Tyler Gellasch is the executive director of the Healthy Markets Association.

Which market structure changes do you expect to take place in 2018?
After years of contemplating reforms to how markets operate, the SEC is finally poised to act. With the European regulators, the NY Attorney General, FINRA, and even the courts driving market structure reforms over the past couple years, we expect the SEC to retake its rightful position as the world’s leading trading regulator. A full Commission and a true market structure expert at the top of the SEC could help a lot. We expect the agency will finally adopt ATS and order routing disclosure reforms, propose a maker/taker pilot (with a “zero” bucket), propose reforms to market data and the roles of exchanges, issue long-overdue guidance on best execution, crack down on coin offerings and cryptocurrencies, propose reforms to increase oversight of fixed income trading, and kill the tick pilot. Put simply, we think they’re going to make a big dent in the massive backlog of basic reforms.

Which market structure changes should take place in 2018?
As Healthy Markets has talked about quite a bit, start with the major equities reforms that have been debated for the past several years, and then bring the fixed income markets into this century.

What do you see as the next watershed moment for the industry?
A race between a crackdown on cryptocurrencies and coin offerings and a broad market correction

The new year will be known as “The Year of…?”
The year a fully staffed SEC finally addressed the trading markets.

What do you view as the most important lesson of 2017?
The future is dark for the current equities exchange business model.

Which hot topics/hype should be retired?
The notion that removing information and rights from investors will spur investment.

What do you expect to be the skill sets most in demand in 2018?
Blockchain developer and M&A lawyers for financial firms.

Why do you expect investments in fintech to rise, plateau, or trail off in 2018?
Expect modest increases, while investors start to discriminate more, and focus on tangible cost savings…