---
title: "Alternative Trading System (ATS)"
url: "https://www.unknowngravity.com/en/glosario/alternative-trading-system-ats"
site: Unknown Gravity
published: "2026-10-13T18:59:50+00:00"
modified: "2026-10-13T18:59:50+00:00"
language: en-US
description: "An alternative trading system (ATS) is an electronic securities market that brings buyers and sellers together without being registered as an exchange: it is operated by a registered broker-dealer…"
section: "Home > Alternative Trading System (ATS)"
---

# Alternative Trading System (ATS)

**An alternative trading system (ATS) is an electronic securities market that brings buyers and sellers together without being registered as an exchange: it is operated by a registered [broker-dealer](/en/glosario/broker-dealer) and complies with Regulation ATS (17 CFR 242.300 to 242.304).** It is one of the regulated routes to a secondary market for tokenized securities that are not exchange-listed.

**Why it exists.** An organization that brings together the orders of multiple buyers and sellers and uses established, non-discretionary methods under which those orders interact and trades are agreed provides a market place within the legal definition of an exchange in Exchange Act §3(a)(1) (Rule 3b-16(a), 17 CFR 240.3b-16). It is exempt from that definition if it complies with Regulation ATS (17 CFR 240.3a1-1(a)(2)). By definition, an ATS does not set rules for its subscribers' conduct beyond their trading on it, and does not discipline them other than by excluding them from trading (242.300(a)).

**Main Regulation ATS requirements.**

- **Registration as a broker-dealer** under Section 15 of the Exchange Act (242.301(b)(1)).
- **Form ATS:** an initial operation report at least 20 days before starting operations and an amendment at least 20 calendar days before a material change (242.301(b)(2)); these reports are deemed confidential.
- **Form ATS-N:** filed only by ATSs that trade NMS stocks ("NMS Stock ATSs"); the SEC posts it on its website and may declare it ineffective (242.304). Reg D securities of a company that is not listed are not NMS stocks, so their ATS uses Form ATS.
- **Form ATS-R:** a quarterly trading report within 30 calendar days after each quarter (242.301(b)(9)).
- **Fair access:** if in at least 4 of the preceding 6 months it reaches 5% of the average daily volume in certain securities, it must set written access standards, not unreasonably limit access, and keep records of grants and denials (242.301(b)(5)).

**In the secondary market for tokens.** The SEC's list of ATSs with a Form ATS on file included 81 systems as of September 30, 2026, among them Securitize Markets ATS, tZERO Securities, TEXTURE ATS, Templum Markets and North Capital's PPEX ATS. For example, the offering circular of Tirios Propco Series LLC (Reg A, December 2025) provides that its interests may only be resold through PPEX ATS, if and when it becomes available. A security issued under [Regulation D](/en/glosario/regulation-d) is restricted, except as provided in Rule 504(b)(1) (17 CFR 230.502(d)): its resale must rely on an exemption, for example after the Rule 144(d) holding period, which is 6 months if the issuer has been reporting to the SEC for at least 90 days and 1 year if it does not report. After each trade, the issuer or its [transfer agent](/en/glosario/transfer-agent) records the change of ownership in the master securityholder file.

**Why the technology provider does not do it.** If the token is a security, because it represents shares or debt or because it is an investment contract under the [Howey test](/en/glosario/howey-test), software that brings together the orders of multiple buyers and sellers and has them interact under established, non-discretionary methods may fall within the Rule 3b-16(a) definition of an exchange, unless an exclusion in paragraph (b) applies, such as merely routing orders; it depends on the facts of each case. If it does, whoever runs it has three routes: register as an exchange, operate as an ATS through a broker-dealer or, only for tokenized NMS stocks traded through permissioned AMM liquidity pools, rely on the temporary exemption the SEC granted by order on September 17, 2026 to "Tokenized Securities Venues" (Release 34-106402). If the developer supplies the technology as a service provider to the ATS, the ATS discloses it on Exhibit E of its Form ATS (Trading and Markets FAQ, question 13; non-binding), and the operator is still the broker-dealer; the FAQ only addresses that disclosure, not whether the provider itself needs to register. SEC staff accept that this operator may also perform broker, custodial and clearing functions (question 14).

**Legislative proposal.** The House-passed text of the [CLARITY Act](/en/glosario/clarity-act) would bar the SEC from denying an exchange exemption to a platform, such as an ATS, on the basis that it trades both securities and "digital commodities" or payment stablecoins (Sec. 303). It is not law. The big picture is in the [guide to asset tokenization in the U.S.](/en/articulos/asset-tokenization-in-the-united-states)

**Official sources:** [17 CFR 242.300](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-242.300); [17 CFR 242.301](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-242.301); [17 CFR 242.304 (Form ATS-N)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-242.304); [17 CFR 240.3b-16](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-240.3b-16); [SEC ATS list (9/30/2026)](https://www.sec.gov/files/data/alternative-trading-system-ats-list/atslist093026.pdf); [SEC FAQ on crypto assets and DLT](https://www.sec.gov/rules-regulations/staff-guidance/trading-markets-frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-relating-crypto-asset-activities-distributed-ledger-technology); [exemptive order 34-106402](https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/exorders/2026/34-106402.pdf).

*Framework verified as of October 13, 2026.* At Unknown Gravity we build the platform, the smart contracts and the integrations with the ATS and broker-dealer the client chooses, working alongside the client's U.S. securities counsel. We are not an ATS, broker-dealer, transfer agent, funding portal, investment adviser or law firm. [Talk to us](/en/meeting).