Patent ID: 8768819

Claim:
A method comprising the steps of: at one or more trading computer(s), receiving trading orders from trading entities, the trading orders each including a specified instrument, and at least one of a specified quantity and a specified price, and storing the trading orders without making the trading orders known to open market platforms; sending from trading computer(s) that store the trading orders to one or more query-receiving ones of the trading computers queries seeking matches for trading orders stored at the query-sending trading computer(s), the queries specifying the specified instrument, and at least one of the specified quantity and the specified price; at the query-receiving trading computer(s), attempting to match received queries against trading orders stored at the respective query-receiving trading computer while keeping trading orders and queries confidential from trading entities other than the entities that entered the respective trading orders, and informing a trading entity of a received query only when a match is detected between one of the trading entity's orders and a received query, the informing being to obtain approval of the trading entity to trade between the matched trading order and the matched received inquiry; and facilitating execution of a trade between the trading entity associated with the trading order underlying the query matched by the query-receiving trading computer and the trading entity associated with the matching trading order.