Nasdaq Market Surveillance is one of the most robust surveillance tools on the market. Rather than offer discrete pieces of software with single, directed functionalities, Nasdaq Market Surveillance presents a far-ranging suite of features, preparing you to detect potential market abuse across markets, asset classes, and venues.

The solution also benefits from Nasdaq’s unique position as a longtime global operator of 17 exchanges, who help to drive product innovation to evolve with the market. Our large customer network and fluid collaboration with Nasdaq’s own markets enable us to continuously to keep the product at the forefront of regulatory change.

Nasdaq Market Surveillance has the best track record and recognition among regulators, continual investment, a large community of users and the most comprehensive handling of different trading models and asset classes.

Equities, derivatives, cryptocurrency and digital assets, carbon credits, swaps, fixed income, FX, commodities, commercial real estate, electricity and more. Nasdaq’s trading and surveillance technology is reliable and scalable, allowing you to grow and expand with the addition of new asset types as needed.

Nasdaq Market Surveillance provides markets and regulators with a robust platform to detect potentially abusive trading behaviors. Sophisticated algorithms detect patterns of abuse, market manipulation and insider trading, enabling surveillance analysts to filter only events of interest. Nasdaq Market Surveillance technology provides 70+ pre-configured alerts as well as the ability for users to tailor alerting algorithms to create their own ad hoc alerts. The system offers intuitive case focused visualizations as well as case management to help assess and manage each case.

The CFTC expects derivatives markets to maintain effective market surveillance programs designed to protect market integrity and detect potential violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA). Public CFTC materials emphasize that surveillance should support the orderly functioning of futures, options, and swaps markets by identifying risks related to fraud, manipulation, abusive practices, and excessive speculation.

Key expectations referenced by the CFTC include:

• Ongoing monitoring of trading activity, including large trader positions, price movements, and supply‑demand dynamics.
• The ability to identify conduct that could threaten fair and orderly markets, particularly near contract expiration or in stressed market conditions.
• Surveillance programs that evolve with market structure, product complexity, and trading behavior.

While the CFTC does not prescribe a single surveillance model, public guidance, advisory materials, and enforcement actions point to several widely recognized best practices.

These include establishing surveillance programs that are:

• Risk‑based, focusing on products, participants, and behaviors that present higher manipulation or abuse risk.
• Data‑driven, incorporating reliable trade, order, and position data across relevant venues and products.
• Proactive, using alerts and analytics to identify unusual trading behavior rather than relying solely on post‑event reviews.
• Well‑governed, with clear escalation, documentation, and oversight mechanisms.
• Adaptable, regularly reviewed and enhanced as new products, technologies, and market risks emerge.

CFTC communications and market oversight materials consistently emphasize that surveillance programs should be capable of identifying potential misconduct in a timely manner and supporting appropriate regulatory responses.

In recent public remarks, the CFTC’s leadership and Enforcement Division have reiterated that fraud, manipulation, and market abuse remain core enforcement priorities across derivatives markets.

Themes highlighted in speeches and testimony include:

• A focus on serious violations that undermine market integrity, including manipulation and abuse.
• Emphasis on exchanges and market operators acting as a first line of defense through effective surveillance and controls.
• Increased attention to insider trading, market manipulation, and disruptive trading practices, including in evolving markets such as energy, digital assets, and event‑linked derivatives.
• Encouragement of strong compliance programs and cooperation when issues are identified.

These statements reinforce the expectation that surveillance plays a foundational role in maintaining fair and orderly derivatives markets.

The CFTC’s market surveillance program monitors derivatives markets to identify potential threats to fair and orderly trading, including price manipulation, corners and squeezes, disruptive or abusive trading practices, fraud, and violations of speculative position limits.

Surveillance focuses on analyzing trading activity, large trader positions, price relationships, and underlying supply‑and‑demand conditions—particularly in physically delivered contracts and near expiration—to help detect conduct that could distort price discovery or undermine market integrity.