Today the company announced that it is entering a definitive agreement to acquire LeveL Markets LLC, a leading off-exchange equity execution venue in the United States and operator of LeveL ATS.

LeveL Markets provides a scaled, institutionally connected execution platform that reaches more than 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients. This agreement expands Nasdaq’s ability to serve diverse client needs across the full spectrum of liquidity.

Today Nasdaq also announced that it is establishing Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN), which will bring together the company’s expertise in digital assets and market modernization. DLN will build on and expand the capabilities, investments, and solutions Nasdaq has already developed to support market participants as they seek strong standards of resilience, transparency, and trust while increasingly operating in markets beyond traditional exchanges.

Roland Chai, who has led Nasdaq’s digital assets strategy since early 2026 and its European Market Services business since 2023, has been appointed to lead DLN. Nikolaj Kosakewitsch has been appointed President of European Market Services, succeeding Chai.

“Digital Liquidity Networks is a natural extension of the role Nasdaq has long played in the financial system: helping markets evolve while preserving the confidence, transparency, and integrity that underpin investor trust,” said Chai.

Building the Architecture for the Next Era

Markets are evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities for investors, issuers, and market participants worldwide. Bringing these capabilities together creates a significant opportunity for Nasdaq to continue to play a role in reducing friction, expanding access, and making markets more efficient.

“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.

Nasdaq first acquired a minority stake in LeveL Markets in August 2021, as part of a broader strategic initiative to establish a presence in off-exchange equities and to build capability in alternative market structures. LeveL Markets’ volume grew by 56% between 2024 and 2025, according to the company.

The platform now ranks as the third-largest ATS in the United States by volume, executing across more than 7,000 symbols per day and processing hundreds of millions of shares daily.

The scale, connectivity, and institutional relationships of LeveL Markets’ combined with Nasdaq’s technology, expertise, and global reach will help strengthen Nasdaq’s ability to support clients as market structure continues to evolve.

The creation of DLN extends Nasdaq’s critical role in navigating always-on markets.

“We believe the coming decade will bring meaningful changes to market structure,” Chai said. “We see a significant opportunity to help shape that future.”

Underpinned by the same principles of transparency, resilience, and investor protection that have made Nasdaq an industry leader, DLN will extend the company’s role across the full capital markets ecosystem.