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Trading technology pioneer Dmitri Galinov's 24 Exchange has secured regulatory approval to launch what could become America's first near round-the-clock equities trading venue, marking a potential watershed moment for US market structure. The extended hour trading is subject to Equity Data Plans making changes that would facilitate overnight trading hours and 24X National Exchange making an additional rule filing with the SEC confirming the changes and the Exchange’s ability to comply with the Securities Exchange Act.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has greenlit 24X National Exchange, the latest venture from Galinov, who previously founded FastMatch - now Euronext FX - and held senior roles at Direct Edge. The approval represents a significant milestone for the firm, which has been steadily expanding its trading offerings since its 2019 launch.
The exchange will roll out in two phases, with initial trading hours from 4:00 AM ET to 7:00 PM ET on weekdays, starting in the second half of 2025. The second phase would extend trading from 8:00 PM ET Sunday through 7:00 PM ET Friday, subject to approval from Equity Data Plans and additional SEC requirements. A one-hour operational pause will occur during each trading day to accommodate routine software upgrades and functionality testing.
As the first national securities exchange approved by the SEC to operate 23 hours each weekday, subject to the conditions noted above, 24X National Exchange will initially focus on capturing the expanding demand in the APAC region for overnight liquidity in U.S. equities.
Galinov said: "The SEC's approval of our new exchange is a thrilling development that the 24X Team has been working toward for many years. Traders are most at-risk when the market is closed in their geographic location. 24X National Exchange will seek to alleviate this problem by facilitating around-the-clock U.S. equities trading for broker-dealers and their institutional and retail customers."
The move into equities trading represents a significant expansion for 24 Exchange, which has built its reputation in the institutional FX market through its Bermuda-based operation. The firm has focused on providing cost-effective trading solutions across multiple asset classes through a single interface.
"With this historic SEC approval in place, we will build and operate a customer-driven Exchange that can rapidly align with market demands and adapt quickly to client feedback," Galinov added. "We look forward to bringing a superior trading experience to global customers. 24X National Exchange will deliver the cost efficiency, speed, resilience, and adaptability that the company's financial institutional customers have long come to expect."
The exchange will leverage technology from MEMX Technologies, suggesting a robust infrastructure foundation. It plans to initially focus on capturing Asian-Pacific demand for overnight US equities trading, a currently underserved market segment.
The venue will observe standard US market holidays, aligning with NYSE and Nasdaq schedules, and will incorporate a daily one-hour maintenance window for system updates and testing.
The Bermuda arm of 24 Exchange will continue its existing operations in FX NDFs, swaps and spot trading for institutional clients, maintaining the firm's multi-asset trading capabilities.
