Notice2026-05013
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq MRX, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Exchange's Rules at Options 7, Section 3-Fees and Rebates for Regular Orders and All Crossing Orders
Primary source
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Published
March 16, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 50 (Monday, March 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 50 (Monday, March 16, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12657-12659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05013]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-104964; File No. SR-MRX-2026-09]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq MRX, LLC; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange's Rules at Options 7, Section 3--Fees and Rebates for Regular
Orders and All Crossing Orders
March 11, 2026.
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 March 3, 2026, Nasdaq MRX, LLC (``MRX'' or ``Exchange'') filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``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
The Exchange proposes to amend the Exchange's Rules at Options 7,
Section 3--Fees and Rebates for Regular Orders and All Crossing Orders.
Specifically, the Exchange proposes to discontinue the Tier 4 Priority
Customer Maker Rebate for Non-Penny Symbols.\3\
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\3\ The Exchange initially filed this proposal on February 27,
2026, with a designated operative date of March 2, 2026 (SR-MRX-
2026-04). On March 3, 2026, the Exchange withdrew SR-MRX-2026-04 and
submitted this filing.
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The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
website at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rulefilings">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rulefilings</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 the Exchange's Pricing Schedule at
Options 7, Section 3--Fees and Rebates for Regular Orders and All
Crossing Orders, Table 1, Non-Penny Symbols.
Currently, as set forth in Table 1 of Options 7, Section 3, the
Exchange offers different categories of market participants 4 tiers of
Maker Fees/Rebates and 4 tiers of Taker Fees/Rebates in Penny
Symbols,\4\ and 4 tiers of Maker Fees/Rebates and 4 tiers of Taker
Fees/Rebates in Non-Penny Symbols.\5\ Those 4 tiers are based on the
Qualifying Tier Thresholds in Table 3 of Options 7, Section 3.\6\
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\4\ ``Penny Symbols'' are options overlying all symbols listed
on Nasdaq MRX that are in the Penny Interval Program. See Options 7,
Section 1(c).
\5\ ``Non-Penny Symbols'' are options overlying all symbols
excluding Penny Symbols. See Options 7, Section 1(c).
\6\ The tiered volume requirements are based on Total Customer
ADV. Total Customer ADV is Priority Customer Total Consolidated
Volume divided by Customer Total Consolidated Volume, including
volume executed by Affiliated Members or Affiliated Entities.
Priority Customer Total Consolidated Volume is a Member's total
Priority Customer volume executed on MRX in that month, including
volume executed by Affiliated Members or Affiliated Entities. All
eligible volume from Affiliated Members or an Affiliated Entity is
aggregated in determining applicable tiers. The highest tier
threshold attained applies retroactively in a given month to all
eligible traded contracts and applies to all eligible market
participants. See Options 7, Section 3, Table 3.
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With respect to Market Maker Fees/Rebates in Non-Penny Symbols in
Table 1, the Exchange currently assesses Market Makers,\7\ Non-Nasdaq
MRX Market Makers,\8\ Firm Proprietary/
[[Page 12658]]
Broker-Dealers,\9\ and Professional Customers \10\ in Tiers 1-4 Maker
Fees of $1.25 per contract. For Priority Customers,\11\ Tiers 1-3 are
neither assessed Maker Fees nor paid Maker Rebates, while those in Tier
4 are paid a Maker Rebate of $1.00 per contract.\12\ Therefore, the
portion of Table 1 that concerns Maker Fees/Rebates in Non-Penny
Symbols is currently as follows:
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\7\ The term ``Market Makers'' refers to ``Competitive Market
Makers'' and ``Primary Market Makers'' collectively. See Options 1,
Section 1(a)(22).
\8\ A ``Non-Nasdaq MRX Market Maker'' is a market maker as
defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended, registered in the same options class on another options
exchange. See Options 7, Section 1(c).
\9\ A ``Firm Proprietary'' order is an order submitted by a
Member for its own proprietary account. A ``Broker-Dealer'' order is
an order submitted by a Member for a broker-dealer account that is
not its own proprietary account. See id.
\10\ A ``Professional Customer'' is a person or entity that is
not a broker/dealer and is not a Priority Customer. See id.
\11\ A ``Priority Customer'' is a person or entity that is not a
broker/dealer in securities, and does not place more than 390 orders
in listed options per day on average during a calendar month for its
own beneficial account(s), as defined in Nasdaq MRX Options 1,
Section 1(a)(37). Unless otherwise noted, when used in the Pricing
Schedule, the term ``Priority Customer'' includes ``Retail.'' See
Options 7, Section 1(c). A ``Retail'' order is a Priority Customer
order that originates from a natural person, provided that no change
is made to the terms of the order with respect to price or side of
market and the order does not originate from a trading algorithm or
any other computerized methodology. See id.
\12\ Priority Customer orders will not receive any Maker Rebates
in Penny Symbols and Non-Penny Symbols or Taker Rebates in Penny and
Non-Penny Symbols for trades executed against another Priority
Customer order. Instead, the Priority Customer order will be
assessed $0.00 per contract. See Options 7, Section 3, Table 1, Note
7.
Non-Penny Symbols
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Maker fee Maker fee Maker fee Maker fee/rebate
Market participant tier 1 tier 2 tier 3 tier 4
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Market Maker................................ $1.25 $1.25 $1.25 $1.25
Non-Nasdaq MRX Market Maker................. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Firm Proprietary/Broker-Dealer.............. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Professional Customer....................... 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Priority Customer........................... 0.00 0.00 0.00 (1.00)
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The Exchange proposes to discontinue the Maker Rebate for Priority
Customers in Tier 4. Therefore, this same portion of Table 1 will be as
follows:
Non-Penny Symbols
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Maker fee Maker fee Maker fee Maker fee
Market participant tier 1 tier 2 tier 3 tier 4
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Market Maker....................................... $1.25 $1.25 $1.25 $1.25
Non-Nasdaq MRX Market Maker........................ 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Firm Proprietary/Broker-Dealer..................... 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Professional Customer.............................. 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25
Priority Customer.................................. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
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Put another way, Priority Customers in Tier 4 will be treated the
same as Priority Customers in Tiers 1-3, in that they will be neither
assessed a per-contract Maker Fee, nor paid a per-contract Maker
Rebate, for their transactions in Non-Penny Symbols.
The Exchange believes that these changes to its Pricing Schedule
will help drive additional order flow to the Exchange, which will
benefit all market participants by providing them the opportunity to
interact with such increased order flow.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act,\13\ in general, and furthers the objectives of
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\14\ in particular, in that it
provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and
other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any
facility, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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\13\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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The Commission and the courts have repeatedly expressed their
preference for competition over regulatory intervention in determining
prices, products, and services in the securities markets. In Regulation
NMS, while adopting a series of steps to improve the current market
model, the Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized that current
regulation of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its broader forms that are most
important to investors and listed companies.'' \15\
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\15\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2005),
70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
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Likewise, in NetCoalition v. Securities and Exchange Commission
\16\ (``NetCoalition'') the D.C. Circuit upheld the Commission's use of
a market-based approach in evaluating the fairness of market data fees
against a challenge claiming that Congress mandated a cost-based
approach.\17\ As the court emphasized, the Commission ``intended in
Regulation NMS that `market forces, rather than regulatory
requirements' play a role in determining the market data . . . to be
made available to investors and at what cost.'' \18\
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\16\ NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525 (D.C. Cir. 2010).
\17\ See NetCoalition, at 534-535.
\18\ Id. at 537.
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Further, ``[n]o one disputes that competition for order flow is
`fierce.' . . . As the SEC explained, `[i]n the U.S. national market
system, buyers and sellers of securities, and the broker-dealers that
act as their order-routing agents, have a wide range of choices of
where to route orders for execution'; [and] `no exchange can afford to
take its market share percentages for granted' because `no exchange
possesses a monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in the execution of
order flow from broker
[[Page 12659]]
dealers'. . . .'' \19\ Although the court and the SEC were discussing
the cash equities markets, the Exchange believes that these views apply
with equal force to the options markets.
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\19\ Id. at 539 (quoting Securities Exchange Act Release No.
59039 (Dec. 2, 2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782-83 (Dec. 9, 2008) (File No.
SR-NYSEArca-2006-21)).
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The proposed discontinuation of the Tier 4 Maker Rebate for
Priority Customers in Non-Penny Symbols is equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because the Exchange will uniformly apply the new
schedule of fees and rebates to any member or member organization that
meets the criteria for these fees and rebates. Additionally, Priority
Customers in Non-Penny Symbols in Tier 4 will now be treated the same
as those in Tiers 1-3, in that they will neither be charged a Maker
Fee, nor paid a Maker Rebate, for these transactions.
The amended schedule of rebates is also reasonable, as well as
equitable and not unfairly discriminatory, because it is intended to
continue to attract order flow to the Exchange. While Priority
Customers in Non-Penny Symbols in Tier 4 would no longer be paid a
Maker Rebate, they also would not be charged a Maker Fee, which should
continue to make the Exchange an attractive venue for Priority Customer
order flow. Priority Customer order flow enhances liquidity on the
Exchange to the benefit of all market participants by providing more
trading opportunities, which in turn attracts other market participants
who may interact with this order flow.
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 not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Inter-Market Competition
The proposal does not impose an undue burden on inter-market
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes its proposal remains
competitive with other options markets and will offer market
participants with another choice of where to transact options. The
Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which
market participants can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee
levels at a particular venue to be excessive, or rebate opportunities
available at other venues to be more favorable. In such an environment,
the Exchange must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive
with other exchanges. Because competitors are free to modify their own
fees in response, and because market participants may readily adjust
their order routing practices, the Exchange believes that the degree to
which fee changes in this market may impose any burden on competition
is extremely limited.
Intra-Market Competition
The Exchange's proposed discontinuation of the Priority Customer
Tier 4 Maker Rebate for transactions in Non-Penny Symbols does not
impose an undue burden on intra-market competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act,
because the Exchange will uniformly apply the new schedule of fees and
rebates to any member or member organization that meets the criteria
for these fees and rebates. Additionally, all Priority Customers who
transact in Non-Penny Symbols will be treated the same, regardless of
whether they fall under Tiers 1-4, because none of them will be
assessed a Maker Fee, nor paid a Maker Rebate, for these transactions.
The amended schedule of rebates does not impose an undue burden on
intra-market competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act, because it is intended to
continue to attract order flow to the Exchange. While Priority
Customers in Non-Penny Symbols in Tier 4 would no longer be paid a
Maker Rebate, they also would not be charged a Maker Fee, which should
continue to make the Exchange an attractive venue for Priority Customer
order flow. Priority Customer order flow enhances liquidity on the
Exchange to the benefit of all market participants by providing more
trading opportunities, which in turn attracts other market participants
who may interact with this order flow.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either solicited or received.
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)(ii) of the Act.\20\ 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: (i) necessary or appropriate in the public
interest; (ii) for the protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such
action, the Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether
the proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.
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\20\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
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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#a2d0d7cec78fc1cdcfcfc7ccd6d1e2d1c7c18cc5cdd4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a686f767f37797577777f746e695a697f79347d756c">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-MRX-2026-09 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-MRX-2026-09. 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-MRX-2026-09 and should be submitted on
or before April 6, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\21\
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\21\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-05013 Filed 3-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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