#ATS

Nasdaq to acquire LeveL Markets in push toward ‘always

Nasdaq has entered into an agreement to acquire LeveL Markets, the third-largest alternative trading system in the United States, to accelerate its development of tokenized and always-on market infrastructure. This acquisition integrates LeveL Markets into Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks unit, which focuses on combining traditional liquidity platforms with blockchain-based settlement and tokenization capabilities. LeveL Markets currently processes hundreds of millions of shares daily for over 2,500 institutional clients and has seen a 56% increase in average daily trading volume in 2025. The move aligns with Nasdaq’s broader strategy to enable the trading of tokenized securities alongside traditional equities, a proposal currently under SEC review involving the Depository Trust Company. By securing this execution network, Nasdaq aims to support the industry-wide shift toward 24/7 trading cycles and programmable assets. This acquisition highlights the growing institutional commitment to bridging traditional equity markets with distributed ledger technology. As other major exchanges like the NYSE and Cboe pursue similar 24/7 initiatives, Nasdaq’s move underscores the competitive race to define the future of digital asset settlement.

Cointelegraph — RWA Tokenization·2h ago