Nasdaq acquires LeveL Markets to boost tokenization

Nasdaq has officially acquired LeveL Markets, the third-largest alternative trading system in the United States, to bolster its digital asset infrastructure. This strategic move integrates LeveL Markets into Nasdaq's new Digital Liquidity Networks unit, which focuses on merging traditional liquidity with blockchain-based tokenization. By leveraging LeveL Markets' existing network, which serves over 300 institutional firms and processes hundreds of millions of shares daily, Nasdaq aims to facilitate the transition toward 24/7 programmable financial markets. The acquisition is a significant milestone for the RWA sector, as it validates the institutional push to represent traditional securities on-chain for increased settlement efficiency and transparency. This development follows a period of rapid growth in the tokenized stock market, which has expanded from approximately $381 million to nearly $2.5 billion in distributed value over the last year. Nasdaq intends to use this infrastructure to enable a hybrid trading environment where tokenized assets can coexist with traditional stocks. Ultimately, this acquisition signals a major shift toward continuous, always-on global markets that operate independently of traditional exchange hours.