tZERO Group and North Capital Investment Technology announced the launch of Agora, the first technology network designed to connect alternative trading systems (ATSs) for tokenized securities and other private securities. The initiative aims to break down silos in private securities markets by creating shared infrastructure for securities discovery and order routing across platforms, without requiring each ATS to perform bespoke integrations.
Agora will allow securities listed on one ATS to be accessible to qualified subscribers of another, expanding market reach and potential liquidity. Participating ATSs will retain full control of their matching engines, settlement processes, and compliance procedures. The initial phase focuses on internal connectivity between the tZERO ATS and North Capital's PPEX ATS, enabling qualified subscribers of each to access securities listed on the other. Subsequent phases aim to open the network to additional third-party ATSs and liquidity providers.
“Private securities markets have operated in silos for too long,” said Jim Dowd, Chief Executive Officer of North Capital. “Agora’s purpose is to create the connective infrastructure to allow ATSs to maintain their independence while participating in a broader network that will be expanded through tokenization on public blockchains. This is how we unlock liquidity in private markets.”
Alan Konevsky, Chief Executive Officer of tZERO, emphasized the need for defragmentation. “As I’ve noted before, this industry must defragment. For tokenized and private securities to reach their full potential, they can’t live inside isolated platforms. Markets need connective tissue - not walled gardens. Agora represents an important step toward a more open, interoperable market structure, where ATSs retain their independence while enabling assets and liquidity to move more freely across platforms. That kind of networked infrastructure is essential to building scalable, efficient private markets.”
Konevsky further explained the role of blockchain: “Real liquidity is unlocked when assets can move across interconnected markets and asset types. Blockchain is the ideal candidate to become the base layer for private markets because it allows assets to be issued, traded, and settled on shared, interoperable rails. When private assets are natively digital and regulated, they can move across venues, access multiple liquidity pools, and integrate directly into modern market infrastructure. That interoperability is what turns tokenization from a feature into a foundation for the future of open, interoperable private markets infrastructure that allows liquidity to aggregate naturally across platforms.”
Mike Weaver, Managing Director at North Capital, added: “Expanding liquidity through open systems, open standards, and automation will provide a catalyst to unlock the private securities market.”
Agora will operate as a technical registry and routing layer, not an exchange or ATS. ATSs will be participants, choosing which securities to make available and what capabilities to support. Broker-dealers, registered investment advisors (RIAs), and qualified institutional buyers register as subscribers to discover and trade securities across the network. When a subscriber submits an order, Agora routes it to the appropriate ATS where the security is listed.
Key features include single integration for subscribers, ATS sovereignty over matching and compliance, a wholesale market limited to qualified institutional participants, flexible protocols supporting REST API and FIX connectivity, and shared infrastructure funded by participant fees. The Agora API framework is expected to be available in the first half of 2026.
More information about NCPS may be found on FINRA’s BrokerCheck and on North Capital’s website. For more about tZERO, visit their website.
