Former Meta Materials CEO Says Virtu May Be Breaking Anti-Trust Laws

In a heated battle on X, former Meta Materials CEO George Palikaras said Virtu may be breaking anti-trust laws through its practices involving the sale of trading data.

The conflict erupted when Palikaras responded to a post by Virtu’s Dougielarge, urging him and his team to refrain from discussing Meta Materials (MMAT) without conducting thorough research.

He further claimed that Virtu had previously pitched its Automated Trading Management (ATM) product to Meta in 2022 and solicited the company again in 2023.

“Hey @Dougielarge, with all due respect, I do not recommend you or anyone at VIRTU’s team ever speaks about MMAT,” Palikaras wrote.

“I sincerely suggest you do your research before you open your big mouth.

Your team at VIRTU was pitching us on your ATM product in 2022 and soliciting us in 2023… do you give me permission as CEO to publicly share your ECM materials and related emails showing how you were boasting that VIRTU was by far the #1 trader for $MMAT???

Here is a taste of data at the image below… I will wait for the answer.”

Palikaras also highlighted a significant statistic regarding Virtu’s market position, citing that retail brokers sent approximately 30% of all daily U.S. retail order flow to Virtu in 2021, according to SEC Rule 605 Data.

He questioned the growth of that flow in subsequent years, asking, “How much of that flow did you gain in 2022, 2023, and expect in 2024?”

Palikaras says that Virtu, under Doug Cifu’s leadership, is becoming a monopoly by undercutting its competitors.

He claimed that the firm is profiting by selling trading data intelligence to institutional clients while misleadingly portraying this practice as beneficial for issuers.

“While that is great for (your) business,” he stated, “in my opinion, VIRTU is potentially breaking antitrust laws (at a minimum).”

Palikaras urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the new leadership at the SEC to investigate Virtu’s operations over the past decade, suggesting that their practices may contribute to broader issues in the market, including failures to deliver (FTDs).

He further challenged Virtu to demonstrate transparency, saying, “If you truly believe that there is NOTHING to worry about, ask your team to publish a whitepaper on letterhead using VIRTU’s ‘tremendous insight and analytics around single-stock and overall market trading.’”

Palikaras emphasized that such transparency would serve the 165 million U.S. retail investors and broker-dealer customers.

As the exchange gained traction, Palikaras posed a provocative question about the relationship between retail brokerage daily order flow, Virtu’s growth in market share, and the rate of FTDs across the market.

“I wonder… if someone looked more closely at the data… would they find any correlation?” he pointed out.

This fiery confrontation raises critical questions about market integrity and the ethical implications of data sales within the trading industry.

As the conversation unfolds, it remains to be seen how Virtu will respond to these serious accusations and whether regulatory bodies will even take action in light of Palikaras’s claims.

But I’m curious to know what you think — leave your thoughts below.

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