How Do ‘Dark Pools’ Differ from RFQ Platforms in Terms of Anonymity?

Dark pools are private exchanges that allow institutional investors to trade large blocks of securities anonymously without pre-trade price transparency. RFQ platforms also offer anonymity but facilitate a direct price discovery process by soliciting quotes from multiple dealers.

The key difference is that dark pools typically use midpoint pricing, whereas RFQ platforms use a competitive quote process to determine the final price.

How Do ‘Indicative Quotes’ Differ from ‘Firm Quotes’ in an RFQ System?
What Are the Advantages of an RFQ System over a Continuous Limit Order Book?
How Does ‘Midpoint Matching’ Facilitate Trade Execution in a Dark Pool?
How Do Dark Pools Compare to RFQ Platforms in Terms of Trade Anonymity and Execution?
What Is ‘Price Discovery’ and How Is It Affected by Dark Pools?
How Does the Latency of Quote Response Affect an RFQ-based Block Trade?
How Do Dark Pools Differ from Both RFQ Platforms and CLOBs?
How Does a Consolidated Order Book (COB) Improve Price Discovery for RFQs?

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