ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS (ECNs) as they are popularly known are well-established trading platforms in the United States (USA). A New York Times article reports that electronic trading is one in four transactions made by individual investors in USA. The goal of ECN's is to cut out intermediaries between buyers and sellers in stock transactions. "Today, ECNs account for approximately 30% of total share volume and 40% of the dollar volume traded in Nasdaq securities. ECNs account for approximately 3% of total share and dollar volume in listed securities.…
