• Arthur Rank, Global director, capital markets at Colt Technology Services


• 30.10.2025 07:00 am
#AIFinance #TradingInnovation

A recent social post caught my eye. The person posting had tried to prompt AI to generate a photo of a race marshal in a pink high-visibility jacket - their running group needed more marshals to staff a forthcoming race, and they wanted a photo to make their post stand out.  But a typo and an (incorrect) autocorrect led the AI platform to generate various cheerful photos of a smiling face not on a race marshal, but on a marshmallow – in pink high-vis. And if that isn’t enough proof that human skills are needed to interact with AI, then the AI-generated prompt suggestion beneath the social post reinforced this: “Ask whether marshmallows can participate in this race”.  I like to think that the running group reached their goal and went to hold a safe, successful and well-staffed race, whether or not any marshmallows participated.

Despite some limitations – and a need for human interaction at times - AI has unquestionably transformed global financial markets. Today almost 89% of global trading volume is handled by AI-driven algorithms. It’s  estimated that around 70-80% of trading volume on the US stock market alone is executed through AI and algorithmic trading systems. There’s no questioning AI’s immense ability to process huge volumes of data in real-time; to inform decisions; to manage risk; and to make forecasts based on patterns and trends.  

AI and extended trading hours

AI and algorithmic traders can operate 24/5 – or longer – facilitating global trades. While there’s a brief window in which some of the world’s physical stock exchanges operate at the same time, there’s no single window in which all global stock exchanges operate simultaneously. 

AI has been a major driver in extended trading hours, with benefits such as ‘round the clock’ support and market monitoring, increased liquidity and the ability to respond swiftly to price movements and global events, and during earnings season. But AI trading systems are only as intelligent as the data, programming and human oversight behind them – and only as effective as the infrastructure on which they operate. 

Real-time data exchanges demand low latency, robust digital infrastructure which is truly ‘AI ready’ – software-defined, secure and intelligent. The huge volumes of data processed by AI models require high bandwidths, intense GPU processing power and cloud computing access. 

Alternative Trading Systems

Alternative Trading Systems also facilitate extended hours. Trading outside traditional exchange hours, they allow investors to react even when stock exchanges are closed, connecting markets across time zones. And while many are not AI-driven per se, their superpower lies in their powerful integration and interconnection with a diversity of global platforms and networks. They can interconnect with algorithmic and AI trading engines; with broker/dealer platforms; with regulatory reporting systems; with clearing and settlement networks; with market data providers; and with cloud and APIs. They also require powerful, robust underlying global networks to reach their full potential.

Digital infrastructure – the common denominator behind financial markets’ digital transformation 

The key enabler for this digital transformation of financial markets is digital infrastructure: interconnected global networks that are truly AI-ready with low-latency, high bandwidth, robust security and real-time monitoring. Running along the seabed in the ocean’s depths, travelling through the Channel Tunnel, connecting rural and underserved areas via satellites or traversing across the land, this hyperconnected network links data centres and cloud environments. It is the lifeblood of global financial markets, and most of us barely give it a second thought. Yet behind every trade, transaction, and market movement lies a vast, complex web of global digital infrastructure that enables the seamless flow of capital across borders in real time.  Without it, modern trading and financial systems would struggle to function. 

At Colt, we recently announced a strategic partnership with Bruce Markets LLC which expands capital markets solutions’ connectivity to the Bruce ATS™ – an Alternative Trading System which offers overnight access to U.S. equities. Bruce ATS operates from 8pm to 4am EST from Sunday through to Thursday, connecting investors in Asia and Latin America outside US market trading hours. It’s powered by NASDAQ and connects through APIs. 

The partnership marks a strategic step in our broader roadmap to support 24x5 trading for global financial institutions, while extending Bruce ATS's reach to institutional clients worldwide through Broker Dealers. 

As we head towards 2026, we’re likely to see continued momentum around 24/5 and even 24/7 trading markets driven by factors such as investor demand, a rise in retail and mobile trading and regulatory momentum, and mirroring extended hours already offered in trading currencies, bonds and cryptocurrencies. SEC and the CFTC have declared public support for the move, and some exchanges are planning to extend to 24/5 trading imminently. 24X Exchange recently began operating as the first SEC-approved national securities exchange to offer extended weekday trading hours, for U.S. equities.

Powerful, always-on digital infrastructure underpinning the world’s financial markets is turning the vision of round-the-clock trading into a global reality. And as the lines between time zones and trading hours blur, the future of finance is being built: faster, smarter, and more connected than ever before.