eflow has launched its Global Trends in Market Abuse and Trade Surveillance Report 2026.
According to the company, the report provides a global snapshot of the emerging risks reshaping compliance teams’ priorities and the growing expectations placed on both firms and regulators.
The report was based on research with 300 senior regulatory compliance decision makers in Europe, North America and APAC.
The findings highlighted that AI has become the dominant emerging compliance risk, with nearly seven in ten (69%) financial services firms saying the accelerated adoption of AI will drive compliance issues in the next 12 months.
Alongside this, regulatory uncertainty (65%) and geopolitical instability (54%) continue to intensify pressure on compliance and surveillance teams.
While concern around AI is rising rapidly, most firms remain at an early stage of operational maturity.
eflow said that only 16% of firms have fully deployed AI within their trade surveillance operations today, despite widespread expectation that AI-enabled surveillance will become a core regulatory expectation in the coming years.
A further 31% of firms are actively rolling out AI in specific areas, while 24% plan deployment within the next 12 to 24 months.
However, strategic readiness remains uneven.
Nearly three in ten firms (29%) do not currently have a formal strategy for how AI will be used as part of their trade surveillance strategy, or do not plan to use AI at all, the company added.
Regulatory pressure remains a defining feature of the compliance landscape in 2026.
The company explained that almost two thirds of firms (65%) identify increasing regulatory uncertainty as a major compliance risk, rising to 75% among US firms, compared with 63% in the UK.
More than half of regulatory leaders (53%) also cite keeping pace with regulatory change as one of their top market abuse and surveillance concerns.
The report highlights clear regional differences.
US firms are more likely than their UK peers to flag regulatory uncertainty and crypto markets as key drivers of future compliance risk.
Integrating trade and electronic communications surveillance also remains a significant challenge for US organisations, cited by 58% of firms, compared with 40% across the rest of the world.
Ben Parker, Co-Founder and CEO at eflow commented: “AI is now reshaping both how markets operate and how misconduct can emerge.
“Our 2026 findings show that firms clearly recognise this shift, but many are still building the foundations needed to deploy AI responsibly and effectively within their trade surveillance operations.
“At the same time, regulatory uncertainty and ongoing market volatility continue to place compliance teams under sustained pressure.”
Parker continued: “Stronger collaboration between firms and regulators will be essential to ensure innovation can progress without undermining market integrity,”
As regulatory expectations continue to evolve, firms are increasingly calling for stronger and more transparent relationships with regulators. Half of firms (50%) believe that closer collaboration between regulators and compliance teams would best support the goal of balancing market integrity and growth, while 47% want greater transparency around regulatory expectations and enforcement actions.
The full 2026 Market Abuse and Trade Surveillance Report is available to download here.
