21X to distribute tokenised assets via US equity dark pools operator LeveL Markets

• European digital assets exchange 21X is offering buy- and sell-side customers of LeveL Markets access to tokenised financial instruments

• Customers of the LeveL Markets equity trading dark pools for buy- and sell-side institutions will access tokenised instruments through existing interfaces

• Institutional order flows are expected between traditional and tokenised instruments and vice-versa

21X, the Frankfurt-based token exchange licensed under the DLT Plot Regime administered by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is partnering with LeveL Markets.

LeveL Markets is a U.S.-based broker-dealer and that operates two equity dark pools and Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs).

Formed through the 2022 merger between a buy – and a sell-side equity dark pool and ATS - Level ATS, founded in 2006, and Luminex, founded in 2015 - LeveL Markets serves asset managers, banks and broker dealers trading equities with trading technology as well as trading services.

The objective of the partnership is to make it easy for institutional money to flow in both directions between traditional and tokenised markets without forcing asset managers, broker-dealers and banks to reconfigure their systems.

“Institutions want the benefits of tokenization without re-engineering their entire trading stack,” says Max Heinzle, CEO at 21X. “By partnering with LeveL Markets, we will embed wallet-based rails directly into proven institutional workflows, making tokenised markets immediately usable for professional traders.”

In essence, LeveL Markets customers will be able to buy, sell and hold tokenised financial instruments in digital wallets alongside buying, selling and holding traditional securities through brokerage accounts.

“LeveL Markets has always focused on improving execution quality and reducing friction for institutional participants,” says Steve Miele, CEO at LeveL Markets. “This partnership with 21X extends that mission into the next generation of market infrastructure, giving our clients seamless access to tokenised instruments while preserving the experience, controls and performance they expect.”

Importantly, LeveL Markets customers will experience the cost savings of direct access and the benefit of reduced settlement risk because token trades will settle atomically.