately reduce brokers’ influence over price setting. What is clear is that exchanges and investors will benefit from markets that never close.
“Traders can react in real time and are not at the mercy of a middleman – a broker,” Greenspan said.
Read More: Bitcoin’s Weekend Selloff May Be Ending With CME’s 24/7 Cryptocurrency Trading Initiative