Back when I used to smoke I would ocassionally hang out with this guy from an investment bank that traded on the Japanese exchange. They had really cool working hours (started a lot later in the day) because we were based in Hawaii which is a few hours behind Japan.
Anyway, the guy told me that they had multiple big red physical kill switches so that they could immediately turn things off if shit ever hit the fan with their systems.
If you have ever spent time in Michigan you'll notice that the manufacturer test vehicles have a big ass red button on the dashboard to kill the vehicle in case something goes wrong.
I cannot imagine doing anything remotely close to this sort of thing without a big ass red kill switch on my desk.
They did have a kill switch. What they did not have was someone with the authority and guts to throw it in time.
This may have something to do with the fact that killing a HFT bot without some kind of orderly wind-down might leave you with some very expensive open positions.
Anyway, the guy told me that they had multiple big red physical kill switches so that they could immediately turn things off if shit ever hit the fan with their systems.
If you have ever spent time in Michigan you'll notice that the manufacturer test vehicles have a big ass red button on the dashboard to kill the vehicle in case something goes wrong.
I cannot imagine doing anything remotely close to this sort of thing without a big ass red kill switch on my desk.