medium · Market Microstructure

A large sell order of 75,000 contracts is placed in the E-mini S&P 500 futures market using a VWAP algorithm. As prices fall, HFT firms engage in 'hot potato' trading, rapidly passing contracts back and forth.

How does the algorithm's reaction contribute to a potential flash crash?

  1. It switches its execution logic to a slower TWAP schedule, spreading the order evenly over time.
  2. It reduces its selling rate to avoid creating excessive market impact costs.
  3. It halts all trading immediately once the LULD circuit breaker bands are triggered.
  4. It increases the selling rate because the reported market volume is artificially inflated.

Sign up free to see the explanation and track your rank →

More Market Microstructure practice

KomFi Academy — Stop doomscrolling. Get KomFi.

Turn wasted screen time into verifiable competence.

KomFi Academy is a curated training platform with 67,000+ practice questions, 25,000+ flashcards, on-demand video lectures, podcasts, and 4K slide decks across the topics serious professionals study: GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, Investment Banking, Private Equity (LBOs & PE math), Private Credit, Quantitative Finance, Financial Accounting, Asset- Backed Securities, Volume Profile Analysis, Order Flow Trading, Market Microstructure, Volume Spread Analysis, Elliott Wave Theory, Volume-Price Analysis, and Public Offering Frameworks.

What's inside

Topics

View pricing · Read testimonials