no customers. that is why. they make money selling options and selling puts and making them worthless well no customers ,,,no profits...how hard is that ? if people know it's rigged, they won't play. no customers so the 'dealers' or market makers close shop. like any business. or market, vendors close their sales booth.
Just shut up already. If you're sure the markets are rigged go do something else and leave the rest of us free of your ranting!
Friend of mine makes markets in equity options at the IB desk in Greenwich. He basically said their demise is attibutable to a mosaic of factors - 1) so thick with the HFT firms shrinking the spreads 2)getting picked off on their quotes by nimbler faster firms which is a double whammy - your margins are so thin so you don't have a buffer when u get picked off 3) arms race in technology structure to lessens effects of #2)which leads to bigger costs. The last bastion of exchange based MM is prob the commodity space but I suspect that is next...
What about Timber Hill's market making in US equities? And foreign equities? Do you happen to know whether they're still operating (and planning to continue) in those spaces?
He said a bunch of them within TH are looking to be bought by some HF BUT if it falls apart, nobody knows. so next months are pretty critical. I did not talk to him about the components ie US, foreign,etc
I read that Two Sigma bought them. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-interactive-brokers-timber-hill-options-unit