Trading venue rulebooks are often treated as dry operating manuals: dense documents that sit quietly behind the mechanics of markets. But as trading becomes increasingly automated, fragmented and interconnected, the rules governing who can trade, how orders are handled and when markets can intervene are taking on a much more consequential role.
A rulebook is no longer simply a set of conditions for participation. It can determine how markets respond to volatility, how firms interact with trading infrastructure and how quickly new risks can be contained.
That raises a bigger question for regulators and market participants alike: have trading venue rulebooks become a form of critical market infrastructure in their own right?
In the view of Rash Phullar, chief strategic growth officer at Corlytics, on the question on whether they’ve become critical market infrastructure, his first point centers around the topic of transparency.
He explained, “Since the 2008 financial crisis, regulators have pushed for greater transparency across global financial markets. A significant outcome has been the rapid growth of electronic trading venues, which have increasingly replaced bilateral trading arrangements that offered limited visibility to regulators and market participants.”
He stressed that today’s trading venues provide two substantial benefits. First of all, Phullar believes they create transparency by making market activity more visible. Secondly, they concentrate liquidity, allowing banks and asset managers to achieve better outcomes for clients through access to broader pools of market participants and more competitive pricing.
A strategic challenge
Why have trading venue rulebooks become a strategic challenge? On this point, Phullar states that as electronic markets have expanded, so too has the number of trading venues.
He explained, “What was once a relatively small ecosystem has grown into hundreds, and potentially thousands, of venues worldwide. These platforms now represent critical market infrastructure. If a venue experiences operational failures, rule breaches or technology disruptions, the consequences can ripple across financial markets, affecting institutions, investors and overall market stability and integrity.”
To manage these risks, he stresses, venues publish extensive rulebooks that can define how markets operate, what products can be traded, participant obligations and the controls required to maintain orderly markets.
The greatest risks
Another question that Phullar faces down is what does he see as the greatest risk when venue rules change.
Here, the Corlytics CSGO stresses that the challenge is no longer access to rulebooks but keeping pace with them. He explained that rulebooks are constantly evolving as venues introduce new products, capabilities and regulatory obligations.
He continued, “Financial institutions need accurate, up-to-date intelligence to understand changes quickly and translate them into operational controls, surveillance processes and compliance frameworks. Manageable “by hands” is no longer tenable, technology, data and AI are now required to risk-manage and grow businesses.”
For Phullar, this is particularly important for market surveillance. He states that firms must maintain visibility over trading activity and ensure that orders executed through venue interfaces, APIs and other access channels remain within regulatory guardrails.
He said, “Without a clear understanding of venue rules and changes, institutions risk compliance failures, operational issues and potential market abuse. Without trusted data, organisations run the risk of “navigating blind”.”
The future of rulebook intelligence
What does the future of rulebook intelligence look like? For Phullar, the future of rulebook intelligence lies in transforming complex, constantly evolving venue documentation into actionable intelligence – enabling organisations to manage venue governance by exceptions, where the risk genuinely resides.
He concluded, “By providing structured, current and trusted rulebook data, industry solutions can help financial institutions stay compliant, strengthen controls and take advantage of new trading opportunities with confidence. In increasingly complex electronic markets, effective rulebook intelligence will become a critical capability for maintaining resilience, compliance and competitive advantage.”
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Copyright © 2026 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2026 RegTech Analyst
