CEOs Of Stock Exchanges Brawl On CNBC As NYSE Floor Traders Go Crazy

Two CEOs of exchanges got in a nasty brawl on CNBC's "Halftime Report" over high-frequency trading.

William O'Brien, the CEO of BATS, asked Brad Katsuyama, the CEO and president of IEX, if he thinks the markets are rigged. He also accused him of "parsing his words."

Katsuyama defended himself.

"I believe the markets are rigged. And I believe you're a part of it. If you want to do this, let's do this."

The floor brokers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange exploded with cheers.

"You had a three-hundred page commercial," O'Brien shot back later in the interview referring to Michael Lewis' new book "Flash Boys".

The discussion also turned to the discussion the term "High Frequency Trading." Katsuyama said he thought we should get rid of that word.

"You used it 22 times in your book!" O'Brien said.

"It's not his book," CNBC correspondent Bob Pisani jumped in before they brought Michael Lewis back into the discussion.

"I've been enjoying that," Lewis said. "It's great to see Bill...tell Brad he's doing this to promote a business model." He added that O'Brien was saying "Shame on you," to Katsuyama.

"I'll say it again," O'Brien shot back.

"I think he's outrageous. I think he's part of the problem," Lewis said.