Nasdaq has entered a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining equity of LeveL Markets, operator of the third-largest alternative trading system (dark pool) in the US, though a closing timeline and financial terms have not been disclosed. LeveL Markets allows institutional investors to anonymously match and trade large blocks of shares without moving the public market price; the venue executes more than 7,000 symbols daily, reaches around 2,500 clients through 15-plus order and execution management system integrations, and serves roughly 300 institutional buy-side firms, with average daily volume up 56% last year. The main objective is to advance Nasdaq’s push toward “always-on” global market infrastructure, building on its SEC-approved plan to expand trading of NMS stocks and ETPs from 16 to 23 hours a day. Key players include LeveL Markets CEO Steve Miele, who will continue leading the venue as a standalone entity, and Nasdaq’s Roland Chai, who will lead the new Digital Liquidity Networks division housing the acquisition alongside Nasdaq’s tokenization and digital asset businesses; LeveL Markets was originally formed in 2006 as a joint venture among major banks including Bank of America, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch, with Nasdaq taking a minority stake in 2021. 

Nasdaq to Acquire Dark Pool Venue LeveL Markets in Push for 23-Hour Trading