BATS Trading Inc. has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as a registered national securities exchange.

The transition into an exchange, from the firm’s current regulatory status as an ECN, is expected to take approximately 60 days. Kansas City, Mo.-based BATS filed for exchange status in November 2007.

“It’s a very gratifying day for the BATS team, and an important moment for the marketplace as a whole,” stated BATS chief executive Joe Ratterman. “As we have stressed repeatedly, our motivation to become an exchange has come from our desire to participate directly in the national market system and compete on a level playing field with our primary competitors, Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange.”