DataCT Tapped to Lead New Era for US Equity Market Data

NEW YORK, NY – December 17, 2025 – In a pivotal move to modernize the backbone of U.S. equity market information, the Operating Committee of the Consolidated Tape Plan (“CT Plan”) today announced its conditional selection of DataCT to serve as the plan's independent administrator. The decision marks a significant milestone in a multi-year effort to unify and streamline the public dissemination of real-time stock market data, with a target launch for the new system in early 2027.

DataCT, an independent affiliate of the market data solutions provider DataBP, was chosen following an exhaustive and competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process. The selection is a cornerstone of the CT Plan, which was established under a September 2023 order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The mandate directed U.S. equities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to replace the three existing, disparate market data plans with a single, more efficient national market system plan.

“A key difference between the existing SIP Plans and the CT Plan is the creation of a single Plan that is administered by a new independent Administrator,” said Jeff Kimsey, Chairman of the SIP Operating Committees. “We set an aggressive timeline to have a firm selected by the end of 2025, and I am very happy we met that deadline.”

Final terms and fees are now under negotiation between the CT Plan and DataCT, with an agreement expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2026. DataCT will then be tasked with the monumental job of managing the transition from the current administrators and overseeing all services for the unified plan once it goes live.

A New Guard with a Mandate for Independence

The selection process, managed by a dedicated subcommittee, was designed with a singular, critical requirement at its core: strict independence. Section 6.2 of the CT Plan explicitly prohibits the administrator from having any ownership, control, or employment connections to entities that sell proprietary market data. This stipulation aims to eliminate the conflicts of interest that have long been a point of contention in the industry, where exchange operators that control the public data feeds also compete by selling their own faster, more detailed proprietary data products.

The RFP attracted strong interest from across the market data industry. After multiple rounds of interviews and evaluations, DataCT emerged as the committee's choice. While DataCT is a new entity, its affiliate, DataBP, brings a significant track record in the complex world of market data administration. Founded in 2013, DataBP provides data licensing, e-commerce, and management solutions for a range of financial firms, including exchanges and index providers.

Notably, DataBP was previously selected by EuroCTP to support the licensing administration for Europe's own consolidated tape initiative, giving the organization relevant experience in a similar large-scale market data consolidation project. This background likely played a role in the committee’s decision, suggesting confidence in the team's ability to handle the technical and administrative complexities of such a transformation.

Overhauling a Decades-Old System

The move to a unified CT Plan represents the most significant overhaul of U.S. equity market data infrastructure in decades. For years, the market has relied on a fragmented system governed by three separate plans: the Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) Plan, which disseminates data for NYSE-listed securities; the Consolidated Quotation (CQ) Plan; and the Unlisted Trading Privileges (UTP) Plan, which covers Nasdaq-listed securities.

This fragmented structure has been criticized by regulators and some market participants for being inefficient, costly, and creating governance challenges. The 2023 SEC order was a direct response to these concerns, aiming to create a system that offers greater administrative efficiency, reduces complexity, and ensures that the governance of critical market data is more transparent and less susceptible to conflicts of interest.

The new operational model under DataCT will merge the functions of the current CTA/CQ and UTP Plan administrators into an integrated support structure. This consolidation is expected to streamline everything from data policy and licensing to reporting and compliance, ultimately benefiting a wide array of market data consumers, from large institutional investors to retail trading platforms.

The Ambitious Road to 2027

With DataCT conditionally selected, the clock is ticking on an ambitious timeline. The transition from three separate, long-standing systems to one unified platform is a formidable undertaking fraught with technical and operational challenges. DataCT will be required to work closely with the current plan administrators and processors to ensure a seamless migration, a process that must be executed without disrupting the flow of real-time data that is the lifeblood of the financial markets.

The technological lift is substantial. It involves integrating disparate systems, processes, and data models into a cohesive whole. DataCT has promoted its modern, cloud-native architecture as a key advantage, promising greater scalability, reliability, and cost efficiency compared to the legacy systems currently in place. The success of the project will depend heavily on the robustness of this technology and the execution of a meticulous, phased transition plan.

Once the transition and integration are complete, the existing CTA/CQ and UTP Plans are expected to be formally retired, marking the end of an era. DataCT will then assume full responsibility for all administrative functions, from managing contracts with data vendors and subscribers to overseeing the collection and distribution of plan revenues.

The entire industry will be watching closely as negotiations conclude and the transition work begins in earnest. The successful implementation of the CT Plan under DataCT's administration could serve as a model for market infrastructure reform, potentially leading to a more equitable and innovative marketplace for all participants.