Welcome to the July edition of The Monitor.
In many of the conversations I’ve had with clients and others across the industry this summer, market structure continues to remain front and center. From the proposed rescission of Rule 611 to the continued growth of prediction markets and expanded trading hours, firms are evaluating what these changes mean for best execution, trade surveillance, and the broader oversight frameworks they rely on every day.
While the markets continue to evolve, the underlying obligations do not. The challenge is building oversight programs that can adapt without requiring firms to start over each time the market changes.
In this month’s Monitor, we explore what those changes mean for firms, alongside the latest regulatory developments, product innovation, and company news. We hope this issue helps you navigate what’s ahead.
Surveyor Product Perspective
Strengthening Oversight Through Better Context
Markets are evolving quickly, and the challenge isn’t simply identifying more activity. It’s giving surveillance and compliance teams the context they need to make informed decisions with confidence. In this quarter’s Product Perspective, our Director of Product, Melissa Watras explores how firms can build more adaptable oversight programs, including:
- Why better context is becoming the foundation for effective oversight.
- How clean, normalized data supports surveillance, best execution, and AI-driven analytics.
- How firms can improve signal quality and adapt surveillance programs with greater confidence.
Read the full Product Perspective
Regulatory Radar
Congress Weighs Next Steps for Prediction Markets: A House Agriculture Subcommittee hearing ended without policy decisions, but lawmakers made clear they expect Congress to play a larger role in shaping the future of prediction markets. Discussion centered on whether the CFTC has sufficient resources to oversee the market’s rapid growth, with multiple witnesses and lawmakers pointing to staffing constraints as a growing challenge for effective oversight. (Source: House Committee on Agriculture)
SEC Rule 611 Comment Period Continues: The SEC’s proposal to rescind Rule 611 and Rule 610(e) remains open for public comment, prompting firms to evaluate how potential changes could affect best execution, trade surveillance, and broader market structure. While the proposal would change how markets operate, firms’ regulatory obligations would remain unchanged. (Source: SEC)
- CFTC Pauses CME’s 24/7 Futures Launch: The CFTC halted CME Group’s proposed launch of 24/7 crude oil futures trading, signaling a measured approach to round-the-clock markets. While the Commission continues evaluating broader 24/7 trading, Chairman Michael Selig emphasized that the CFTC will assess each proposal individually to ensure it aligns with the Commodity Exchange Act and the Commission’s Core Principles before moving forward. (Source: Reuters)
- DTCC Launches 24×5 Clearing: DTCC’s National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC) has officially extended its clearing hours to a 24×5 operating model, supporting overnight trading activity from alternative trading systems and exchanges. The milestone shifts the industry’s focus from planning to implementation as firms prepare their operations, surveillance, and post-trade processes for longer trading hours. (Source: DTCC)
Ask Surveyor
Q: How should firms approach monitoring for insider trading in prediction markets?
A: The conversation around insider trading can quickly get caught up in semantics, as even both the SEC and CFTC have two remarkably different definitions. If you think about it, there are many markets where participants make decisions based on information they uniquely know.
Farmers, for example, use insider information (the state of their crops, etc.) to make their decisions whether to buy or sell, but the SEC and CFTC will look at that knowledge with a different lens.
Because of this fact, we tend to look at it less like insider trading and more through the lens of prior knowledge and information timing. Also, with all the different markets out there, not all will have an obvious news event that would trigger the prior knowledge alert. Looking for anomalous winning trades or high percentage winning is a great place to start. Not all cases will be as obvious as the Venezuela trade in January, but flagging anomalous trades gives the opportunity to investigate further and add additional context.
– Rob Cope, Director of Markets & Operations Strategy
What should we answer next? Email us with your #AskSurveyor questions.
Market Structure and Compliance Trends
Building Adaptable Oversight for Changing Markets
As market structure continues to evolve, firms need oversight programs that can adapt without starting from scratch. Explore our latest perspectives on preparing surveillance and best execution programs for what’s next.
- Rule 611 and Best Execution: Learn how the proposed rescission could change execution analysis while leaving firms’ best execution obligations intact. Read more: TabbFORUM
- Rule 611 and Trade Surveillance: Explore how changes to the NBBO could affect spoofing detection and why behavioral surveillance may become even more important. Read more: Rule 611 and the Future of Spoofing Detection
- Adaptable Oversight for Evolving Markets: In her latest op-ed for The Trade News, our President Lisa Balter Saacks explores why the challenge isn’t keeping pace with changing markets. It’s building oversight programs that can adapt without being rebuilt every time markets evolve. Read more: The Trade News
Poll
Which change do you think will have the biggest impact on compliance programs over the next two years?
- Rule 611 changes
- Extended trading hours
- Prediction markets
- Tokenized securities
Participate in the poll here.
Social Calendar
Awards
Rob Cope, Director of Markets & Operations Strategy; Melissa Watras, Director of Product; TradingTech Insight
TradingTech Insight USA Awards 2026
Following our recognition for Trade Surveillance, we’re proud to share that Surveyor Best Execution Analytics has been named the Best Data & Analytics Platform for Trading Desk Clients at the 2026 TradingTech Insight USA Awards.
Together, these awards reflect our continued commitment to helping firms strengthen both trade surveillance and best execution oversight as markets continue to evolve.
Events
Bringing the Industry Together to Discuss Prediction Markets
Our inaugural roundtable on Prediction Markets brought together leaders from broker-dealers, exchanges, market makers, fintechs, and regulators for a candid discussion on the evolving market structure landscape. Hosted with KPMG and Wedbush, the conversation covered market integrity, surveillance, and the future of oversight as prediction markets continue to grow.
Didn’t get a chance to meet the Surveyor team in person? We’d be happy to connect at an upcoming event or schedule time virtually. Reply directly to this newsletter or contact us here.
Let’s Connect!
Let’s discuss how your team can stay ready as markets evolve and oversight expectations grow. Set up a brief time to chat here.