Auctions have been around for centuries and provide a fair and transparent way for a seller to connect with potential buyers.  The finance industry has in the past used aspects of the auction design to provide liquidity on demand to those clients wanting to shift blocks of stock around.  The advent of order matching and the rise of algorithmic trading has increased volume but often gives a false impression of liquidity shown by the flash crash of 2010.  Sometimes a new shiny toy is not always better than the incumbent.