The international derivatives market The CME Group has published a notice of disciplinary action against WH Trading, LLC.
According to a settlement offer in which WH Trading neither admitted nor denied the rule violations underlying the penalty, a Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Committee on Business Conduct found that between November 10, 2022, July 26, 2024, and then May 20, 25, July 20, an automated trading system2, July 20 (ATS) WH Trading introduced multiple unique prices with gradually widening bid and ask prices in short-term euro interest rate futures and quarterly SOFR futures between commodity and intra-commodity spreads, which caused abnormal prices to spread in the market.
Specifically, the activity included 191 instances in which WH Trading sent media prices that exceeded 200 distinct prices in less than one second.
After being made aware of the issue by Market Regulation, WH Trading lowered its algorithm’s messaging limit, but the anomalous pricing continued.
The panel found that WH Trading’s rapid price dissemination did not truly reflect the market environment and was detrimental to the interest or welfare of the Exchange in violation of Rule 432.Q.
Further, the team found that while WH Trading’s ATS would respond and provide liquidity to other participants, it responded to its own implied prices in illiquid markets, which repeatedly resulted in lower bid prices and higher bid prices.
Accordingly, the Panel found that WH Trading failed to diligently supervise its ATS in violation of Rule 432.W.
Under the settlement offer, the commission ordered WH Trading to pay a fine of $30,000.
The effective date of the disciplinary notice is October 31, 2025.