BATS was the first ECN on NSX BLADE, beginning October 23, the day the Exchange launched the new system.

"It is really gratifying that Track ECN has joined BATS as the second ECN to come on board less than a month after NSX BLADE's introduction," said NSX CEO Joseph Rizzello. "It validates a primary objective of NSX's new business plan, which was to build a system to meet the specific needs of ECNs and attract them to our tent. Participation from these two leading ECNs indicates that our strategy is gaining momentum."

NSX BLADE provides an order delivery function, whereby ECNs can publish their best bids and offers on the NSX Book and will be treated the same as any other NSX participant. Routing to a participating order delivery ECN is an integral feature of NSX BLADE and occurs whenever a marketable order interacts with a resting order delivery ECN order.

NSX's new state-of-the-art technology platform -- NSX BLADE and NASD/NSX Trade Reporting Facility -- was built from the ground up to meet the speed, price and service needs in a post-Regulation NMS environment. In addition to order delivery, NSX BLADE offers strict price-time priority, unprecedented speed and highly competitive pricing due to NSX's low overhead and unique operating leverage. NSX BLADE also features scalable capacity, with capability of quick expansion as volume dictates; a wide range of connectivity options; and anonymity during all stages of order execution, from the receipt of the order through the clearing process.

The NASD/NSX TRF is a complementary system to facilitate OTC trade reporting for internally executed transactions. NSX BLADE and the NASD/NSX TRF are expected to be fully migrated for all NMS securities by year-end.