Nasdaq Closes Purchase of Off-Exchange Equity Venue LeveL Markets

Nasdaq announced on October 15, 2026, that it has completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets, LLC, which the company described as a leading off-exchange equity execution venue and operator of one of the largest Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) in the United States. Nasdaq called the closing a key milestone in its strategy to advance always-on markets infrastructure, as investors increasingly expect seamless access to market services across venues and asset classes.

LeveL Markets provides institutional investors with a scaled, deeply connected execution platform that processes hundreds of millions of shares each day across more than 7,000 symbols. The venue reaches more than 2,500 clients through more than 15 order and execution management system integrations. Nasdaq stated that LeveL Markets’ average daily volume grew 56 percent year-over-year in 2025, making it the third-largest ATS in the United States by trading volume.

“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’ platform and client communities to drive long-term growth and innovation.

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. Nasdaq said it intends to operate the venue with the execution quality clients expect while investing in its technology and capabilities to accelerate long-term growth.

The August 2026 Definitive Agreement

Nasdaq announced on August 11, 2026, that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the equity interests of LeveL Markets. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. At the time, Nasdaq said the transaction was expected to close following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals, and that the two companies would continue to operate separately until closing.

“Markets are evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities for investors, issuers, and market participants worldwide,” Tal Cohen, President of Nasdaq, said in the August announcement. “LeveL Markets brings together the scale, connectivity, and institutional relationships that can help accelerate our long-term growth strategy.”

Steve Miele, CEO of LeveL Markets, said at the time that Nasdaq had been a valued partner in the company’s growth and that, as part of Nasdaq, LeveL Markets would have a greater ability to invest in its solutions, expand opportunities for clients across asset classes and around the globe, and continue driving innovation through collaboration.

The August announcement also established the organizational structure that now houses the venue. Nasdaq formed the Digital Liquidity Networks organization, which brings together liquidity platforms, tokenization capabilities, and a portfolio of financial technology solutions serving the digital assets ecosystem, with those solutions supporting key market functions across the full trade life cycle. Chai was appointed to lead the organization after heading Nasdaq’s European Market Services organization since 2023 and spearheading the company’s digital assets strategy since early 2026. Nikolaj Kosakewitsch was named to succeed Chai as Head of European Market Services, effective immediately, with a successor to Kosakewitsch as President of Nasdaq Copenhagen to be announced at a later date.

At the agreement stage, Nasdaq also said that following closing, LeveL Markets would maintain the structural separateness, participant confidentiality, and operational integrity the company described as fundamental to the venue’s role in the institutional equity market.

From Minority Stake to Full Ownership

The completed acquisition extends a relationship that began with a 2021 minority investment. In the August 2, 2021 announcement, Nasdaq said it had acquired a significant minority stake in LeveL ATS, joining owners that included Bank of America (BAC ), Citi, and Fidelity. The terms of that investment were not disclosed. Nasdaq said in the completion release that the 2021 stake was part of a broader always-on strategy, intended to establish a presence in off-exchange equities and to build an overall capability in alternative market structures.

LeveL ATS was launched in 2006 and founded by a consortium of banks as an independently operated U.S. equity dark pool. Its continuous crossing platform was built to give customers seamless trading in a stable dark pool environment while minimizing information leakage and market impact. By the time of Nasdaq’s 2021 investment, LeveL had launched three proprietary volume-weighted-average-price order types: VWAP Block, VWAP Slice, and VWAP Full Day.

Following its merger with Luminex in 2022, LeveL Markets serves more than 300 institutional buy-side firms, according to the August announcement. LeveL Markets also offers LeveL Connect, a buy-side connectivity gateway providing trading opportunities in Europe and Canada, alongside its continuous crossing platform, VWAP trajectory order types, and low-latency trading solutions.