Much has been written about currency speculators in the past, much of it with a few rare exceptions utter nonsense. As noted above, the very term “speculator” can create an emotional reaction. Here, in this section, we seek a dispassionate analysis of just who are the currency speculators, how and why they operate and their function within the overall currency market. The benchmark for this analysis is obviously the de?nition of currency speculation given earlier; that is someone who trades in currencies without an underlying, attached asset. Trade and investment do not count because of necessity they have attached, underlying assets. What is left — the vast majority — in currency market volume is speculation. So who takes part in this activity? Broadly speaking, currency speculators can be divided into the following main groups.