Nasdaq agreed to buy LeveL Markets, a Boston-based operator of an alternative trading system (ATS) known as a dark pool, to expand in off-exchange stock trading. Terms were not disclosed.

Nasdaq said LeveL has grown into the third-largest ATS in the US by trading volume, processing hundreds of millions of shares a day and serving more than 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients.

After the deal closes, Nasdaq said LeveL will operate within its Digital Liquidity Networks organization while retaining its management team, structural separateness, participant confidentiality, and operational integrity.

Dark pools let investors trade anonymously outside public exchanges. Off-exchange venues and internalized trading accounted for 49.9% of US equity trading volume in July, according to compiled data.

The data also showed 2025 was the first full year on record in which hidden trades made up more than half of total trading volume.

Nasdaq said the acquisition is expected to close once customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, are met. LeveL will remain a registered ATS under oversight by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

🔗 Source: Bloomberg