Nasdaq has completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets, LLC, an off-exchange equity execution venue that now ranks as the third-largest Alternative Trading System (ATS, a private venue matching buy-side orders outside registered exchanges) in the United States by trading volume.

The deal closes a four-year build-out that began in August 2021, when Nasdaq first bought a minority stake to establish a presence in off-exchange equities and alternative market structures. LeveL Markets will continue to operate as a registered ATS subject to FINRA oversight, with its own dedicated management team under Nasdaq's Digital Liquidity Networks organization.

What Does the Venue Bring Nasdaq?

The numbers frame the asset. LeveL Markets processes hundreds of millions of shares each day across more than 7,000 symbols, according to the announcement. It reaches more than 2,500 clients through more than 15 order and execution management system (OMS/EMS) integrations — the connectivity layer through which institutional desks route orders.

Its average daily volume grew 56 percent year-over-year in 2025. That growth trajectory places the venue behind only two other ATSs in US equity volume, a position that gives Nasdaq immediate scale in the off-exchange segment, where a substantial share of US equity trading now prints.

"We are pleased to welcome LeveL Markets' clients to Nasdaq and look forward to supporting a seamless transition," said Roland Chai, Head of Nasdaq's Digital Liquidity Networks. "LeveL Markets advances our vision for more connected, always-on markets by adding a scaled off-exchange liquidity platform and execution expertise to Nasdaq's technology, market capabilities, and client relationships."

Chai added that Nasdaq will "continue to develop LeveL Markets' strong platform and client communities to drive long-term growth and innovation."

What Does This Change for Trading Desks?

For buy-side desks, the immediate operational picture is continuity. The venue keeps its ATS registration, its FINRA oversight, and its dedicated management team, so routing, connectivity, and execution workflows remain in place during integration. Nasdaq states it intends to operate LeveL Markets with the execution quality clients expect while investing in its technology and capabilities.

For sell-side and execution venues, the competitive question is consolidation. An exchange operator that owns both lit markets and a top-three dark venue can bundle liquidity access, market data, and technology across the execution stack. That positions Nasdaq against other operators pursuing what it calls always-on markets infrastructure — seamless access to services across venues and asset classes, which the company says investors increasingly expect.

What remains asserted rather than measured is the technology investment plan. Nasdaq has not disclosed deal terms, integration timelines, or specific platform commitments beyond a general intention to invest.

The Strategic Lineage

The acquisition completes a strategy visible since the 2021 minority stake. At that point, Nasdaq said the investment was designed to build capability in alternative market structures. Full ownership now folds a scaled off-exchange venue into the Digital Liquidity Networks unit, alongside Nasdaq's existing market technology and client relationships.

The timing tracks an off-exchange market that has grown steadily as a share of US equity volume, making ATS access a structural requirement for institutional execution rather than an optional routing choice.

Watch for integration signals in coming quarters: any changes to LeveL Markets' fee schedule, OMS/EMS connectivity roadmap, or order-type functionality will indicate how quickly Nasdaq intends to fuse the ATS with its broader liquidity network.