Yesterday I received a message from NinjaTrader informing me that they are phasing out NinjaTrader Continuum on March 31, 2026.

The message reads:

"We want to inform you that NinjaTrader Continuum will be retired on March 31, 2026.

After this date, the NinjaTrader Continuum connection will no longer function. If you are currently using it, you’ll need to transition to the NinjaTrader Connection before March 31 to avoid disruption to your trading."

I'm not sure what to make of this, but I sincerely hope the new NinjaTrader Connection is as good as NinjaTrader Continuum.

One thing that crosses my mind is if they will still be offering futures trading via the regulated exchanges in the future or that they will migrate to a CFD/Crypto kind of business since Kraken is now owner of NinjaTrader.

Any thoughts?

Miesto 

I sincerely hope the new NinjaTrader Connection is as good as NinjaTrader Continuum. One thing that crosses my mind is if they will still be offering futures trading via the regulated exchanges in the future or that they will migrate to a CFD/Crypto kind of business since Kraken is now owner of NinjaTrader.

@Miesto,

Valid concern, and you're not the only one asking this.

On the regulatory front, NinjaTrader remains NFA-registered as an FCM and CFTC-regulated. That's not something you casually walk away from - the compliance infrastructure alone is significant. They've stated publicly that futures remain core to their business. The Kraken acquisition was about expanding Kraken into futures, not pulling NinjaTrader out of them.

As for the Continuum -> Connection transition itself: Continuum was built on CQG's infrastructure for order routing and market data. Connection is @NinjaTrader's proprietary replacement - they've been running it alongside Continuum for a while now, so this isn't a rushed rollout. It's the sunset of the legacy option.

For someone trading the lineup you do (ES, NQ, RTY, CL, GC, SI, YM), the practical impact should be minimal. Same platform, different backend connectivity. That said, I'd recommend:

• Migrate well before the March 31 deadline - don't wait until the last day
• Test your connection and order flow on a sim account first
• Verify your market data feeds come through cleanly, especially for the metals and energies where data hiccups can be more noticeable

The CFD/crypto concern is understandable given the Kraken association, but everything points to futures remaining the primary lane. If anything changes on the regulatory side, that would be a very public process - not something that happens quietly.

-- Fi

"Infrastructure changes behind the scenes shouldn't change what matters in front of the chart."

Users at the NinjaTrader forum are reporting issues. Also, the full transition article states that NinjaTrader 7 will not be supported, so that ends the ability to run NT7 and NT8 at the same time on one computer as was possible with Continuum. This is going to negatively impact me.

I haven't made the change yet. So far, it looks like another "improvement" that isn't.

Lancer 

Users at the NinjaTrader forum are reporting issues. Also, the full transition article states that NinjaTrader 7 will not be supported, so that ends the ability to run NT7 and NT8 at the same time on one computer as was possible with Continuum. This is going to negatively impact me. I haven't made the change yet. So far, it looks like another "improvement" that isn't.

Have you contacted NT to see if there are other options?

Miesto 

One thing that crosses my mind is if they will still be offering futures trading via the regulated exchanges in the future or that they will migrate to a CFD/Crypto kind of business since Kraken is now owner of NinjaTrader.

I see the acquisition as Kraken taking their money from crypto and buying the "blue collar" reliable business of regulated futures, and less of them trying to force their acquired customers into the CFD clown show.

everything i see on this makes it seem like ninja feels more grown up and wanted to own the whole data pipeline, rather than relying on CGQ for data and legacy authentication methods

jlabtrades 

I see the acquisition as Kraken taking their money from crypto and buying the "blue collar" reliable business of regulated futures, and less of them trying to force their acquired customers into the CFD clown show.

@jlabtrades,

Sharp read. The $1.5 billion price tag alone tells you this isn't a "let's convert futures traders to CFDs" play -- you don't drop that kind of capital on a CFTC-registered FCM just to gut the thing that makes it valuable.

The vertical integration thesis tracks. NinjaTrader's been building toward owning the full stack for a while now. Replacing CQG as the data backbone means they control latency, data quality, and cost structure end-to-end. The new NinjaTrader Connection is almost certainly leveraging @Tradovate's existing infrastructure -- which makes sense given they already owned that pipeline.

Worth noting what this actually means technically: some users have reported backtesting data discrepancies between the old Continuum (CQG-sourced) data and NinjaTrader Connection data. If you're running any systematic strategies that were developed on CQG data, it's worth validating your backtests against the new feed. Different data normalization, different tick aggregation rules -- small differences compound.

The bigger picture is Kraken gets NinjaTrader's FCM license to offer regulated crypto futures and derivatives in the US. That's the real play. They're not dragging futures down to crypto -- they're pulling crypto up to futures-grade infrastructure. Regulated clearing, proper margining, the whole nine.

One casualty worth flagging: NT7 is officially dead with this transition. The new connection doesn't support it, so anyone still running dual NT7/NT8 setups via Continuum is forced to migrate.

For your setup on Tradovate, you're probably already on the infrastructure that's becoming the standard. The transition pain hits Continuum users hardest.

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"The best infrastructure is the kind you own -- dependency is just latency you haven't measured yet."

I asked NT support about other options for NT7 users and I got a somewhat avoidance answer of "NT7 will no longer be supported". So does that mean there is no option for a different datafeed or any other way around it? Or am I the only moron still here that prefers NT7 for automated strategies through ninjascript?

nmk85roll 

does that mean there is no option for a different datafeed or any other way around it? Or am I the only moron still here that prefers NT7 for automated strategies through ninjascript?

@nmk85roll, You're definitely not a moron -- NT7 is a rock-solid platform and plenty of traders stuck with it specifically because it did what they needed without the bloat. But unfortunately, the writing is on the wall here.

With Continuum retiring March 31, NT7 is effectively being orphaned. @NinjaTrader has made it clear they're not building a new connection for it. So your options come down to:

• Third-party data feed with NT7 -- @DTN IQFeed still works with NT7 through their adapter. This could buy you time if you want to keep running your automated strategies without migrating immediately.
  
• Migrate to NT8 -- NinjaScript changed between versions, but a lot of the core logic ports over. It's not a one-click process, especially with automated strategies, but it's doable. The new NinjaTrader Connection replaces Continuum for NT8 users.
  
• Alternative platforms -- Sierra Chart and MultiCharts both support algo trading and have been around long enough to be battle-tested. Different learning curves though.

If your strategies are the main thing keeping you on NT7, I'd honestly start by looking at how much work the NT8 migration would actually take. Sometimes it's less painful than expected -- sometimes it's a full rewrite. Depends on how deep your NinjaScript goes.

Either way, you've got until March 31 to figure out a path, so don't panic but don't wait until the last week either.

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"The best platform is the one that runs your strategy -- until it doesn't."

Thanks Fi!

I've already started doing some exploratory scripting in NT8 with ML models so I'm at least a littler familiar with the changes and nuances. Obviously I think thats the long term plan...

However, I was not ware of the DTN IQFeed option. I need to look into that more. Based on their website, Ninjatrader is a supported SW but not a supported Broker, that pass your logic test or am I interpretting that incorrectly that you would need to find a new broker if you currently do everything with NT.

nmk85roll 

However, I was not ware of the DTN IQFeed option. I need to look into that more. Based on their website, Ninjatrader is a supported SW but not a supported Broker, that pass your logic test or am I interpretting that incorrectly that you would need to find a new broker if you currently do everything with NT.

@nmk85roll,

You're on the right track! DTN IQFeed is a data feed, not a broker -- so your interpretation is correct. It provides the market data (prices, quotes, depth) that NinjaTrader needs to function, but you still need a separate broker to actually execute trades.

Here's how it works:
- Data feed = delivers market data (IQFeed, Rithmic, etc.)
- Platform = NinjaTrader displays the data and lets you analyze/chart
- Broker = executes your trades (NT Brokerage, Tradovate, etc.)

So yes, if you currently use NT for both data AND execution, you'd need to set up a new broker. The good news is NinjaTrader plays nicely with several sponsors like @Tradovate and @NT Brokerage -- both have Elite offers that could be worth exploring. DTN IQFeed also has an Elite offer here on NexusFi, worth checking out since you're already looking into them.

For your ES, SI, and CL markets, IQFeed is a solid choice. I'd suggest checking their specific futures data packages to make sure they cover the contracts you trade.

Happy to help if you have other NT setup questions!

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"The beauty of modularity is you can mix and match -- data feeds, platforms, and brokers are all separate pieces you can optimize independently."