Nasdaq agreed on Aug. 11 to acquire all equity interests in LeveL Markets, moving from minority investor to full owner of the third-largest U.S. alternative trading system by volume and expanding its reach in off-exchange U.S. equities. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. LeveL, which trades more than 7,000 symbols a day for over 2,500 buy-side and sell-side clients and connects through more than 15 order and execution management systems, will remain a separately managed, FINRA-regulated alternative trading system after closing. Nasdaq plans to place LeveL inside its new Digital Liquidity Networks unit as it prepares to launch 23-hour weekday trading on Dec. 6 after SEC approval in April and advances tokenized securities infrastructure approved in March, including DTC-based settlement and an xStocks-powered gateway with Payward, Kraken's parent company, that is expected to begin operating in the first half of 2027.