Elisabeth Kirby, head of market structure, Tradeweb
Next year, the regulatory landscape in the US will continue to evolve around two key themes, which is the gradual integration of digital and traditional finance, and the implementation of the Treasury and repo central clearing mandate.
The digital and crypto space remains central to the regulatory landscape, as policymakers explore frameworks to balance innovation and market integrity. As digital assets continue to grow in scale and relevance, their integration into established market infrastructure will become an increasingly important focus for both regulators and market participants.
At the same time, attention will shift to how firms implement Treasury and repo clearing in order to meet the mandate, underscoring its importance to overall market structure.
Rob Cranston, head equity business development sales strategy, SIX
Too often, market structure debates dwell on limits and labels. A better path forward in 2026 is to strengthen the value of transparent pricing. When incentives align around that goal (providing transparent and visible prices to the market), the overall market benefits from better information, as well as increased transparency on volumes.
This year we have seen lighter lit depth, a heavier reliance on the close, and more fragmented daytime activity. When most learning happens only at the end of the day, or in private pools of liquidity, spreads appear tight yet offer little insight into true supply and demand during the session.
The central task for the new year is to rebuild the conditions that make transparent pricing valuable for all participants. That means creating incentives that reward displayed size, adapting call windows to concentrate interest around key moments, and enabling on-exchange retail price improvement to bring more natural flow onto lit venues.
Rather than debating venue types, Europe should focus on outcomes. Ultimately, better transparency improves spreads, strengthens depth, and supports resilient markets. Restore those incentives and intraday liquidity should follow.
Andy Mahoney, managing director, EMEA, FlexTrade Systems
Over the past 12 months, the demand for innovation in pre-trade analytics, algorithms, actionable insights, and liquidity has become abundantly clear.
On the buy-side, traders seek richer data and execution tools across asset classes while remaining in their core platforms. Conversely, the sell-side is continually seeking an edge to attract new business amid increased competition – from both traditional and non-traditional avenues. However, innovation has been lethargic on both sides, often curtailed by inappropriate protocols and slow-moving, outdated processes.
Looking ahead to 2026, it will be defined by flexibility and re-thinking traditional delivery mechanisms. The recent offering from Goldman Sachs for real-time order status updates (OSUs) via API clearly signals the direction we can expect over the next 12 months – creative, technology-enabled services from the sell-side that allow the buy-side to drive their desired business and trading outcomes, rather than offerings shaped by what the tech can do.
As the sell-side continues to evolve from a liquidity provider to a technology partner, offerings that leverage digitisation to open lines of communication between the buy-side and the sell-side will pave the way for future innovation. The winners in this evolution will be those who embrace open architectures and API-driven workflows to create a frictionless trading experience.
This new direction will empower the buy-side with unprecedented control, while allowing the sell-side to deepen client engagement through technology.
Anish Puaar, head of European equity market structure, Optiver
As we head into 2026, EU and UK policymakers have an opportunity to reassess the ill-fitting capital rules that currently constrain European market makers. The existing rules have led many of EU’s largest market makers to either relocate outside of Europe or seek growth in other regions.
The European Banking Authority recently recommended positive changes to these rules, which we believe will improve liquidity provision across EU markets, while the UK is also planning a more proportionate regime that will boost liquidity in UK markets and complement the EU’s reforms.
The new year will see intense debate on the EU Savings and Investment Union and ways to improve market integration. Supervision of trading venues and clearing houses are likely to dominate political discussions but the EU should seize the opportunity to harmonise its fragmented post-trade infrastructure and improve the equity consolidated tape.
We’re also seeing a renewed push to encourage more retail participation in Europe, with many exchanges launching new mechanisms to attract retail flow. These developments are welcome but must be coupled with measures that encourage savers to invest in financial markets.