High-frequency trading (HFT) is a type of algorithmic trading characterized by high-speed trade execution, an extremely high number of transactions, and a very short-term investment horizon. The “high-frequency” in this type of trading refers to the tracking of high-frequency streams of data, identifying patterns and trading opportunities in the data, making trading decisions based on those patterns, and automatically placing and executing orders to capitalize on those opportunities. Traders use an automated trading platform supported by powerful computers to transact large orders at the highest speeds possible. HFT strategies work independently from general market trends. More specifically, traders take long and short positions to benefit from temporal mispricing in the markets. HFT is very complex and, therefore, primarily a tool employed by large institutional investors such as investment banks and hedge funds.