ESMA Kicks Off High-Stakes Hunt for Shares & ETF Consolidated Tape Provider
Europe's markets watchdog just fired the starting gun on a race that could reshape trading transparency—or deliver another bureaucratic tape-delay.
The Tape Wars Begin
ESMA's selection process for a consolidated tape provider isn't just paperwork—it's a power play to finally unify Europe's fragmented equity data. The winning bidder gets to stitch together real-time prices across 30+ trading venues, creating what regulators promise will be a 'pan-European market reality' (because apparently 20 years of MiFID wasn't enough).
Why Traders Should Care
No more cobbling together data from 15 different feeds. The right provider could finally give Europe a consolidated view to rival the US SIP—assuming they don't get bogged down in the usual Brussels quagmire of competing interests. Bookmakers are already taking odds on whether the project launches before the next Bitcoin halving.
One thing's certain: whichever firm lands this golden ticket will sit at the center of European market structure. Now watch as the usual suspects—Bloomberg, Refinitiv, and a dark horse crypto-native player—start their lobbying engines. Place your bets.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, is launching the first selection procedure for the Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP) for shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Entities interested to apply are encouraged to register and submit their requests to participate in the selection procedure by 25 July 2025.
The CTP aims to enhance market transparency and efficiency by consolidating pre-trade and post-trade data from data contributors, such as trading venues, into a single and continuous electronic stream. This consolidated view of market activity should help market participants to access accurate and timely information and make better-informed decisions, leading to more efficient price discovery and trading and contributing to the Savings and Investment Union (SIU).Applicants can refer to the Regulated Technical Standards (RTS) as adopted by the European Commission on 12 June 2025, which will be used as the basis for the assessment of some criteria, as described in the technical specifications:
- RTS on specifying the input and output data of consolidated tapes, the synchronisation of business clocks and the revenue redistribution by the consolidated tape provider for shares and ETFs, and its Annexes;
- RTS on the obligation to make market data available to the public on a reasonable commercial basis, and its Annexes.
The contract notice and procurement documents are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
Next stepsESMA will assess the received requests against the exclusion and selection criteria and will invite the successful candidates to submit their application. Any questions during the application period will be answered via the Portal. ESMA intends to adopt a reasoned decision on the selected applicant by the end of 2025.The successful applicant will be selected to operate the CTP for a period of five years and invited to apply for authorisation with ESMA. Once authorised, the CTP will be supervised by ESMA. Further information about the process is available on the dedicated webpage.
Source: ESMA
