Notice2025-23819
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Fee Schedules To Establish New Fees for Its 10 Gigabit per Second (“Gb”) Physical Port Connection to the Exchange
Primary source
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Published
December 29, 2025
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 245 (Monday, December 29, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 245 (Monday, December 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60786-60787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23819]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-104475; File No. SR-CBOE-2025-094]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe Exchange, Inc.; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend
Its Fee Schedules To Establish New Fees for Its 10 Gigabit per Second
(``Gb'') Physical Port Connection to the Exchange
December 19, 2025.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that on December 18, 2025, Cboe Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or
``Cboe Options'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I,
II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
Cboe Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or ``Cboe Options'') proposes
to amend its fee schedules to establish new fees for its 10 gigabit per
second (``Gb'') physical port connection to the Exchange. The text of
the proposed rule change is provided in Exhibit 5.
The text of the proposed rule change is also available on the
Commission's website (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>), the
Exchange's website (<a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/</a>), and at the principal office of the Exchange.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to amend its fee schedule relating to
physical port connectivity to the Exchange.\3\ Specifically, the
Exchange seeks to amend its fee schedule to establish a new fee for its
physical port for a 10 gigabit per second (``Gb'') circuit. By way of
background, a physical port is utilized by a Trading Permit Holder
(``TPH'') \4\ or non-TPH to connect to the Exchange at the data centers
where the Exchange's servers are located. The Exchange currently
assesses the following physical connectivity fees for TPHs and non-TPHs
on a monthly basis: $7,000 per physical port for a 10 Gb circuit. The
Exchange now seeks to raise the monthly per physical port fee for a 10
Gb circuit from $7,000 to $8,000. The Exchange notes the proposed fee
change will better enable it to continue to maintain and improve its
market technology and services and also notes that the proposed fee
amount, even as amended, continues to be in line with, or even lower
than, amounts assessed by another exchange that offers similar
functionality.
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\3\ The proposed fees will take effect on January 2, 2026.
\4\ The terms ``Trading Permit Holder'' and ``TPH'' have the
meaning set forth in the Bylaws. See Rule 1.1.
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2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act'') and the rules and
regulations thereunder applicable to the Exchange and, in particular,
the requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act.7 [sic] Specifically, the
Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the
Section 6(b)(5)8 requirements that the rules of an exchange be designed
to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote
just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and
coordination with persons engaged in regulating, clearing, settling,
processing information with respect to, and facilitating transactions
in securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market and a national market system, and, in general, to
protect investors and the public interest. Additionally, the Exchange
believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the Section
6(b)(5)9 [sic] requirement that the rules of an exchange not be
designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers,
brokers, or dealers. The Exchange also believes the proposed rule
change is consistent with Section 6(b)(4)10 [sic] of the Act, which
requires that Exchange rules provide for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its Members and other
persons using its facilities. This belief is based on various factors
as described below.
The Exchange believes the proposed fee is reasonable as it is lower
than the amounts assessed by other exchanges for analogous market
access connections and which were similarly adopted via the rule filing
process and filed with the Commission. For instance, the Exchange notes
that Nasdaq PHLX LLC (``PHLX'') currently charges its members a $1,650
installation fee and an ongoing $18,500 monthly fee for its 10Gb Ulta
fiber connection.\5\ Similarly, PHLX also charges its members a $1,000
installation fee and an ongoing monthly fee of $11,000 for its 10Gb
fiber connection.\6\ Comparatively, the Exchange's proposed fee of
$8,000 is $10,500 less than the ongoing monthly
[[Page 60787]]
fee PHLX charges its members for its 10Gb ultra fiber connection, and
$3,000 less than the ongoing monthly fee for PHLX's 10Gb fiber
connection. Moreover, unlike PHLX, the Exchange does not charge its
TPHs and non-TPHs an installation fee for its 10 Gb physical port
connection.
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\5\ See NASDAQ PHLX Rulebook Book, General 8--Connectivity,
available at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/phlx/rules/Phlx%20General%208">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/phlx/rules/Phlx%20General%208</a>.
\6\ Id.
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The Exchange also believes the proposed fee change is reasonable as
it will better align the price of this connectivity option to the value
it offers to the market participants that utilize it. It will also
better enable the Exchange to maintain and improve its connectivity
services and facilities. Finally, the proposed fee change is reasonable
as the resulting 10 Gb physical port fee will be lower than the amounts
assessed by PHLX for similar market access connections. Additionally,
the Exchange believes that the proposal will be an equitable allocation
of fees and will not discriminate unfairly against market participants.
The proposed fee change is an equitable allocation of fees because it
reflects the substantial value that the 10Gb circuit provides to TPHs
and non-TPHs. This connectivity option is particularly attractive to
TPHs and non-TPHs that desire low latency connectivity to the Exchange
because it provides sufficient capacity to support most of their
activities on the Exchange and does so at a reasonable comparative
price point. The proposal is not unfairly discriminatory because 10 Gb
physical port connectivity will be available to all customers at the
same price. Furthermore, 10 Gb physical port connectivity is an
optional connectivity product, and TPHs and non-TPHs are not required
to purchase a 10 Gb physical port in order to access the Exchange.
Indeed, TPHs and non-TPHs have a variety of options to connect to the
Exchange, including amongst others, the 1 Gb physical port, the pricing
for which is less expensive and remains unchanged. While the proposed
price increase will impact users of the 10 Gb physical port connection,
the Exchange believes this is fair because users of a 10 Gb physical
port connection generally consume more resources from the Exchange than
do other participants.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The proposed fee change will
not impact intramarket competition because it will apply to all
similarly situated TPS and non-TPHs equally (i.e., all market
participants that choose to purchase the 10 Gb physical port).
Additionally, the Exchange does not believe its proposed pricing will
impose a barrier to entry to smaller participants and notes that its
proposed connectivity pricing is associated with relative usage of the
various market participants. For example, market participants with
modest capacity needs can continue to buy the less expensive 1 Gb
physical port (which cost is not changing) or may choose to obtain
access via a third-party re-seller. While pricing may be increased for
the larger capacity physical ports, such options provide far more
capacity and are purchased by those that consume more resources from
the network. Accordingly, the proposed connectivity fee does not favor
certain categories of market participants in a manner that would impose
a burden on competition; rather, the allocation reflects the network
resources consumed by the various size of market participants--lowest
bandwidth consuming members pay the least, and highest bandwidth
consuming members pays the most.
The proposed fee change also does not impose a burden on
competition or on other Self-Regulatory Organizations that is not
necessary or appropriate. As described above, in establishing its
proposed fee change the Exchange compared its proposed fee increase to
that of a competitor exchange's analogous offering. As noted above, the
proposed fee of $8,000 is $10,500 less than the ongoing monthly fee
PHLX charges its members for its 10Gb ultra fiber connection, and
$3,000 less than the fee PHLX charges its members for its 10Gb fiber
connection. Moreover, unlike PHLX, the Exchange does not charge its
TPHs and non-TPHs an installation fee for its 10 Gb physical port
connection.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange neither solicited nor received comments on the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \7\ and paragraph (f) of Rule 19b-4 \8\
thereunder. At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed
rule change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission will institute proceedings to
determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or
disapproved.
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\7\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\8\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f).
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IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
<bullet> Use the Commission's internet comment form (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>); or
<bullet> Send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e99b9c858cc48a8684848c879d9aa99a8c8ac78e869f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="196b6c757c347a7674747c776d6a596a7c7a377e766f">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-CBOE-2025-094 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
<bullet> Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to file number SR-CBOE-2025-094. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (<a href="https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml">https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml</a>). Copies of the filing will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include
personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may
redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material
that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions
should refer to file number SR-CBOE-2025-094 and should be submitted on
or before January 20, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\9\
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\9\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-23819 Filed 12-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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