"trading platform systematically abused customer orders for years." Physical abuse? bruises or broken bones? why get into a "dark pool" in the first place? Might be alligators in the dark water.
Dark pools are cheaper if you can get the fill. Sometimes it helps to pick the meat from between the teeth of the alligators, if you're a bird (small guy.)
Do those guys even do high frequency trading? Operating a dark pool and HFT are two different things. Going to their web site and looking up the hype for their "Alph Pro", I see this: 3. Strategy Execution Your instructions are executed using predictive switching to limit adverse selection costs by HFT. ...[hype]... As a result, your order is largely protected from adverse selection by high frequency traders. So, the current scandal suggests that their algorithms didn't work so well, and perhaps they were deliberately ripping their customers off, but in any case I don't see any indication they were doing HFT themselves.
I'm right here buddy... what do you want from me? Your point is that because an operator of a dark pool mistreated orders that all involved with HFT are scum? that's a very logical and rational conclusion...
Is there no act that you won't attempt to defend? Kind of pointless to even discuss it then. They'll cut their own throats eventually.
please point out how & where I defended them I agree with you that this one instance is terrible. Just because someone shot (Insert name here but for the thread try: Lincoln, JFK, Reagan, Giffords, the Pope) does that mean guns should have been outlawed? Put Gabby in with some good company but she just might make a recovery and make it to that level. You are an attention seeking fool who does not understand the markets. The entire system is based on electronic trading and clearing. Are you suggesting that the whole system be taken down?
I understand them better than you'd like. So, all the folks that are claiming hft is nothing but a frontrunning scheme, they are all wrong, and you're right. Hey, if you can get away with it, I guess thievery is a good career choice.