OTC Markets Group is not an NMS national securities exchange. OTC equities quote on OTC Link ATS, an SEC-regulated alternative trading system. Official normal hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Contrast NYSE, Nasdaq, and IEX. Fees TODO:VERIFY. Not financial advice.
Not an NMS national securities exchange
Official OTC Markets Group issuer filings state that OTC Markets Group and its markets are not national securities exchanges. They are an alternative to a U.S. exchange listing. OTC Link ATS operates under the Exchange Act Rule 3a1-1(a)(2) exemption from the definition of an exchange. That is the opposite of NYSE, Nasdaq, IEX, and MEMX, which are registered national securities exchanges and NMS venues. A Pink or OTCQX quote is not an NMS last sale.
OTC Link LLC is a FINRA-member broker-dealer subsidiary. Official 17a-5 notes list the ATSs it operates: OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS. Subscribers to OTC Link ATS are FINRA-member broker-dealers. Unlike an exchange matching engine, OTC Link ATS is not a party to trade reports from those messages. Official operator commentary: OTC Markets Group is not an SRO; the SEC enforces the federal securities laws; FINRA regulates broker-dealers; only the SEC can suspend a security; FINRA is the designated SRO that can halt OTC names. See trading halts. Headquarters on official filings: 300 Vesey Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10282 (2023 annual report). Founded_year is null here: filings trace history to the National Quotation Bureau and current control since 1997; this profile will not pick one integer.
Official hours (otcmarkets.com/market-hours)
Source: the OTC Markets Market Hours page. Use these clocks. Do not copy NYSE Arca 4:00 a.m., IEX 8:00 a.m., or a 23/5 overnight slide onto OTC Link ATS.
| Clock | Official text | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Normal market hours | Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET | On the Market Hours page |
| OTC Link ATS operating hours | Monday-Friday 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET | ATS envelope, not an NMS book |
| Early close | 2:00 p.m. ET | Day after Thanksgiving, day before Independence Day, and Christmas Eve if not a weekend |
| NMS national securities exchange? | No | Locked. Not NYSE, Nasdaq, or IEX |
| NMS exchange overnight 23/5 | Not this venue | Planned 6 Dec 2026 on named NMS books; not live |
The 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET window is OTC Link ATS system time. It is not IEX System Hours and not MEMX 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Spreads in the 6:00-9:30 a.m. and 4:00-5:00 p.m. sleeves are TODO:VERIFY. This profile invents no volume or listing counts. Recheck the holiday table for a named date. Read pre-market and after-hours against the U.S. session hours 2026 hub.
MOON ATS is described in official 17a-5 notes as an SEC-regulated ATS launched in November 2024 for eligible NMS securities overnight, citing 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Eastern, Sunday to Thursday. That is ATS access to NMS names, not an OTC Markets exchange session, and not the planned 6 December NMS overnight. Current product hours TODO:VERIFY on the then-current product page. Broker overnight is ATS, not exchange overnight. This page lists no broker hours.
OTC Link ATS and disclosure tiers (as official pages state)
Do not invent listing counts. Tiers are disclosure labels the operator publishes, not NMS listing standards. As official OTC Markets materials state: OTCQX Best Market is for established U.S. and international companies that meet high financial and governance standards, stay current in disclosure, and exclude penny stocks, shells, and bankrupt issuers from OTCQX qualification. OTCQB is the venture tier under published OTCQB rules. Pink, including Pink Limited as described on reporting-standards pages, covers issuers with the minimum Rule 15c2-11 information for public broker-dealer quotes, or that miss higher-tier tests. Expert Market is a restricted tier without current public disclosure; official materials describe quotations generally limited to broker-dealers and professional investors. Grey appears on the operator's tier chart as no quotations. OTCID is named on current site chrome; details TODO:VERIFY rather than invented here.
Rule 15c2-11 governs broker-dealer quotations in OTC securities on an IDQS such as OTC Link ATS, which operates as a Qualified Interdealer Quotation System. That is quotation eligibility, not an exchange listing.
Contrast with NYSE, Nasdaq, and IEX
NYSE, Nasdaq, and IEX are NMS national securities exchanges with consolidated tape and protected quotes under Regulation NMS. MEMX is also an NMS exchange. OTC Markets is not in that set. An OTCQX or OTCQB quote is not a Nasdaq listing. A Pink print is not a NYSE print. Expert Market quotes are not public NMS data. Example sizing only, not a trade: account $10,000, 1 percent risk equals $100. If the stop is $1.50 away, shares = floor(100 / 1.50) = 66, round down, on the risk calculator (crypto UI; treat the unit as shares, round down). PDT is not current law. Thin OTC-quoted names can gap through a stop; the 66-share example is arithmetic, not a liquidity claim. The U.S. stock scanner is coming soon and is not live. Fees, spreads, and volumes are TODO:VERIFY. None invented.
FAQ
Is OTC Markets an NMS national securities exchange?
No. Official filings state OTC Markets Group and its markets are not national securities exchanges. OTC Link ATS is an SEC-regulated ATS, not NYSE, Nasdaq, or IEX.
What hours does the official page publish?
Normal market hours Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. OTC Link ATS operating hours Monday-Friday 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Early close 2:00 p.m. on named days.
What tiers may this page name?
Only tiers official pages state: OTC Link ATS as the quoting ATS; OTCQX, OTCQB, Pink (including Pink Limited as described), and Expert Market. No invented listing counts.
Does OTC Markets run U.S. exchange overnight 23/5?
No. That 6 December 2026 plan is for named NMS exchange books and is not live. ATS overnight on a separate OTC Link product is not an NMS exchange session.
Are fees or spreads on this page?
No. Fees, spreads, and volumes are TODO:VERIFY. None invented. This is not a broker-hours table.
Educational only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice. Not a recommendation to buy or sell any OTC or NMS security. OTC disclosure quality varies by tier; absence of an exchange listing is a risk fact, not a bargain. Recheck official OTC Markets pages before you treat a quote as public, current, or protected.