The Knight Capital Disaster: Losing 440m in 45 Minutes (2023)
Postedabout 2 months agoActiveabout 2 months ago
specbranch.comTechstory
calmneutral
Debate
20/100
High-Frequency TradingSoftware DevelopmentLegacy Systems
Key topics
High-Frequency Trading
Software Development
Legacy Systems
The Knight Capital disaster, where the company lost $440M in 45 minutes, is discussed in the context of software development choices and technological advancements.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Light discussionFirst comment
5m
Peak period
1
0-1h
Avg / period
1
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 12, 2025 at 6:13 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM EST
5m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
1 comments in 0-1h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 12, 2025 at 6:18 PM EST
about 2 months ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 45908240Type: storyLast synced: 11/17/2025, 6:03:09 AM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
Given when the software was developed, I'd be willing to wager that neither were an option when they developed the protocol they used. This is like writing about how some software from 1970 was written in FORTRAN instead of Java, surely it was for the performance...