Year-in-Review (Special Section begins on Page 15):
- Off-exchange market share hit a second consecutive record high in 2025, reaching 50.61%
- Dark pools, which climbed to 17.74%, were bolstered by single-dealer platforms and independent/agency ATSs
- The remaining TRF activity — which consists of retail wholesaling, manual crossing and capital commitment, and off-exchange closing auction trades — was boosted by the first two components
- Block-focused pools were among the worst performers last year, as ATS block market share continued falling to new record lows
- Blue Ocean, an overnight ATS, has seen a surge of volume since South Korea resumed trading on the platform in November
December:
- Dark pools executed approximately 17.90% of US equity volume last month, up 13 bps from November’s 17.77%
- Dark-pool average daily volume fell 14.90% m/m, to 2.84 billion shares. Consolidated ADV dropped 15.51% m/m
- The biggest outperformer in December was Citadel Connect, but most single-dealer platforms struggled
- Block ATSs were also a mixed bag last month
- Hidden orders on lit markets executed 11.09% of US volume in December, up 33 bps from November
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