Our story begins in 1982 on the active trade pit floors of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Virtu's founder, Vincent Viola, established himself as a successful, independent trader through the open outcry auction system. Vinnie witnessed the emergence of electronic trading first hand and recognized the power and scalability that technological efficiencies could have on global markets. In 2008, he formed Virtu Financial to continue market making in a new era.
In 2015, Virtu went public making our company one of the first publicly traded market makers in the world. In June 2017, Virtu acquired KCG Holdings, forming a leading market making firm focused on client trading solutions, liquidity services and the best market making technologies.
Though our heritage will always be the 'local' in the pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange, Virtu has fulfilled our vision to be a leading financial technology firm in every major market around the world.