From Buttonwood to Algorithms: How Technology Transformed Trading

Stock trading began under a tree on Wall Street in 1792. The telegraph brought real time prices in the 1840s. The stock ticker in 1867 provided continuous updates. The telephone connected brokers nationwide.

Computers enabled program trading in the 1980s. The internet democratized trading in the 1990s. High frequency trading now executes in microseconds. Each innovation increased speed and volume but also introduced new risks.

Flash crashes, algorithmic errors, and system failures are the modern equivalent of trading floor panics. Technology has made markets more efficient but also more fragile..