Why Compute Still Trades in Group Chats — Affaan Mustafa & Alejandro Soumah Fernandez, Jump Trading
GPU compute contracts are negotiated and closed via private group chats, not public exchanges
“These transactions occur through Slack messages, X messages, Telegram group chats.”
Jump Trading's compute trading team reveals that large GPU capacity contracts (H100, H200, B300) are closed through private Slack, Telegram, and X group chats rather than any public exchange, making compute markets structurally analogous to OTC commodities dark pools. The market is fragmented across brokers with bespoke bilateral contracts, leaving pricing largely opaque to all but direct participants. For AI teams competing for compute, this means procurement is a relationship and information game, not a transparent marketplace.