Liquidnet Supercharges Buy-Side Access to Bilateral Liquidity Pools

Wall Street's quiet giant just flipped the liquidity switch.

Liquidnet—the institutional trading platform that's been connecting buy-side firms for decades—is tearing down the gates to bilateral liquidity. No more begging for access through prime brokers or waiting for counterparties to come to you. The buy side now prowls directly through darkened pools where block trades get done without moving markets.

Why It Matters

Institutional traders hate leakage almost as much as compliance headaches. Liquidnet’s move lets asset managers and hedge funds negotiate large orders directly—cutting out intermediaries, bypassing noisy lit markets, and preserving alpha like it’s 1999 again. Well, if 1999 had AI matching and smart order routers.

Behind the Scenes

The expansion isn’t just tech-deep; it’s relationship-wide. Liquidnet’s leveraging existing buy-side partnerships to onboard more liquidity providers—asset managers, hedge funds, even family offices—willing to trade large blocks quietly. No details on exact figures, but let’s be real: in finance, if you’re asking ‘how much,’ you probably can’t afford it.

Cynical Take

Because what’s a Wall Street innovation without a side of skepticism? More bilateral access means more opportunities for… let’s call it ‘information sharing.’ But hey—if you’re not insider trading, are you even trying?

Bottom Line: Liquidnet isn’t just expanding access—it’s rewriting the rules of buy-side trading. Again.

Liquidnet, a leading technology-driven agency execution specialist, announced the launch of a new trading solution designed to support European buy-side traders in accessing bilateral liquidity more effectively. The initiative integrates access to bilateral liquidity from Liquidnet’s front-end application and through the firm’s liquidity-seeking algorithmic suite, providing a consolidated and controlled route to interact with leading liquidity providers.

The launch is supported by partnerships with multiple market makers, including XTX Markets, with additional participants expected to join in the NEAR future. Access via Liquidnet’s infrastructure, though not in the Liquidnet MTF, will allow Members to preserve execution quality, anonymity, and workflow efficiency.

Bilateral liquidity has become an increasingly important component of European equity trading, now accounting for close to 50% of total market volumes according to Liquidnet’s recent Liquidity Landscape report. Yet, access remains fragmented and opaque. This initiative aims to provide a streamlined and transparent solution for navigating this space.

Gareth Exton, Head of Execution and Quantitative Services, EMEA, at Liquidnet said: “The growth of bilateral trading is reshaping how liquidity is accessed in Europe. Our role is to support our Members in responding to these structural changes. By integrating bilateral liquidity into both our front-end application and liquidity seeking ALGO suite, we’re giving our Members the tools to access meaningful liquidity with confidence and control whilst helping the market making community to extend their reach and better control their risk.”

The new solution includes:

– A new service to allow configurability for both buy-side traders and liquidity providers;
– Mid-price and touch executions via Liquidnet’s liquidity seeking algos and front-end application;
– Anonymous access to aggregated liquidity streams, with configurability for tiered and Member-specific feeds;
– Execution consulting services to help Members determine optimal liquidity sources and timing;
– Monitoring and analytics to track fill rates, information leakage and venue provider performance.

This development aligns with Liquidnet’s broader strategy to innovate in execution capabilities that help industry participants solve complex liquidity challenges, and complements recent investments in its proprietary algorithmic platform.

Source: Liquidnet