Nasdaq to Acquire LeveL Markets and Launches Digital Liquidity Networks for Always-On Trading

Quick Summary

Nasdaq is acquiring LeveL Markets, the third-largest U.S. Alternative Trading System (ATS), to bolster its always-on markets strategy. Simultaneously, Nasdaq launched Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN) to integrate digital assets and market modernization, providing institutional investors with scaled, transparent access to both traditional and tokenized liquidity pools.

How Does Nasdaq Enhance Liquidity Through LeveL Markets?

Nasdaq solves the challenge of fragmented liquidity by acquiring LeveL Markets, a premier off-exchange execution venue. This move integrates a platform that already connects over 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients, significantly expanding Nasdaq's reach beyond traditional exchange boundaries. By absorbing the LeveL ATS, Nasdaq gains a foothold in a venue that processes hundreds of millions of shares daily across more than 7,000 symbols.

• Market Position: LeveL Markets is currently the third-largest ATS in the United States.
• Growth Metrics: The platform saw a 56% volume increase between 2024 and 2025.
• Strategic Continuity: This acquisition follows Nasdaq's initial minority stake investment in August 2021.

What is the Role of Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN)?

The Digital Liquidity Networks initiative represents Nasdaq's commitment to market modernization and the integration of digital assets. Led by Roland Chai, DLN is designed to reduce friction in the trading of tokenized instruments and digital assets. It provides the resilient architecture required for always-on markets, ensuring that institutional participants can trade continuously across different geographies and financial instruments with the same transparency and integrity found in traditional markets.

“Digital assets, tokenized instruments and new forms of market infrastructure are expressions of a broader, accelerating transformation of the architecture of capital markets themselves, one designed to make markets more continuous and accessible across asset classes, geographies, and financial instruments,” said Chai.

How Will This Acquisition Impact Institutional Trading?

For institutional investors, this deal simplifies access to diverse liquidity pools. By combining LeveL Markets' connectivity with Nasdaq's global technology stack, the firm is building a unified market infrastructure. This infrastructure is specifically designed to handle the accelerating transformation of capital markets, where the lines between traditional equities and digital assets are increasingly blurred. The appointment of Nikolaj Kosakewitsch as President of European Market Services further ensures that these always-on markets strategies are executed with regional expertise.

FF NEWS TAKE:

Nasdaq’s acquisition of LeveL Markets and the launch of DLN is a definitive signal that always-on markets are no longer a futuristic concept but a current strategic priority. By securing the third-largest U.S. ATS, Nasdaq isn't just buying volume; it's buying the infrastructure necessary to bridge the gap between legacy equities and tokenized digital assets. This moves the needle by forcing other major exchanges to accelerate their own digital asset roadmaps or risk irrelevance in a 24/7 trading world.