The Early Years

• The NASDAQ was established in 1971 as an electronic bulletin board, making bid and ask prices more transparent than on the floor of the established exchanges. The technology was not embraced by brokerage houses, as it impeded their profits by minimizing the bid-ask spread. For more than a decade smaller companies were relegated to the NASDAQ, rather than the at-the-time more prestigious New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which has high listing standards.
  
  

The NASDAQ Revolution

• The stock market crash of 1987 prompted the need for faster trade execution and brought the NASDAQ to the forefront. Agreements were made with The London Stock Exchange and The American Stock Exchange in the 1990s, and during the Y2K technology boom (and eventual bust) more trading volume occurred on the NASDAQ than any exchange worldwide.
  
  

NASDAQ Today

• Currently more than 2,900 "technology companies" are traded on the NASDAQ from almost every corner of the globe. Specialized NASDAQ indexes exist for the fields of biotechnology, mobile internet technology, data storage, nanotechnology, alternative energy and more. To remain part of the NASDAQ network, companies must have at least three market makers and meet SEC requirements for capital, assets, shareholders and share issuance.