A better question is why do we even have &#x27;High Frequency Traders&#x27;?<p>Wouldn&#x27;t the market be better served by a window structure with a scale on a more human timespan?  Say a 5 min process in which:<p>* for 4 min orders are taken in confidential secret.<p>* there is a 1 min blackout window in which no orders are taken, and in which any results of settling the outcome of orders is not published.<p>* At the end of that period the new results are published.  (It doesn&#x27;t matter who reacts first, it&#x27;s who reacts best.)<p>The profit between what sellers are asking for and what the buyers are willing to pay still needs to be accounted for.  This could be the market&#x27;s operating fee (the cost of the sale&#x27;s commission), it could be attributed to the government as a form of sales tax, it could be returned in some way to the parties involved (buyers pay less, sellers earn more), other, or some combination of the above.