Notice2026-07042
Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX Emerald, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the MIAX Emerald Options Exchange Fee Schedule To Amend Non-Transaction Fees
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 70 (Monday, April 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 70 (Monday, April 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18884-18899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07042]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-105180; File No. SR-EMERALD-2026-08]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX Emerald, LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend
the MIAX Emerald Options Exchange Fee Schedule To Amend Non-Transaction
Fees
April 8, 2026.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Exchange Act'' or ``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice
is hereby given that on March 25, 2026, MIAX Emerald, LLC (``MIAX
Emerald'' or ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (``Commission'') a 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 MIAX Emerald Options Exchange
Fee Schedule (the ``Fee Schedule'') to update various non-transaction
fees that have not been changed in a number of years to be comparable
to fees charged by other like exchanges for similar products.
The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's
website at <a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/miax-options/rule-filings">https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/miax-options/rule-filings</a>, and at the Exchange's principal office.
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 first launched operations in March 2019 to attract
order flow and encourage market participants to experience the high
determinism and resiliency of the Exchange's trading Systems.\3\ To do
so, the Exchange took a pragmatic and thoughtful approach to each fee
proposal to encourage and increase participation in its marketplace
while being mindful of fee levels charged by other exchanges for
similar products and services. The Exchange now proposes to amend
various fees for non-transaction related services to be in line with
those of other exchanges and enable it to continue to effectively
compete with other exchanges who charge higher non-transaction fees and
generate greater revenue. This proposal simply seeks to increase
certain fees to reflect current market rates. The Exchange notes that
significant portion of the fees for non-transaction related services
that are the subject of this filing have not been increased since
October 2020.
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\3\ The term ``System'' means the automated trading system used
by the Exchange for the trading of securities. See Exchange Rule
100.
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Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to
amend the following non-transaction fees: (1) monthly Trading Permit
\4\ fees applicable to Electronic Exchange Members (``EEMs'') \5\ and
Market Makers; \6\ (2) connectivity fees to the
[[Page 18885]]
primary/secondary facility and disaster recovery facility for Members
\7\ and non-Members; and (3) FIX,\8\ MEI,\9\ Purge,\10\ CTD \11\ and
FXD \12\ Port fees.\13\
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\4\ The term ``Trading Permit'' means a permit issued by the
Exchange that confers the ability to transact on the Exchange. See
Exchange Rule 100.
\5\ The term ``Electronic Exchange Member'' or ``EEM'' means the
holder of a Trading Permit who is not a Market Maker. Electronic
Exchange Members are deemed ``members'' under the Exchange Act. See
Exchange Rule 100.
\6\ The term ``Market Makers'' refers to ``Lead Market Makers'',
``Primary Lead Market Makers'' and ``Registered Market Makers''
collectively. See Exchange Rule 100.
\7\ The term ``Member'' means an individual or organization
approved to exercise the trading rights associated with a Trading
Permit. Members are deemed ``members'' under the Exchange Act. See
Exchange Rule 100.
\8\ ``FIX Port'' means an interface with MIAX Emerald systems
that enables the Port user to submit simple and complex orders
electronically to MIAX Emerald. See the Definitions section of the
Fee Schedule.
\9\ MIAX Emerald Express Interface (``MEI'') is a connection to
the MIAX Emerald System that enables Market Makers to submit simple
and complex electronic quotes to MIAX Emerald. ``Full Service MEI
Ports'' means a port which provides Market Makers with the ability
to send Market Maker simple and complex quotes, eQuotes, and quote
purge messages to the MIAX Emerald System. Full Service MEI Ports
are also capable of receiving administrative information. Market
Makers are limited to two Full Service MEI Ports per Matching
Engine. ``Limited Service MEI Ports'' means a port which provides
Market Makers with the ability to send simple and complex eQuotes
and quote purge messages only, but not Market Maker Quotes, to the
MIAX Emerald System. Limited Service MEI Ports are also capable of
receiving administrative information. Market Makers initially
receive four Limited Service MEI Ports per Matching Engine. See the
Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\10\ ``Purge Ports'' provide Market Makers with the ability to
send quote purge messages to the MIAX Emerald System. Purge Ports
are not capable of sending or receiving any other type of messages
or information. See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\11\ ``CTD Port'' or ``Clearing Trade Drop Port'' provides an
Exchange Member with a real-time clearing trade updates. The updates
include the Member's clearing trade messages on a low latency, real-
time basis. The trade messages are routed to a Member's connection
containing certain information. The information includes, among
other things, the following: (i) trade date and time; (ii) symbol
information; (iii) trade price/size information; (iv) Member type
(for example, and without limitation, Market Maker, Electronic
Exchange Member, Broker-Dealer); and (v) Exchange MPID for each side
of the transaction, including Clearing Member MPID. See the
Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\12\ The FIX Drop Copy (``FXD'') Port is a messaging interface
that will provide a copy of real-time trade execution, trade
correction and trade cancellation information to FXD Port users who
subscribe to the service. FXD Port users are those users who are
designated by an EEM to receive the information and the information
is restricted for use by the EEM. FXD Port Fees will be assessed in
any month the Member is credentialed to use the FXD Port in the
production environment. See Fee Schedule, Section 5)d)iv).
\13\ The Exchange initially filed this proposal on December 31,
2025. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104590 (January 13,
2026), 91 FR 2250 (January 16, 2026) (SR-EMERALD-2025-23). On
January 30, 2026, the Exchange withdrew SR-EMERALD-2025-23 and
refiled this proposal. See Securities Exchange Act Release No.
104838 (February 12, 2026), 91 FR 7605 (February 18, 2026) (SR-
EMERALD-2026-05). On March 25, 2026, the Exchange withdrew SR-
EMERALD-2026-05 and refiled this proposal.
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Monthly Trading Permit Fees
The Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to amend the amount
of the monthly Trading Permit fees assessed to EEMs and Market Makers.
EEMs
The Exchange notes that Trading Permit fees for EEMs have not been
amended since October 2020.\14\ The Exchange assesses a flat monthly
fee of $1,500 per Trading Permit to each EEM. The Exchange now proposes
to increase the monthly Trading Permit fee assessed to EEMs from $1,500
to $2,000.
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\14\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90196 (October 15,
2020), 85 FR 67064 (October 21, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-11) and 91033
(February 1, 2021), 86 FR 8455 (February 5, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-
03).
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Market Makers
The monthly Trading Permit fees for Market Makers have not been
amended since October 2020.\15\ Currently, the Exchange assesses
monthly Trading Permit fees to Market Makers based on the lesser of
either the per class basis or percentage of total national average
daily volume (``ADV'') measurements. The amount of the monthly Trading
Permit fee is based upon the number of classes in which the Market
Maker was assigned to quote on any given day within the calendar month,
or upon class volume percentages. The Exchange will assess Market
Makers the monthly Trading Permit fee based on the greatest number of
classes listed on MIAX Emerald that the Market Maker was assigned to
quote in on any given day within a calendar month.\16\ The class volume
percentage is based on the total national ADV in classes listed on MIAX
Emerald in the prior calendar quarter. Newly listed option classes are
excluded from the calculation of the monthly Trading Permit fee until
the calendar quarter following their listing, at which time the newly
listed option classes will be included in both the per class count and
the percentage of total national average daily volume.
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\15\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90196 (October 15,
2020), 85 FR 67064 (October 21, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-11) and 91033
(February 1, 2021), 86 FR 8455 (February 5, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-
03).
\16\ Pursuant to Exchange Rule 602(a), the Board or a committee
designated by the Board shall appoint Market Makers to one or more
classes of option contracts traded on the Exchange based on several
factors described in the Rule in the best interest of the Exchange
to provide competitive markets.
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Currently, the Exchange assess the following Trading Permit fees to
Market Makers:
<bullet> $7,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 10 option
classes or up to 20% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $12,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 40 option
classes or up to 35% of option classes by ADV;
<bullet> $17,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 100 option
classes or up to 50% of option classes by ADV; and
<bullet> $22,000 for Market Maker registrations in over 100 option
classes or over 50% of option classes by ADV up to all option classes
listed on MIAX Emerald.
The Exchange also assesses an alternative lower Trading Permit fee
to Market Makers who fall within the 3rd and 4th levels of the Market
Maker Trading Permit fee table, which levels are described immediately
above if certain volume thresholds are met. This alternative lower
Trading Permit fee for Market Makers is set forth in footnote
``[mshbox]'' that is included in the Market Maker Trading Permit fee
table and provides that if the Market Maker's total monthly executed
volume during the relevant month is less than 0.025% of the total
monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the customer account type
for MIAX Emerald-listed option classes for that month, then the fee
will be $15,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such level.
The Exchange now proposes to increase the Trading Permit fees
assessed to Market Makers, which, as described above, were last amended
in October 2020. In particular, the Exchange proposes to assess the
following Trading Permit fees to Market Makers:
<bullet> $8,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 10 option
classes or up to 20% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $14,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 40 option
classes or up to 35% of option classes by ADV;
<bullet> $20,000 for Market Maker registrations in up to 100 option
classes or up to 50% of option classes by ADV; and
<bullet> $26,000 for Market Maker registrations in over 100 option
classes or over 50% of option classes by ADV up to all option classes
listed on MIAX Emerald.
The Exchange also proposes to decrease the alternative lower
Trading Permit fee to Market Makers who fall within the 3rd and 4th
levels of the Market Maker Trading Permit fee table if certain volume
thresholds are met from $15,500 to $14,000 per month by amending the
footnote ``[mshbox]'' following the Market Maker Trading Permit fee
table for these monthly Trading Permit tier levels.
[[Page 18886]]
System Connectivity Fees
1Gb and 10Gb Network Connectivity Fees
Next, the Exchange proposes to amend the Fee Schedule to increase
connectivity fees to the primary/secondary and disaster recovery
facilities for Members and non-Members. Currently, the Exchange
assesses the same amount of connectivity fees to Members and non-
Members that connect to the Exchange's primary/secondary facility and
disaster recovery facility. In particular, the Exchange assesses the
following connectivity fees to Members and non-Members:
<bullet> $1,400 per 1 gigabit (``Gb'') connection to the primary/
secondary facility;
<bullet> $550 per 1Gb connection to the disaster recovery facility;
<bullet> $2,750 per 10Gb connection to the disaster recovery
facility; and
<bullet> $13,500 per 10Gb ultra-low latency (``ULL'') connection to
the primary/secondary facility.
The Exchange notes that the above fees for 1Gb connectivity and
10Gb to the disaster recovery facility, and 1Gb connectivity to the
primary/secondary facilities, have not been increased since December
2019.\17\ The fee for 10Gb ULL connectivity was last increased in
January 2023.\18\
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\17\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 87877 (December 31,
2019), 85 FR 738 (January 7, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2019-39).
\18\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 96628 (January 10,
2023), 88 FR 2651 (January 17, 2023) (SR-EMERALD-2023-01) and 99824
(March 21, 2024), 89 FR 21379 (March 27, 2024) (SR-EMERALD-2024-12)
(noting that while the proposed fee changes subject to this filing
were immediately effective, the proposed fee changes had been
effective since January 1, 2023 pursuant to the Exchange's initially
filed proposal on December 30, 2022 (i.e., SR-EMERALD-2022-38, which
was withdrawn without being noticed to make a minor technical
correction and refiled immediately as SR-EMERALD-2023-01)).
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The Exchange now propose to amend Sections 5)a)-b) of the Fee
Schedule to increase connectivity fees for Members and non-Members. In
particular, the Exchange proposes to assess the following connectivity
fees to Members and non-Members:
<bullet> $1,500 per 1Gb connection to the primary/secondary
facility;
<bullet> $650 per 1Gb connection to the disaster recovery facility;
<bullet> $3,500 per 10Gb connection to the disaster recovery
facility; and
<bullet> $15,000 per 10Gb ULL connection to the primary/secondary
facility.
Port Fees
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for FIX Ports, Full Service
MEI Ports, Limited Service MEI Ports, Purge Ports, CTD Ports and FXD
Ports. Some of these fees have not been increased since they were first
adopted in 2020. Each port provides access to the Exchange's primary
and secondary data centers as well as its disaster recovery center for
a single fee.
FIX Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for FIX Ports, which have
not been increased since October 2020.\19\ A FIX Port allows Members to
submit simple and complex orders electronically to MIAX Emerald.\20\
The Exchange currently assesses the following monthly FIX Port fees:
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\19\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90184 (October 14,
2020), 85 FR 66636 (October 20, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-12) and 91460
(April 2, 2021), 86 FR 18349 (April 8, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-11).
\20\ See supra note 8.
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<bullet> $550 for the first FIX Port;
<bullet> $350 per port for the second to fifth FIX Ports; and
<bullet> $150 per port for the sixth or more FIX Ports.
The Exchange proposes to increase monthly FIX Port fees as follows:
<bullet> $650 for the first FIX Port;
<bullet> $400 per port for the second to fifth FIX Ports; and
<bullet> $175 per port for the sixth or more FIX Ports.
Full Service MEI Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the Full Service MEI Port fees for
Market Makers, which have not been increased since October 2020.\21\
Full Service MEI Ports provide Market Makers with the ability to send
Market Maker simple and complex quotes, eQuotes, and quote purge
messages to the MIAX Emerald System. Full Service MEI Ports are also
capable of receiving administrative information.\22\
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\21\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90184 (October 14,
2020), 85 FR 66636 (October 20, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-12) and 91460
(April 2, 2021), 86 FR 18349 (April 8, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-11).
\22\ See supra note 9.
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The Exchange assesses the amount of the monthly Full Service MEI
Port fees for Market Makers based on the lesser of either the per class
basis or percentage of total national ADV measurements. The amount of
the monthly Full Service MEI Port fee is based upon the number of
classes in which the Market Maker was assigned to quote on any given
day within the calendar month, or upon class volume percentages. The
Exchange assesses Market Makers the monthly Full Service MEI Port fee
based on the greatest number of classes listed on MIAX Emerald that the
Market Maker was assigned to quote in on any given day within a
calendar month. The class volume percentage is based on the total
national ADV in classes listed on MIAX Emerald in the prior calendar
quarter. Newly listed option classes are excluded from the calculation
of the monthly Full Service MEI Port fee until the calendar quarter
following their listing, at which time the newly listed option classes
will be included in both the per class count and the percentage of
total national average daily volume. Specifically, the Exchange
assesses the following Full Service MEI Port fees to Market Makers:
<bullet> $5,000 for Market Maker assignments in up to 5 option
classes or up to 10% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $10,000 for Market Maker assignments in up to 10 option
classes or up to 20% of option classes by ADV;
<bullet> $14,000 for Market Maker assignments in up to 40 option
classes or up to 35% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $17,500 for Market Maker assignments in up to 100 option
classes or up to 50% of option classes by ADV; and
<bullet> $20,500 for Market Maker assignments in over 100 option
classes or over 50% of option classes by ADV up to all option classes
listed on MIAX Emerald.
The Exchange also provides an alternative lower Full Service MEI
Port fee for Market Makers who fall within the 4th and 5th levels of
the Market Maker Full Service MEI Port fee table, which levels are
described directly above if certain volume thresholds are met. This
alternative lower Full Service MEI Port fee for Market Makers is set
forth in footnote ``[mshbox]'' in the Market Maker Full Service MEI
Port fee table and provides that if the Market Maker's total monthly
executed volume during the relevant month is less than 0.025% of the
total monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the customer account
type for MIAX Emerald-listed option classes for that month, then the
fee will be $14,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such
level.
The Exchange now proposes to increase the Full Service MEI Port
fees assessed to Market Makers as follows:
<bullet> $6,000 for Market Maker assignments in up to 5 option
classes or up to 10% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $12,000 for Market Maker assignments in up to 10 option
classes or up to 20% of option classes by ADV;
<bullet> $16,500 for Market Maker assignments in up to 40 option
classes
[[Page 18887]]
or up to 35% of option classes by national ADV;
<bullet> $20,500 for Market Maker assignments in up to 100 option
classes or up to 50% of option classes by ADV; and
<bullet> $24,000 for Market Maker assignments in over 100 option
classes or over 50% of option classes by ADV up to all option classes
listed on MIAX Emerald.
The Exchange also proposes to decrease the alternative lower Full
Service MEI Port fee for Market Makers who fall within the 3rd, 4th and
5th levels of the proposed Market Maker Full Service MEI Port fee table
if certain volume thresholds are met from $14,500 to $12,000 per month
by amending footnote ``[mshbox]'' following the Market Maker Full
Service MEI Port fee table.
Limited Service MEI Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for Limited Service MEI
Ports, which provide Market Makers with the ability to send simple and
complex eQuotes and quote purge messages only, but not Market Maker
Quotes, to the MIAX Emerald System. Limited Service MEI Ports are also
capable of receiving administrative information. Market Makers
currently receive four free Limited Service MEI Ports per matching
engine.\23\ Currently, Market Makers may request additional Limited
Service MEI Ports for which MIAX will assess Market Makers $420 per
month per additional Limited Service MEI Port for each matching engine.
The Exchange proposes to increase the fee for each additional Limited
Service MEI Port from $420 to $450 per month per additional Limited
Service MEI Port for each matching engine.
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\23\ See supra note 9.
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Purge Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for Purge Ports, which
provide Market Makers with the ability to send quote purge messages to
the MIAX Emerald System. Purge Ports are not capable of sending or
receiving any other type of messages or information.\24\ The Exchange
proposes to increase the monthly Purge Port fee from $600 per matching
engine to $700 per matching engine.\25\
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\24\ See supra note 10.
\25\ A Market Maker may request and be allocated two (2) Purge
Ports per matching engine to which it connects and will be charged
the monthly fee per Matching Engine. See Fee Schedule, Section
5)d)ii).
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CTD Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for CTD Ports, which have
not been increased since October 2020.\26\ CTD Ports provide an
Exchange Member with a real-time clearing trade updates, including,
among other things, the following: (i) trade date and time; (ii) symbol
information; (iii) trade price/size information; (iv) Member type (for
example, and without limitation, Market Maker, Electronic Exchange
Member, Broker-Dealer); and (v) Exchange MPID for each side of the
transaction, including Clearing Member MPID. The Exchange now proposes
to increase the monthly fee per CTD Port from $450 to $525.
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\26\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90184 (October 14,
2020), 85 FR 66636 (October 20, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-12) and 91460
(April 2, 2021), 86 FR 18349 (April 8, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-11).
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FXD Ports
The Exchange proposes to amend the fees for FXD Ports, which have
not been increased since October 2020.\27\ A FXD Port means a messaging
interface that will provide a copy of real-time trade execution, trade
correction and trade cancellation information for simple and complex
orders to FIX Drop Copy Port users who subscribe to the service. FXD
Port Fees will be assessed in any month the Member is credentialed to
use the FXD Port in the production environment. The Exchange now
proposes to increase the monthly fee per FXD Port from $500 to $600.
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\27\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 90184 (October 14,
2020), 85 FR 66636 (October 20, 2020) (SR-EMERALD-2020-12) and 91460
(April 2, 2021), 86 FR 18349 (April 8, 2021) (SR-EMERALD-2021-11).
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Implementation
The Exchange issued an alert publicly announcing the proposed fees
on October 14, 2025 and a reminder alert on December 19, 2025.\28\ The
fees subject to this proposal are immediately effective.
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\28\ See Fee Change Alert, MIAX Options, Pearl Options and
Emerald Options--January 1, 2026 Non-Transaction Fee Changes (dated
October 14, 2025), available at <a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/alert/2025/10/14/miax-options-pearl-options-and-emerald-options-exchanges-january-1-2026-non-1?nav=all">https://www.miaxglobal.com/alert/2025/10/14/miax-options-pearl-options-and-emerald-options-exchanges-january-1-2026-non-1?nav=all</a> and Fee Change Alert, MIAX Options,
Pearl Options and Emerald Options Exchanges--Reminder: January 1,
2026 Non-Transaction Fee Changes (dated December 19, 2025),
available at <a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/alert/2025/12/19/miax-options-pearl-options-and-emerald-options-exchanges-reminder-january-1-1?nav=all">https://www.miaxglobal.com/alert/2025/12/19/miax-options-pearl-options-and-emerald-options-exchanges-reminder-january-1-1?nav=all</a>.
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2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with the provisions of Section 6(b) \29\ of the Act in general, and
furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(4) \30\ of the Act, in
particular, in that it is designed to provide for the equitable
allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among its Members
and other persons using its facilities. Additionally, the Exchange
believes that the proposed fees are consistent with the objectives of
Section 6(b)(5) \31\ of the Act in that they are designed 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 a free and open market and
national market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest, and, particularly, are not designed to permit unfair
discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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\29\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\30\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4).
\31\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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The Proposed Fees Are Reasonable and Comparable to the Fees Charged by
Other Exchanges for Similar Products and Services
Overall. The proposed fees are comparable to those of other options
exchanges. The Exchange compared the fees proposed herein to the fees
charged by other options exchanges for similar products or services. A
more detailed discussion of the comparison follows.\32\
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\32\ The fee amounts listed in each table provided in the
Statutory Basis section of this filing that pertain to the Exchange
are the proposed new rates for each product or service.
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EEM Trading Permit Fees
The proposed Trading Permit fee for EEMs are lower than the trading
permit fee charged by Cboe Exchange, Inc. (``Cboe''), as summarized in
the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Type of product/service Monthly fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................... EEM Trading Permit..... $2,000
Cboe \a\....................... Electronic Access 3,000
Permit.
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\a\ See Cboe Fee Schedule, Electronic Trading Permit Fees section, page
6, available at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf</a>.
[[Page 18888]]
Cboe. Cboe charges higher trading permit fees than the Trading
Permit fees proposed by the Exchange for EEMs. Cboe's Electronic Access
Permit is analogous to the Exchange's Trading Permits for EEMs. In
general, a Trading Permit is a permit issued by the Exchange that
confers the ability to transact on the Exchange.\33\ EEMs are assessed
the monthly Trading Permit fee in order to transact on the Exchange on
behalf of their customers or to conduct proprietary trading. Likewise,
Cboe's Electronic Access Permits entitle the holder to access Cboe.\34\
Like Trading Permit Holders on the Exchange, Electronic Access Permit
holders must be broker-dealers registered with Cboe and are allowed
transact on Cboe.\35\ Cboe charges a higher trading permit fee for
Electronic Access Permits than the Trading Permit fee proposed by the
Exchange for EEMs. Cboe charges a flat $3,000 per Electronic Access
Permit per month, while the Exchange proposes to charge a flat $2,000
per EEM Trading Permit per month, lower than Cboe's flat $3,000 fee.
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\33\ See Exchange Rule 100.
\34\ See Cboe Fee Schedule, Electronic Trading Permit Fees
section, page 6, available at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_FeeSchedule.pdf</a>. The Exchange notes that Cboe
differentiates between electronic access permits for clearing firms
and electronic exchange member firms and charges a trading permit
fee of $2,000 per month for Clearing TPH Permits, which is the same
rate for a Trading Permit as proposed by the Exchange for EEMs that
act as Clearing Members. See id. The term ``Clearing Member'' means
a Member that has been admitted to membership in the Clearing
Corporation pursuant to the provisions of the rules of the Clearing
Corporation. See Exchange Rule 100. The term ``Clearing
Corporation'' means The Options Clearing Corporation (``OCC''). Id.
\35\ See Cboe Rulebook, Chapter 3, Rules 3.2-3.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Market Maker Trading Permit Fees
The Exchange believes the proposed Trading Permit \36\ fees for
Market Makers are similar to the Trading Permit fees charged by NYSE
American LLC (``NYSE American''), as summarized in the table below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ Similar to NYSE American, the Exchange assesses the monthly
Trading Permit fee on a per-Member basis, not to each individual
person within the Member.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Type of product/ Monthly fee
service.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald..................... Market Maker Trading $8,000 Up to 10 Classes.... Up to 20% of Classes
Permit. by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
14,000 Up to 40 Classes.... Up to 35% of Classes
by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
20,000 Up to 100 Classes... Up to 50% of Classes
by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
26,000 Over 100 Classes.... Over 50% of Classes
by volume up to all
Classes on MIAX
Options (as a % of
national ADV).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE American \a\................ Options Market Maker $8,000 1st ATP: 60 issues plus bottom 45%.
ATPs.
6,000 2nd ATP: 150 issues plus bottom 45%.
5,000 3rd ATP: 500 issues plus bottom 45%.
4,000 4th ATP: 1,100 issues plus bottom 45%.
3,000 5th ATP: all issues traded.
2,000 6th to 9th ATP: all issues traded.
500 10th or more ATPs: all issues traded.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, Section III.A., available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
NYSE American. NYSE American charges similar trading permit fees
for its market makers as the Trading Permit fees proposed by the
Exchange for its Market Makers. In general, a Trading Permit is a
permit issued by the Exchange that confers the ability to transact on
the Exchange.\37\ Each registered Market Maker is assessed a monthly
Trading Permit fee in order to appoint a qualified person (or persons)
to act as a Registered Option Trader (``ROT'') \38\ pursuant to the
Exchange's Rules and fulfill the Market Maker's obligations to act as a
specialist on the Exchange.\39\ The Exchange assesses Trading Permit
fees based on the lesser of either the per class basis or percentage of
total national average daily volume measurement. A ``class'' of options
means all option contracts covering the same underlying security.\40\
NYSE American's market maker ATP \41\ fee is analogous to the
Exchange's Trading Permit fees for Market Makers, which is a monthly
fee in order to transact on NYSE American for the purpose of making
markets in options contracts.\42\ NYSE American assesses its ATP fees
based on the number of issues \43\ in their appointment. The Exchange
and NYSE American provide for different numbers of option classes
included in each tier of their respective trading permit fee structures
due to their own business and competitive reasons. The Exchange
provides fewer options class assignments for each Trading Permit tier
because it believes this structure best represents the Market Makers
that trade on the Exchange. NYSE American, on the other hand, provides
significantly more ``issues'' or options classes in each ATP tier in
order to ``properly [incentivize] Market Makers to quote in a broad
range of options, including less liquid and active names . . .'' \44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ See Exchange Rule 100.
\38\ An ROT is permitted to enter quotes and orders only for the
account of the Market Maker with which he is associated. See
Exchange Rule 601(a).
\39\ See, generally, Chapter VI of the Exchange's Rules.
\40\ See Exchange Rule 100.
\41\ An ``ATP'' or ``ATP Holder'' is a registered Broker-Dealer
who is a permit holder on NYSE American, per NYSE American Rule
900.2NY(4),(5). See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, Key Terms
and Definitions section, available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
\42\ See, generally, NYSE American Rule 923NY.
\43\ An ``issue'' means an options class. See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 67764 (August 31, 2012), 77 FR 55254
(September 7, 2012) (SR-NYSEMKT-2012-44) (changing the calculation
of trading permit fees to be based on the ``number of option classes
in [a NYSE Amex Options Market Maker's] electronic trading
appointment . . .'' and then using the term ``issue'' in the tiers
of ATP fees).
\44\ See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 18889]]
NYSE American charges similar trading permit fees to its ATPs as
proposed by the Exchange herein for the Exchange's Market Makers. NYSE
American charges all Options Market Makers \45\ tiered trading permit
fees based on the number of issues permitted in an Options Market
Maker's quoting assignment.\46\ NYSE American provides tiered ATP fees
ranging from $8,000 to $26,000 due to the cumulative nature of the
fee,\47\ which amount could be significantly higher if a market maker
purchases six or more ATPs, while the Exchange provides tiered Trading
Permit fees ranging from $8,000 to $26,000 (as proposed), based on the
lesser of either the per class basis or percentage of total national
ADV measurements. The Exchange offers even greater savings to Market
Makers as it provides a reduced Trading Permit fee of $16,000 (as
proposed) for Market Makers if their total monthly executed volume
during the relevant month is less than 0.060% of the total monthly
executed volume reported by OCC in the market maker account type for
MIAX-listed option classes for that month, which still allows these
Market Makers to quote the entire market (or close to the entire
market). NYSE American does not offer reduced fees for its Options
Market Makers that only quote in certain classes compared to those that
quote the entire market. NYSE American actually charges higher fees for
Options Market Makers that transacts in certain options classes, which
fees add to the ATP fees described above.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\ A ``Market Maker'' refers to an ATP Holder that acts as a
Market Maker pursuant to NYSE American Rule 920NY and is referred to
as an ``NYSE AMERICAN Options Market Maker'' in the NYSE American
Fee Schedule. See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, Preface,
available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
\46\ NYSE American charges ATP fees based on the maximum number
of ATPs held during the month. The ``bottom 45%'' refers to the
least actively traded issues on NYSE American, ranked by industry
volume, as reported by the OCC for each issue during the calendar
quarter. See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, Section III.A.,
available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/american-options/NYSE_American_Options_Fee_Schedule.pdf</a>.
\47\ This was calculated by adding the monthly fees for the
first five ATPs that a market maker would be required to purchase in
order to quote the entire NYSE American market (i.e., $8,000 +
$6,000 + $5,000 + $4,000 + $3,000).
\48\ See NYSE American Options Fee Schedule, Section III.D.
Premium Product fees (assessing an additional monthly fee of $1,000
per product to NYSE American Options Market Makers that transact in
premium products, such SPY, APPL, etc., capped at $7,000 per month).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Connectivity Fees (Disaster Recovery Facility)
The proposed network connectivity fees to the Exchange's disaster
recovery facility for Members and non-Members are lower than the
connectivity fees charged by Cboe C2 Exchange, Inc. (``Cboe C2'') for
connecting to the Cboe C2 disaster recovery facility, as summarized in
the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of product/ Monthly fee (per
Exchange service connection)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald.................. 1Gb Connectivity $650
(disaster recovery).
10Gb Connectivity 3,500
(disaster recovery).
Cboe C2 \a\................... Physical Port 1Gb 2,000
(disaster recovery).
Physical Port 10Gb 6,000
(disaster recovery).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Physical Connectivity Fees section,
available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a> ctwo/.
Cboe C2. Cboe C2 charges higher 1Gb and 10Gb connectivity fees to
connect to its disaster recovery facility than the Exchange proposes to
connect to its disaster recovery facility. Cboe C2's connectivity fees
to connect to its disaster recovery facility are analogous to the
Exchange's connectivity fees to its disaster recovery facility. In
general, the disaster recovery facility is a secondary data center in a
separate, geographically diverse location that Exchange participants
are able to connect to in order to have redundancy for their trading
and market data connections in the event that the Exchange's primary
data center operations are disabled. Cboe C2's 1Gb and 10Gb connections
to its disaster recovery center allow its members to connect to that
data center in the event that Cboe C2's primary data center is no
longer operational.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\49\ See Cboe BCP/DR Plan Highlights, v1.3, page 2, available at
<a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_Corporate_BCP-DR.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/Cboe_Corporate_BCP-DR.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2 charges higher 1Gb and 10Gb connectivity fees to its
disaster recovery facility than the fees proposed by the Exchange
herein for connectivity to the Exchange's disaster recovery facility.
Cboe C2 charges monthly fees of $2,000 per 1Gb connection and $6,000
per 10Gb connection to its disaster recovery facility. Meanwhile, the
Exchange proposes to charge monthly fees of $650 per 1Gb connection and
$3,500 per 10Gb connection to its disaster recovery facility.
Network Connectivity Fees (Primary/Secondary Facility)
The proposed network connectivity fees to the Exchange's primary
and secondary facility for Members and non-Members are lower than the
connectivity fees charged by Nasdaq BX, Inc. (``Nasdaq BX'') and NYSE
American for connectivity to its primary data centers, as summarized in
the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of product/ Monthly fee (per
Exchange service connection)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald.................. 1Gb Connectivity..... $1,500
10Gb Connectivity.... 15,000
Nasdaq BX \a\................. 1Gb Connection....... 2,750
10Gb Ultra Connection 18,500
NYSE American \b\............. 10Gb LX LCN Circuit.. 22,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104261 (November 25, 2025),
90 FR 55209 (December 1, 2025) (SR-BX-2025-027).
\b\ See NYSE American Connectivity Fee Schedule, page 12, available at
<a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf</a>.
[[Page 18890]]
The Exchange notes that Nasdaq BX and NYSE American operate on
shared infrastructure with their affiliates. As such, one network
connection to one exchange provides access to the affiliated exchanges
on their shared network. Meanwhile, the Exchange operates on a
dedicated 10Gb ULL network that is not shared with its affiliates and
therefore, each 10Gb ULL connection only provides connectivity to a
single exchange. In the Exchange's experience, however, market
participants that wish to experience certain latency may elect to
purchase multiple connections rather than using one 10Gb connection to
access multiple markets or, in some cases, purchase a more expensive
40Gb line if available. In addition, those that purchase connections to
receive market data need a dedicated connection to each exchange
because they are unable to receive market data from multiple markets
over a single connection. Also, market participants may choose to not
use the single connection to access other markets within an exchange
family to avoid incurring other ancillary costs, such as membership,
transaction, or other network fees.
Nasdaq BX. Nasdaq BX charges higher connectivity fees to its
primary data center. Nasdaq BX's 1Gb and 10Gb Ultra fiber connection
fees are analogous to the Exchange's 1Gb and 10Gb ULL connectivity
fees. In general, the Exchange's 1Gb and 10Gb ULL connectivity fees
provide Members and non-Members with access to the Exchange's primary
and secondary facilities (i.e., the live trading platforms and market
data systems). Nasdaq BX's 1Gb and 10Gb Ultra fiber connections provide
Nasdaq BX participants with the ability to connect directly to Nasdaq
BX's trading platforms and market data feeds.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\50\ See, generally, Nasdaq Market Connectivity Options web
page, available at <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/solutions/nasdaq-co-location">https://www.nasdaq.com/solutions/nasdaq-co-location</a> (last visited March 22, 2026).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq BX charges higher connectivity fees than the connectivity
fees to the primary and secondary facilities proposed by the Exchange
herein. Nasdaq BX charges all participants monthly fees of $2,750 per
1Gb connection and $18,500 per 10Gb connection to access its primary
data center. Meanwhile, the Exchange proposes to charge Members and
non-Members monthly fees of $1,500 per 1Gb connection and $15,000 per
10Gb ULL connection to the Exchange's primary and secondary facilities.
Nasdaq BX charges an additional installation fee for each 1Gb or 10Gb
connection of $1,650.\51\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ See Nasdaq BX, General 8: Connectivity, Section 1(b),
Connectivity to the Exchange, available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/bx/rules/BX%20General%208">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/bx/rules/BX%20General%208</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE American. NYSE American charges higher 10Gb connectivity fees
to its primary data center. NYSE American's 10Gb LX LCN Circuit
connection fee is analogous to the Exchange's 10Gb ULL connectivity
fee. In general, the Exchange's 10Gb ULL connectivity fee provides
Members and non-Members with access to the Exchange's primary and
secondary facilities (i.e., the live trading platforms and market data
systems). NYSE American's 10Gb LX LCN Circuit connection provides NYSE
American participants with the ability to connect directly to NYSE
American trading platforms and market data feeds.\52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\52\ See, generally, NYSE American Connectivity Fee Schedule,
available at <a href="https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf">https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/Wireless_Connectivity_Fees_and_Charges.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYSE American charges higher connectivity fees as proposed by the
Exchange herein. NYSE American charges all participants a monthly fee
of $22,000 per 10Gb LX LCN Circuit connection to access its primary
data center. Meanwhile, the Exchange proposes to charge Members and
non-Members a monthly fee of $15,000 per 10Gb ULL connection to the
Exchange's primary and secondary facilities. NYSE American charges an
additional installation fee for each 10Gb LX LCN Circuit connection of
$15,000.\53\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIX Port Fees
The proposed FIX Port fees are comparable to, or lower than, the
similar port fees charged by Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (``Cboe BZX''),
Cboe C2 and The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq''), as summarized in
the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly fee
Exchange Type of product/service (per port)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................... 1st FIX Port........... $650
2nd to 5th FIX Ports... 400
6th or more FIX Ports.. 175
Cboe BZX \a\................... Logical Ports.......... 750
Cboe C2 \b\.................... FIX Logical Ports...... 650
Nasdaq \c\..................... FIX Ports.............. 650
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Cboe BZX Fee Schedule, Options Logical Port Fees section,
available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/bzx/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/bzx/</a> bzx/.
\b\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Logical Connectivity Fees section,
available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a> ctwo/.
\c\ See Nasdaq Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Section 3(i)(1), available at
<a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a>.
Cboe BZX. Cboe BZX charges higher Logical Port fees than the FIX
Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Cboe BZX's Logical Ports are
analogous to the Exchange's FIX Ports. In general, a FIX Port allows an
Exchange Member to send simple and complex orders, as well as other
messages, to the Exchange using the FIX protocol.\54\ Cboe BZX's
Logical Ports allow for order entry and other messages to be sent to
Cboe BZX by participants.\55\ Cboe BZX charges slightly higher Logical
Port fees than the FIX Port fees proposed by the Exchange herein. Cboe
BZX charges a monthly fee of $750 per Logical Port, while the
Exchange's highest proposed tier is only $650 per FIX Port per month.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\54\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\55\ See, generally, Cboe Titanium U.S. Options FIX
Specification, Version 2.7.97 (dated October 20, 2025), available at
<a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2. Cboe C2 charges comparable FIX Logical Port fees as the
FIX Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Cboe C2's FIX Logical Ports are
analogous to the Exchange's FIX Ports. In general, a FIX Port allows an
Exchange Member to send simple and complex orders and other messages to
the Exchange using the FIX protocol.\56\ Cboe C2's FIX Logical Ports
allow for order entry and
[[Page 18891]]
other messages to be sent to Cboe C2 by participants.\57\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\56\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\57\ See, generally, Cboe Titanium U.S. Options FIX
Specification, Version 2.7.97 (dated October 20, 2025), available at
<a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2 charges comparable FIX Logical Port fees as the FIX Port
fees proposed by the Exchange herein. Cboe C2 charges a monthly fee of
$650 per FIX Logical Port, while the Exchange's highest proposed tier
is $650 per FIX Port per month, with the Exchange's fees for subsequent
FIX Ports decreasing to $400 per port (FIX Ports 2-5) and then $175 per
port (FIX Ports greater than 5). Cboe C2 FIX Logical Port users may
incur an additional monthly fee of $650 per port. Cboe C2 provides that
for the standard monthly fee of $650 per FIX Logical Port, a user may
enter up to 70,000 orders per trading day per port as measured on
average in a single month. However, each incremental usage of up to
70,000 per day per FIX Logical Port will incur an additional $650 fee
per month.\58\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\58\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Logical Connectivity Fees
section, available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a>. Incremental usage is determined on a monthly
basis based on the average orders per day entered in a single month
across all of a market participant's subscribed FIX Ports. See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq. Nasdaq charges similar FIX Port fees as the FIX Port fees
proposed by the Exchange. Nasdaq's FIX Ports are analogous to the
Exchange's FIX Ports in that they that allow Nasdaq participants to
connect, send, and receive messages related to orders to and from
Nasdaq, which include the following: (1) execution messages; (2) order
messages; and (3) risk protection triggers and cancel
notifications.\59\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\59\ See Nasdaq Options 3 Options Trading Rules, Section
7(e)(1)(A).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq charges participants $650 per FIX Port per month, while the
Exchange's highest proposed tier is $650 per FIX Port per month, with
the Exchange's fees for subsequent FIX Ports decreasing to $400 per
port (FIX Ports 2-5) and then $175 per port (FIX Ports greater than 5).
Accordingly, Nasdaq charges comparable FIX Port fees as proposed by the
Exchange herein.
Limited Service MEI Port Fees
The proposed Limited Service MEI Port (``LSPs'') fees are lower
than the similar port fees charged by Nasdaq and Nasdaq MRX, LLC
(``Nasdaq MRX''), as summarized in the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly fee
Exchange Type of product/service (per port)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................... Limited Service MEI $450
Port.
Nasdaq \a\..................... QUO Ports.............. 750
Nasdaq MRX \b\................. OTTO Ports............. 650
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Nasdaq, Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 3(i)(4), available
at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a>.
\b\ See Nasdaq MRX, Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 6(i)(4),
available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rules/MRX%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rules/MRX%20Options%207</a>.
Nasdaq. Nasdaq charges higher Quote Using Order (``QUO'') Port fees
than the Limited Service MEI Port fees proposed by the Exchange. The
Exchange acknowledges differences between the functionality of its LSPs
and that of Nasdaq's QUO Ports; however, the Exchange believes that the
fee comparison between LSPs and QUO Ports is relevant as both ports
provide a limited subset of functionality as provided by other ports
offered by both the Exchange and Nasdaq. In general, Limited Service
MEI Ports support all MEI Interface \60\ input message types,\61\ but
do not support bulk quote entry.\62\ Notifications sent over LSPs
between market participants and the Exchange may include the following
information: (1) execution notifications, cancel notifications, stock
leg execution notifications, and order notifications; (2)
administrative messages (i.e., series updates); (3) risk protection
settings and notification updates; and (4) trading status notifications
(i.e., halted).\63\ Nasdaq's QUO Ports allow Nasdaq market makers to
connect, send, and receive messages related to single-sided orders to
and from Nasdaq.\64\ Messages sent over QUO Ports may include the
following: (1) options symbol directory messages (e.g., underlying);
(2) system event messages (e.g., start of trading hours messages and
start of opening); (3) trading action messages (e.g., halts and
resumes); (4) execution messages; (5) order messages; and (6) risk
protection triggers and cancel notifications.\65\ Nasdaq charges a
monthly fee of $750 per QUO Port, per account number, while the
Exchange provides the first four LSPs for free and proposes to charge
$450 per additional LSP for each matching engine per month thereafter.
Nasdaq charges higher QUO Port fees than the LSP fees proposed by the
Exchange herein.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\60\ The MIAX Express Interface (``MEI'') is a connection to
MIAX Emerald System that enables Market Makers to submit simple and
complex electronic quotes to MIAX Emerald. See the Definitions
section of the Fee Schedule.
\61\ See MIAX Emerald MEI Interface Specification, Version 2.2c
(revision date October 10, 2025), available at <a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/job-files/MIAX_Express_Interface_MEI_v2.2c.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/job-files/MIAX_Express_Interface_MEI_v2.2c.pdf</a> (providing full description of
messages supported by the MEI Interface).
\62\ See MIAX Emerald Options Exchange User Manual, Version
1.0.0, Section 5.01 (revision date December 12, 2023), available at
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/miax_emerald_user_manual.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/miax_emerald_user_manual.pdf</a>.
\63\ See MIAX Emerald MEI Interface Specification, Version 2.2c
(revision date October 10, 2025), available at <a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/job-files/MIAX_Express_Interface_MEI_v2.2c.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/job-files/MIAX_Express_Interface_MEI_v2.2c.pdf</a> (providing full description of
messages supported by the MEI Interface).
\64\ See Nasdaq Options 3: Options Trading Rules, Section
7(e)(1)(D).
\65\ See Nasdaq Options 3: Options Trading Rules, Section
7(e)(1)(D).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq MRX. Nasdaq MRX charges higher Ouch to Trade Options
(``OTTO'') Port fees than the Limited Service MEI Port fees proposed by
the Exchange. The Exchange acknowledges differences between the
functionality of its LSPs and that of Nasdaq MRX's OTTO Ports; however,
the Exchange believes that the fee comparison between LSPs and OTTO
Ports is relevant as both ports provide a limited subset of
functionality as provided by other ports offered by both the Exchange
and Nasdaq MRX. Nasdaq MRX's OTTO Ports allow Nasdaq MRX members to
connect, send, and receive messages related to orders, auction orders,
and auction responses to Nasdaq MRX.\66\ Messages sent over OTTO Ports
include the following: (1) options symbol directory messages (e.g.,
underlying and complex instruments); (2) system event messages (e.g.,
start of trading hours messages and start of opening); (3) trading
action messages (e.g., halts and resumes); (4) execution messages; (5)
order messages; (6) risk protection
[[Page 18892]]
triggers and cancel notifications; (7) auction notifications; (8)
auction responses; and (9) post trade allocation messages.\67\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\66\ See Nasdaq MRX, Options 3: Options Trading Rules,
Supplementary Material to Options 3, Section 7, .03(b).
\67\ See Nasdaq MRX, Options 3: Options Trading Rules,
Supplementary Material to Options 3, Section 7, .03(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq MRX charges a monthly fee of $650 per OTTO Port, per account
number (with fees for all OTTO Ports, CTI Ports, FIX Ports, FIX Drop
Ports and disaster recovery ports subject to a monthly cap of $7,500),
while the Exchange provides the first four LSPs for free and proposes
to charge $450 per additional LSP for each matching engine per month
thereafter. Nasdaq MRX charges higher OTTO Port fees than the LSP fees
proposed by the Exchange herein.
Purge Port Fees
The proposed Purge Port fees are comparable to, or lower than, the
similar port fees charged by Nasdaq MRX, Cboe C2 and Nasdaq, as
summarized in the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Type of product/
Exchange service Monthly fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................ Purge Ports......... $700 per matching
engine.
Nasdaq MRX \a\.............. First 5 SQF Purge $1,620 per port.
Ports.
Next 15 SQF Purge $1,080 per port.
Ports.
All SQF Purge Ports $540 per port.
over 20.
Cboe C2 \b\................. Purge Ports......... $850 per port.
Nasdaq \c\.................. First 5 SQF Purge $1,620 per port.
Ports.
Next 15 SQF Purge $1,080 per port.
Ports.
All SQF Purge Ports $540 per port.
over 20.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104005 (September 18, 2025),
90 FR 45855 (September 23, 2025) (SR-MRX-2025-20) (new fees effective
January 1, 2026).
\b\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Logical Connectivity Fees section,
available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a> ctwo/.
\c\ See Nasdaq Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 3 Nasdaq Options
Market--Ports and Other Services, available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a>.
The Exchange's comparison to fees charged by other exchanges for
similar ports is limited because a thorough comparison would require
the Exchange to obtain competitively sensitive information about other
exchanges' architecture and how their members connect. However, in a
practical sense, the Exchange can surmise that a market participant
would require multiple purge ports to access an exchange's entire
market as a single port might not connect to all matching engines or
provide the latency benefits that the market participant's trading
behavior requires. The Exchange does not know the actual number of
purge ports needed because it does not have insight into the technical
architecture of other exchanges so it is difficult to ascertain the
number of purge ports a firm would need to connect to another
exchange's entire market. Therefore, the Exchange is limited to
comparing its proposed fee to other exchanges' purge port fees as
listed in their fee schedules.
Nasdaq MRX. Nasdaq MRX charges higher Specialized Quote Feed
(``SQF'') Purge Port fees than the Purge Port fees proposed by the
Exchange. Nasdaq MRX's SQF Purge Ports are analogous to the Exchange's
Purge Ports. In general, Purge Ports provide Market Makers with the
ability to send quote purge messages to the Exchange, but are not
capable of sending or receiving any other type of messages or
information.\68\ Nasdaq MRX's SQF Purge Ports allow Nasdaq MRX market
makers to send purge requests to the Nasdaq MRX trading system.\69\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\68\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\69\ See Nasdaq MRX Options 3: Trading Rules, Supplementary
Material to Options 3, Section 7, .03(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq MRX charges higher SQF Purge Port fees than the Purge Port
fees proposed by the Exchange herein. Nasdaq MRX will charge (beginning
January 1, 2026) SQF Purge Port fees as follows: (a) $1,620 per SQF
Purge Port per month for the first 5 ports; (b) $1,080 per SQF Purge
Port per month for the next 15 ports; and (c) $540 per SQF Purge Port
for all ports over 20 ports. The Exchange proposes to charge $700 per
Purge Port per matching engine per month. The Exchange chose to charge
Purge ports on a per matching engine basis instead of a per port basis
due to its System architecture, which provides two (2) Purge Ports per
matching engine for redundancy purposes. Market Makers are able to
select the matching engines that they want to connect to based on the
business needs of each Market Maker, and pay the applicable fee based
on the number of matching engines and pair of ports utilized.\70\ This
architecture provides Market Makers with flexibility to control their
Purge Port costs based on the number of matching engines each Marker
Maker elects to connect to based on each Market Maker's business needs.
Further, the Exchange's monthly Purge Port fee provides access to the
Exchange's primary, secondary, and disaster recovery data centers for
the single monthly fee. Nasdaq MRX, on the other hand, assesses an
additional fee $50 per SQF Purge Port per month, per account number, to
access its disaster recovery facility (albeit, Nasdaq MRX currently
waives the fee for one SQF Purge Port to the disaster recovery facility
per market maker per month).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\70\ The Exchange notes that each matching engine corresponds to
a specified group of symbols. Certain Market Makers choose to only
quote in certain symbols while other Market Makers choose to quote
the entire market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2. Cboe C2 charges higher Purge Port fees than the Purge Port
fees proposed by the Exchange. Cboe C2's Purge Ports are analogous to
the Exchange's Purge Ports. In general, Cboe C2's Purge Ports allow its
members the ability to cancel a subset (or all) of open orders across
the executing firm's ID, underlying symbol(s), or custom group ID,
across multiple logical ports/sessions.\71\ Cboe C2 charges $850 per
Purge Port per month, while the Exchange proposes to charge $700 per
pair of Purge Ports per matching engine per month. Cboe C2 charges
higher Purge Port fees than the Purge Port fees proposed by the
Exchange herein.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\71\ See Cboe Purge Ports, Frequently Asked Questions, U.S.
Options, Version 1.3, available at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/features/Cboe_USO_PurgePortsFAQs.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/features/Cboe_USO_PurgePortsFAQs.pdf</a> (last visited November 5,
2025).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq. Nasdaq charges higher SQF Purge Port fees than the Purge
Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Nasdaq's SQF Purge Ports are
analogous to the Exchange's Purge Ports, which allow
[[Page 18893]]
Nasdaq market makers to send purge requests to the Nasdaq trading
system.\72\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\72\ See Nasdaq Options 3: Trading Rules, Section 7(e)(1)(B).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq charges higher Purge Port fees than the Purge Port fees
proposed by the Exchange herein. Nasdaq charges tiered SQF Purge Port
fees as follows: (a) $1,620 per SQF Purge Port per month for the first
5 ports; (b) $1,080 per SQF Purge Port per month for the next 15 ports;
and (c) $540 per SQF Purge Port for all ports over 20 ports. The
Exchange proposes to charge a flat $700 per set of Purge Ports per
matching engine per month.
CTD Port Fees
The proposed CTD Port fees are lower than the similar port fees
charged by Nasdaq, as summarized in the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly fee
Exchange Type of product/service (per port)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................... CTD Ports.............. $525
Nasdaq \a\..................... CTI Ports.............. 650
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Nasdaq Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 3 Nasdaq Options
Market--Ports and Other Services, available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a>.
Nasdaq. Nasdaq charges higher Clearing Trade Interface (``CTI'')
Port fees than the CTD Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Nasdaq's CTI
Ports are analogous to the Exchange's CTD Ports. In general, CTD Ports
provide an Exchange Member with real-time clearing trade updates,
including, among other things, the following: (i) trade date and time;
(ii) symbol information; (iii) trade price/size information; (iv)
Member type (for example, and without limitation, Market Maker,
Electronic Exchange Member, Broker-Dealer); and (v) Exchange MPID for
each side of the transaction, including Clearing Member MPID.\73\
Nasdaq's CTI Ports provide real-time clearing trade updates regarding
trade details specific to the Nasdaq participant, which include, among
other things, the following: (i) The Clearing Member Trade Agreement or
``CMTA'' or The Options Clearing Corporation or ``OCC'' number; (ii)
Nasdaq badge or house number; (iii) Nasdaq internal firm identifier;
(iv) an indicator which will distinguish electronic and non-
electronically delivered orders; (v) liquidity indicators and
transaction type for billing purposes; and (vi) capacity.\74\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\73\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\74\ See Nasdaq Options 3: Trading Rules, Section 23(b)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq charges $650 per CTI Port per month, while the Exchange
proposes to charge $525 per CTD Port per month. Nasdaq charges higher
CTI Port fees than the CTD Port fees proposed by the Exchange herein.
FXD Port Fees
The proposed FXD Port fees are comparable to the similar port fees
charged by Cboe C2 and Nasdaq BX, as summarized in the table below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monthly fee
Exchange Type of product/service (per port)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald................... FXD Ports.............. $600
Cboe C2 \a\.................... Drop Logical Ports..... 650
Nasdaq \b\..................... FIX Drop Ports......... 650
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Logical Connectivity Fees section,
available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a> ctwo/.
\b\ See Nasdaq Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 3 Nasdaq Options
Market--Ports and Other Services, available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a>.
Cboe C2. Cboe C2 charges comparable logical Drop Port fees as the
FXD Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Cboe C2's Drop Logical Ports
are analogous to the Exchange's FXD Ports. In general, FXD Ports allow
the Exchange's market participants to connect their systems with a
messaging interface that provides a copy of real-time trade execution,
trade correction and trade cancellation information.\75\ Cboe C2's Drop
Logical Ports allow its members to receive real-time information about
order flow, including execution information (i.e., filled or partially
filled) and cancellation information.\76\ Like the Exchange's FXD
Ports, Cboe C2's Drop Logical Ports do not allow the user to submit
orders to the exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\75\ See Fee Schedule, Section 5)d)iv).
\76\ See Cboe Titanium U.S. Options FIX Specification, Version
2.7.97, FIX Drop section (dated October 20, 2025), available at
<a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_FIX_Specification.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2 charges $650 per Drop Logical Port per month, while the
Exchange proposes to charge $600 per FXD Port per month. Cboe C2
charges higher Drop Logical Port fees than the FXD Port fees proposed
by the Exchange herein.
Nasdaq. Nasdaq charges comparable FIX Drop Port fees as the FXD
Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Nasdaq's FIX Drop Ports are
analogous to the Exchange's FXD Ports in that they provide a real-time
order and execution update message that is sent to a Nasdaq participant
after an order has been received or modified or an execution has
occurred and contains trade details specific to that participant.\77\
The information provided through the Nasdaq FIX Drop Port includes,
among other things, the following: (i) executions; (ii) cancellations;
(iii) modifications to an existing order and (iv) busts or post-trade
corrections.\78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\77\ See Nasdaq Options 3: Trading Rules, Section 23(b)(3).
\78\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasdaq charges $650 per FIX Drop Port per month, while the Exchange
proposes to charge $600 per FXD Port per month. Nasdaq charges higher
FIX Drop Port fees as the FXD Port fees proposed by the Exchange
herein.
Full Service MEI Port Fees
The proposed Full Service MEI Port fees are comparable to the
similar port fees charged by Cboe C2, as summarized in the table below.
[[Page 18894]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange Type of product/ Monthly fee
service.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MIAX Emerald..................... Market Maker Full $6,000 Up to 5 Classes..... Up to 10% of Classes
Service MEI Port. by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
12,000 Up to 10 Classes.... Up to 20% of Classes
by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
16,500 Up to 40 Classes.... Up to 35% of Classes
by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
20,500 Up to 100 Classes... Up to 50% of Classes
by volume (as a %
of national ADV).
24,000 Over 100 Classes.... Over 50% of Classes
by volume up to all
Classes on MIAX
Emerald (as a % of
national ADV).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cboe C2 \a\...................... Bulk BOE Ports...... $1,500 per port for ports 1 though 5
$2,500 per port for ports 6 or more.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See Cboe C2 Fee Schedule, Logical Connectivity Fees section, available at <a href="https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/">https://www.cboe.com/us/options/membership/fee_schedule/ctwo/</a> ctwo/.
The Exchange's comparison to fees charged by other exchanges for
similar ports is limited because a thorough comparison would require
the Exchange to obtain competitively sensitive information about other
exchanges' architecture and how their members connect. However, in a
practical sense, the Exchange can surmise that a market participant
would require multiple ports to access an exchange's entire market as a
single port might not connect to all matching engines or provide the
latency benefits that the market participant's quoting behavior
requires. The Exchange does not know the actual number of purge ports
needed because it does not have insight into the technical architecture
of other exchanges so it is difficult to ascertain the number of ports
a firm would need to connect to another exchange's entire market and
quote that entire market. Therefore, the Exchange is limited to
comparing its proposed fee to other exchanges' port fees as listed in
their fee schedules.
Cboe C2. Cboe C2 charges similar, or higher, bulk order port fees
than the Full Service MEI Port fees proposed by the Exchange. Cboe C2's
Bulk BOE Ports are analogous to the Exchange's Full Service MEI Ports.
In general, Full Service MEI Ports provide Market Makers with the
ability to send simple and complex quotes, eQuotes, and quote purge
messages to the MIAX Emerald System.\79\ Full Service MEI Ports are
also capable of receiving administrative information.\80\ The
Exchange's Full Service MEI Ports entitle a Market Maker to two such
ports for each matching engine for a single monthly port fee.\81\ The
Exchange has twelve total matching engines; therefore, for one monthly
fee, each Market Maker is provided twenty-four total Full Service MEI
Ports (i.e., two per matching engine multiplied by twelve matching
engines). Cboe C2's Bulk BOE Ports provide users with the ability to
submit single and bulk order messages to enter, modify, or cancel
orders and are intended for use by market makers quoting large numbers
of simple options series.\82\ Each Bulk BOE Port has access to all of
Cboe C2's matching units, which, according to Cboe, typically ranges
from 31-35 matching units per Cboe-affiliated exchange.\83\ The Cboe C2
Bulk BOE Port does not provide a Cboe C2 market maker with a port for
each matching unit and the Exchange believes that, based on the
experience of its own Market Makers, it would not be feasible to quote
an entire market with only a single (or handful) of ports; rather, a
market maker would likely need to have a port on each matching unit to
be able to quote the entire market.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\79\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\80\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\81\ See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule.
\82\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 83201 (May 9,
2018), 83 FR 22546 (May 15, 2018) (SR-C2-2018-006) and Cboe Titanium
U.S. Options Binary Order Entry Version 3 Specification, Version
1.10, page 45 (October 31, 2025), available at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_BOE3_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_BOE3_Specification.pdf</a>.
\83\ See Cboe Titanium U.S. Options Binary Order Entry Version 3
Specification, Version 1.10, page 224 (October 31, 2025), available
at <a href="https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_BOE3_Specification.pdf">https://cdn.cboe.com/resources/membership/US_Options_BOE3_Specification.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that Cboe C2 charges similar or higher bulk
port fees as the Full Service MEI Port fees proposed by the Exchange
herein. Cboe C2 charges $1,500 per port for the first five Bulk BOE
Ports, and $2,500 per port for each Bulk BOE Port utilized in excess of
five ports. The Exchange proposes to charge between $6,000 and $24,000
per month for Full Service MEI Ports for Market Makers, depending on
the number of classes assigned or percentage of national ADV. The
Exchange's proposed Full Service MEI Port fees for Market Makers
provide two such ports for each of the Exchange's twelve matching
engines, for a total of twenty-four total ports for the monthly fee
(between $6,000 and $24,000). For a Cboe C2 member to utilize a Bulk
BOE Port on each matching unit, that member may need to purchase
between 31 and 35 such ports. When drawing a comparison to the
Exchange's proposed highest tier for Full Service MEI Ports ($24,000),
which provides an Exchange Member with 24 total ports, the Cboe C2
member would only receive 11 Bulk BOE Ports for a slightly less price
(i.e., ($1,500 per Bulk BOE Port multiplied by the first five Bulk BOE
Ports) + ($2,500 per Bulk BOE Port multiplied by the next six Bulk BOE
Ports)). Accordingly, the Exchange believes Cboe C2 charges similar or
higher bulk port fees as the Full Service MEI Port fees proposed by the
Exchange herein.
* * * * *
Each of the above examples of other exchanges' non-transaction fees
support the proposition that the Exchange's proposed fees are
comparable to those of other exchanges for similar products or services
and are, therefore, reasonable.
The Proposed Fees Are Equitably Allocated and Not Unfairly
Discriminatory
Overall. The Exchange believes that its proposed fees are
reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly discriminatory because, in sum,
they are designed to align fees with services provided by amending them
to levels that are comparable to similar fees for services assessed by
other equity options exchanges. The Exchange believes that the proposed
fees are allocated fairly and equitably among Members and non-Members
because they apply to all Members and non-Members equally, and any
differences among categories of fees are not unfairly discriminatory
and are justified and appropriate.
The Exchange believes that the proposed fees are equitably
allocated
[[Page 18895]]
because they will apply uniformly to all Members and non-Members that
choose to purchase a particular service based on their business need.
Any Member or non-Member that chooses to purchase a particular product
or service is subject to the same Fee Schedule, regardless of what type
of business they operate, and the decision to purchase a particular
product or service is based on objective differences in usage of the
particular product or service among different Members and non-Member,
which are still ultimately in the control of any particular Member or
non-Member. The Exchange believes the proposed pricing is equitably
allocated because of the service's or product's utility and value to
market participants as compared to other like exchanges' products and
services.
The Exchange further believes that the proposed fees are
reasonable, fair and equitable, and non-discriminatory because they
will apply to all Members in the same manner and are not targeted at a
specific type or category of market participant engaged in any
particular trading strategy.
EEM Trading Permit Fees. The Exchange believes the proposed Trading
Permit fee for EEMs is equitably allocated and not unfairly
discriminatory because the proposed fee would apply to each EEM in a
uniform manner without regard to membership status or the extent of any
other business with the Exchange or affiliated entities (i.e., order
flow provider, clearing services, etc.).
Market Maker Trading Permit Fees. The Exchange believes the
proposed Trading Permit fees for Market Makers are equitable as the
fees apply equally to all Market Makers based upon the number of class
registrations or percentage of executed national ADV each month. The
Exchange believes that assessing lower fees to Market Makers that quote
in fewer classes is equitable because it will allow the Exchange to
retain and attract smaller-scale Market Makers, which are an integral
component of the options industry marketplace. Since these smaller
Market Makers typically utilize less bandwidth and capacity on the
Exchange network due to the lower number of quoted classes, the
Exchange believes it is equitable to offer Market Makers Trading Permit
fee tiers with lower rates based on a lower number of classes assigned
or a lower percentage of executed national ADV. In addition, smaller
Market Makers who want to quote greater number of classes or a higher
percentage of executed national ADV, but have lower volume thresholds,
the Exchange believes it is equitable to offer such Market Makers a
lower fee, designated in footnote ``[mshbox]'' following the Market
Maker Trading Permit fee table.
The Exchange believes it is equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory to charge higher Trading Permit fees to Market Makers
that quote a higher number of classes or execute higher percentages of
volume on the Exchange because the System requires increased
performance and capacity in order to provide the opportunity for Market
Makers to quote in a higher number of options classes on the Exchange.
Specifically, more classes that are actively quoted on the Exchange by
a Market Maker will require increased memory for record retention,
increased bandwidth for optimized performance, increased
functionalities on each application layer, and increased optimization
with regard to surveillance and monitoring of such classes quoted. As
such, basing the higher Market Maker Trading Permit fees on the greater
number of classes quoted in on any given day in a calendar month is
equitable and not unfairly discriminatory when considering how the
increased number of quoted classes directly impacts the resources
required for the Exchange to operate for all market participants.
Network Connectivity Fees. The Exchange believes that the proposed
fees for network connectivity to the primary/secondary facility and
disaster recovery facility for Members and non-Members are equitably
allocated because they would apply equally to all market participants
that choose to purchase such connectivity products and services from
the Exchange. Any participant that chooses to purchase the Exchange's
connectivity products and services would be subject to the same fees,
regardless of what type of business they operate or the use they plan
to make of the products and services. Additionally, the fee increases
would be applied uniformly to market participants without regard to
Exchange membership status or the extent of any other business with the
Exchange or affiliated entities.
The Exchange believes that the proposed fees are equitably
allocated among anticipated users of the network connectivity as the
Exchange expects that users of 10Gb ULL connections will consume
substantially more bandwidth and network resources than users of 1Gb
connections. It is the experience of the Exchange and its affiliated
exchanges that this is the case as 10Gb ULL connection users have
historically accounted for more than 99% of message traffic over the
network, which drives increased capacity utilization, while the users
of the 1Gb connections account for less than 1% of message traffic over
the network. In the experience of the Exchange and its affiliates,
users of the 1Gb connections do not have the same business needs for
the high-performance network as 10Gb ULL users.
The Exchange's high-performance network and supporting
infrastructure (including employee support), provides unparalleled
system throughput. To achieve a consistent, premium network
performance, the Exchange built out and must now maintain a network
that has the capacity to handle the message rate requirements of its
most heavy network consumers. These billions of messages per day
consume the Exchange's resources and significantly contribute to the
overall increase in storage and network transport capabilities. The
Exchange must analyze its storage capacity on an ongoing basis to
ensure it has sufficient capacity to store these messages to satisfy
its record keeping requirements under the Exchange Act.\84\ Given this
difference in network utilization rate, the Exchange believes that it
is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory that the 10Gb ULL users
continue to pay higher network connectivity fees.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\84\ 17 CFR 240.17a-1 (recordkeeping rule for national
securities exchanges, national securities associations, registered
clearing agencies and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIX, CTD, and FXD Port Fees. The Exchange believes that the
proposed FIX, CTD and FXD Port fees are equitable and non-
discriminatory because they will apply to all Members in the same
manner and are not targeted at a specific type or category of market
participant engaged in any particular trading strategy. The proposed
fees for each type of port (FIX, CTD or FXD) does not depend on any
distinctions between Members, customers, broker-dealers, or any other
entity. The proposed fee will be assessed solely based on the number of
FIX, CTD or FXD Ports an entity selects and not on any other
distinction applied by the Exchange. The Exchange believes offering a
tiered fee structure where the fee for FIX Ports decreases with the
number utilized is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because
FIX Ports are used for order entry compared to CTD and FXD Ports, which
are used to provide messages concerning trade execution, cancellation,
and post-trade clearing information and, in the Exchange's experience,
Members tend to utilize fewer such ports overall. Further, the Exchange
believes the proposed fees
[[Page 18896]]
for FIX, CTD and FXD Ports are reasonable because for one monthly fee
for each port, Members are able to access all matching engines.
Purge Port Fees. The Exchange believes that the proposed Purge Port
fees are equitable because Purge Ports are completely voluntary as they
relate solely to optional risk management functionality. While the
Exchange believes that Purge Ports provide a valuable service, Market
Makers can choose to purchase, or not purchase, these ports based on
their own determination of the value and their business needs. No
Market Maker is required or under any regulatory obligation to utilize
Purge Ports. In fact, some market participants, in particular the
larger firms, could and do build similar risk functionality in their
trading systems that permit the flexible cancellation of quotes entered
on the Exchange at a high rate. Accordingly, the Exchange believes that
Purge Ports offer appropriate risk management functionality to firms
that trade on the Exchange for Market Makers that chose to purchase
them.
Purge Ports enhance Market Makers' ability to manage quotes, which,
in turn, improves their risk controls to the benefit of all market
participants. The Exchange also believes that the proposed Purge Port
fees are not unfairly discriminatory because they will apply uniformly
to all Market Makers that choose to use the optional Purge Ports. Purge
Ports are completely voluntary and, as they relate solely to optional
risk management functionality, no Market Maker is required or under any
regulatory obligation to utilize them. All Market Makers that
voluntarily select this service option will be charged the same amount
for the same services based upon the number of matching engines. The
Exchange also believes that offering Purge Ports at the matching engine
level promotes risk management across the industry, and thereby
facilitates investor protection. Offering matching engine level
protections ensures that such functionality is widely available to all
firms, including smaller firms that may otherwise not be willing to
incur the costs and development work necessary to support their own
customized mass cancel functionality. As such, the Exchange believes
the proposed fees are equitable and not unfairly discriminatory.
Limited Service MEI Port Fees. The Exchange believes the proposed
fee for Limited Service MEI Ports is not unfairly discriminatory
because it would apply to all Market Makers equally. All Market Makers
remain eligible to receive four free Limited Service MEI Ports per
matching engine and those that elect to purchase more would be subject
to the same monthly rate depending upon the number they choose to
utilize. In the Exchange's experience, certain Market Makers choose to
purchase additional Limited Service MEI Ports based on their own
particular trading/quoting strategies and feel they need a certain
number of ports to execute on those strategies. Other Market Makers may
continue to choose to only utilize the free Limited Service MEI Ports
to accommodate their own trading or quoting strategies, or other
business models. All Market Makers elect to receive or purchase the
amount of Limited Service MEI Ports they require based on their own
business decisions and all Market Makers would be subject to the same
fee structure. Every Market Maker may receive up to four free Limited
Service MEI Ports and those that choose to purchase additional Limited
Service MEI Ports may elect to do so based on their own business
decisions and would continue to be subject to the same monthly fees.
The Exchange believes that the proposed fee for Limited Service MEI
Ports is reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly discriminatory because
it is designed to align fees with services provided, will apply equally
to all Market Makers that are assigned Limited Service MEI Ports, and
minimizes barriers to entry by providing all Market Makers with four
free Limited Service MEI Ports. As a result, there are several Market
Makers that are not subject to any additional LSP fees. In contrast,
other exchanges generally charge in excess of $450 per port (the fee
the Exchange proposes to charge for Limited Service MEI Ports) without
providing any initial ports for free.\85\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\85\ See Nasdaq, Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section 3(i)(4),
available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/Nasdaq%20Options%207</a> (providing zero free ports and charging $750
per QUO Port, which is analogous to the Exchange's Limited Service
MEI Ports) and Nasdaq MRX, Options 7: Pricing Schedule, Section
6(i)(4), available at <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rules/MRX%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/mrx/rules/MRX%20Options%207</a> (providing zero free ports and charging $650
per OTTO Port, which is analogous to the Exchange's Limited Service
MEI Ports).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that the proposed Limited Service MEI Port
fee structure is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because it
will continue to enable Market Makers to access the Exchange with four
free ports before the proposed fees for additional Limited Service MEI
Ports apply, thereby continuing to encourage order flow and liquidity
from a diverse set of Market Makers, facilitating price discovery and
the interaction of orders. The Exchange notes that a substantial
majority of Market Makers only utilize the four Limited Service MEI
Ports provided for no fee. The proposed fee is designed to encourage
Market Makers to be efficient with their Limited Service MEI Port
usage. There is no requirement that any Market Maker maintain a
specific number of Limited Service MEI Ports and a Market Maker may
choose to maintain as many or as few of such ports as each Market Maker
deems appropriate.
Full Service MEI Port Fees. The proposed fees for Full Service MEI
Ports are not unfairly discriminatory because they would apply to all
Market Makers equally. The Exchange's pricing structure for Full
Service MEI Ports is similar to the pricing structure used by the
Exchange's affiliates, MIAX Pearl, MIAX, and MIAX Sapphire, for their
Full Service MEI/MEO Port fees.\86\ In the Exchange's experience,
Members that are frequently in the highest tier for Full Service MEI
Ports consume the most bandwidth and resources of the network.
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\86\ See MIAX Pearl Fee Schedule, Section 5)d); MIAX Fee
Schedule, Section 5)d)ii); and MIAX Sapphire Fee Schedule, Section
5)d)ii).
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To achieve a consistent, premium network performance, the Exchange
must build out and maintain a network that has the capacity to handle
the message rate requirements of its most heavy network consumers
during anticipated peak market conditions. The need to support billions
of messages per day consumes the Exchange's resources and significantly
contributes to the overall need to increase network storage and
transport capabilities. Thus, as the number of ports a Market Maker has
increases, the related pull on Exchange resources may continue to
increase.
The Exchange further believes that the proposed fees are
reasonable, equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory
because, for the flat fee in each tier, the Exchange provides each
Member two Full Service MEI Ports for each matching engine to which
that Member is connected. Unlike other options exchanges that provide
similar port functionality and charge fees on a per port basis,\87\ the
Exchange offers
[[Page 18897]]
Full Service MEI Ports as a package and provides Market Makers with the
option to receive up to two Full Service MEI Ports per matching engine
to which it connects. The Exchange currently has twelve matching
engines, which means Market Makers may receive up to twenty-four Full
Service MEI Ports for a single monthly fee, which can vary based on
certain volume percentages or classes the Market Maker is registered
in. Assuming a Market Maker connects to all twelve matching engines
during the month, and achieves the highest tier for that month, with
two Full Service MEI Ports per matching engine, this would result in a
cost of approximately $1,000 per Full Service MEI Port ($24,000 divided
by 24, and rounded up to the nearest dollar).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\87\ See NASDAQ Pricing Schedule, Options 7, Section 3, Ports
and Other Services and NASDAQ Rules, General 8: Connectivity,
Section 1. Co-Location Services (similar to the MIAX Pearl Options'
MEO Ports, SQF ports are primarily utilized by Market Makers); ISE
Pricing Schedule, Options 7, Section 7, Connectivity Fees and ISE
Rules, General 8: Connectivity; NYSE American Options Fee Schedule,
Section V.A. Port Fees and Section V.B. Co-Location Fees; GEMX
Pricing Schedule, Options 7, Section 6, Connectivity Fees and GEMX
Rules, General 8: Connectivity.
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The Exchange believes the proposed reduced Full Service MEI Port
fee for Market Makers that fall within the 3rd, 4th, and 5th levels of
the Full Service MEI Port fee table and certain volume thresholds are
met is not unfairly discriminatory because this lower monthly fee is
designed to provide a lower fixed cost to those Market Makers who are
willing to quote the entire Exchange market (or substantial amount of
the Exchange market), as objectively measured by either number of
classes assigned or national ADV, but who do not otherwise execute a
significant amount of volume on the Exchange. The Exchange believes
that, by continuing to offer a lower fixed cost to Market Makers that
execute less volume, the Exchange will continue to retain and attract
smaller-scale Market Makers, which are an integral component of the
option industry marketplace, but have been decreasing in number in
recent years, due to industry consolidation and lower market maker
profitability. The Exchange believes it is beneficial to incentivize
these additional Market Makers to register to make markets on the
Exchange to increase liquidity as the Exchange begins operations.
Increased liquidity from a diverse set of market participants helps
facilitate price discovery and the interaction of orders, which
benefits all market participants of the Exchange. Since these smaller-
scale Market Makers may utilize less Exchange capacity due to lower
overall volume executed, the Exchange believes it is reasonable,
equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory to offer such
Market Makers a lower fixed cost. The Exchange notes that its
affiliated markets, MIAX Pearl, MIAX, and MIAX Sapphire, offer a
similar reduced fee for their Full Service MEO/MEI Ports for smaller-
scale Market Makers.\88\
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\88\ See MIAX Pearl Fee Schedule, Section 5)d), note ``**'';
MIAX Fee Schedule, Section 5)d)ii), note ``*''; and MIAX Sapphire
Fee Schedule, Section 5)d), note ``b''.
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* * * * *
For all of the foregoing reasons, the Exchange believes that the
proposed fees are equitably allocated and not unfairly discriminatory.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of the Act,\89\ the Exchange
does not believe that the proposed rule change would impose any burden
on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\89\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intra-Market Competition
EEM Trading Permit Fees
The Exchange believes the proposed Trading Permit fee for EEMs does
not impose any burden on intra-market competition that is not necessary
or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act because the
proposed fee does not favor certain categories of market participants
in a manner that would impose a burden on competition. The proposed fee
is the same for all EEMs of different sizes and business models without
regard to membership status or the extent of any other business with
the Exchange or affiliated entities.
Market Maker Trading Permit Fees
The Exchange believes that the proposed Trading Permit fees for
Market Makers do not place certain market participants at a relative
disadvantage to other market participants because the proposed fees do
not favor certain categories of market participants in a manner that
would impose a burden on competition; rather, the fee rates are
designed in order to provide objective criteria for Market Makers of
different sizes and business models that best matches their order and
quoting activity on the Exchange. Further, the Exchange believes that
the proposed Market Maker Trading Permit fees will not impose a burden
on intra-market competition because, when these fees are viewed in the
context of the overall activity on the Exchange, Market Makers: (1)
consume the most bandwidth and resources of the network; (2) transact
the vast majority of the volume on the Exchange; and (3) require the
high touch network support services provided by the Exchange and its
staff, including more costly network monitoring, reporting and support
services, resulting in a much higher cost to the Exchange. The Exchange
notes that the majority of customer demand comes from Market Makers,
whose transactions make up a majority of the volume on the Exchange.
Further, other member types, i.e. EEMs, take up significantly less
Exchange resources and costs. As such, the Exchange does not believe
charging Market Makers higher Trading Permit fees than other member
types will impose a burden on intra-market competition.
The Exchange believes that the increasing fees under the tiered
Market Maker Trading Permit fee structure do not impose a burden on
intra-market competition because the tiered structure continues to take
into account the number of classes quoted by each individual Market
Maker or percentage of total national ADV. The Exchange's system
requires increased performance and capacity in order to provide the
opportunity for each Market Maker to quote in a higher number of
options classes on the Exchange. Specifically, the more classes that
are actively quoted on the Exchange by a Market Maker requires
increased memory for record retention, increased bandwidth for
optimized performance, increased functionalities on each application
layer, and increased optimization with regard to surveillance and
monitoring of such classes quoted. As such, basing the Market Maker
Trading Permit fee on the greatest number of classes quoted in on any
given day in a calendar month, or percentage of total national ADV,
does not impose any burden on intra-market competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act when
taking into account how the increased number of quoted classes directly
impact the costs and resources for the Exchange.
Network Connectivity Fees
The Exchange believes that the proposed network connectivity fees
for Members and non-Members do not place certain market participants at
a relative disadvantage to other market participants or affect the
ability of such market participants to compete. The proposed fees will
apply uniformly to all market participants regardless of the number of
1Gb or 10Gb ULL connections they choose to purchase to the primary/
secondary facility or the disaster recovery facility. The proposed fees
do not favor certain categories of market participants in a manner that
would impose an undue burden on competition.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed fees for
connectivity
[[Page 18898]]
services place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage
to other market participants because the proposed connectivity pricing
is associated with relative usage of the Exchange by each market
participant and does not impose a barrier to entry to smaller
participants. The Exchange believes its proposed pricing is reasonable
and, when coupled with the availability of third-party providers that
also offer connectivity solutions, participation on the Exchange is
competitive for all market participants, including smaller trading
firms. The connectivity services purchased by market participants
typically increase based on their additional message traffic and/or the
complexity of their operations. The market participants that utilize
more connectivity services typically utilize the most bandwidth, and
those are the participants that consume the most resources from the
network. Accordingly, the proposed fees for connectivity services do
not favor certain categories of market participants in a manner that
would impose a burden on competition; rather, the allocation of the
proposed connectivity fees reflects the network resources consumed by
the various size of market participants and the costs to the Exchange
of providing such connectivity services.
FIX, CTD and FXD Port Fees
The Exchange believes that the proposed FIX, CTD and FXD Port fees
do not place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage to
other market participants because they will apply to all Members in the
same manner and are not targeted at a specific type or category of
market participant engaged in any particular trading strategy. The
proposed fees for each type of port (FIX, CTD or FXD) do not depend on
any distinctions between Members, customers, broker-dealers, or any
other entity. The proposed fee will be assessed solely based on the
number of FIX, CTD or FXD Ports an entity selects and not on any other
distinction applied by the Exchange.
Purge Port Fees
The Exchange believes that the proposed Purge Port fees do not
place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage to other
market participants because Purge Ports are completely voluntary as
they relate solely to optional risk management functionality. Purge
Ports enhance Members' ability to manage orders, which, in turn,
improves their risk controls to the benefit of all market participants.
Further, the proposed fees apply uniformly to all Members that choose
to use the optional Purge Ports and no Market Maker is required or
under any regulatory obligation to utilize them. All Members that
voluntarily choose to utilize Purge Ports will be charged the same
amount based upon the number of matching engines for each set of Purge
Ports in use.
Limited Service MEI Port Fees
The Exchange does not believe its proposed fee for Limited Service
MEI Ports will place certain market participants at a relative
disadvantage to other market participants. All Market Makers would be
eligible to receive four free Limited Service MEI Ports and those that
elect to purchase more would be subject to the same monthly fee. All
Market Makers purchase the amount of Limited Service MEI Ports they
require based on their own business decisions and similarly situated
firms are subject to the same fee.
Full Service MEI Port Fees
The Exchange does not believe proposed fees for Full Service MEI
Ports will place certain market participants at a relative disadvantage
to other market participants because they would apply to all Market
Makers equally depending on the number of classes the Market Maker is
registered to quote in or the percentage of national ADV. The Exchange
believes the proposed fees will not result in any burden on intra-
market competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act because, in the Exchange's experience,
Market Makers that are frequently in the highest tier for Full Service
MEI Ports consume the most bandwidth and resources of the network.
The Exchange further believes that the proposed fees do not place
certain market participants at the Exchange at a relative disadvantage
compared to other market participants or affect the ability of such
market participants to compete because, for the flat fee in each tier,
the Exchange provides each Market Maker two Full Service MEI Ports for
each matching engine to which that Market Maker is connected. Further,
the Exchange offers a reduced Full Service MEI Port fee for Market
Makers that fall within the 3rd, 4th and 5th levels of the Full Service
MEI Port fee table, which lower monthly fee is designed to provide a
lower fixed cost to those Market Makers who are willing to quote the
entire Exchange market (or substantial amount of the Exchange market),
as objectively measured by either number of classes assigned or
national ADV, but who do not otherwise execute a significant amount of
volume on the Exchange.
The Exchange believes that, by continuing to offer a lower fixed
cost to Market Makers that execute less volume, the Exchange will
continue to retain and attract smaller-scale Market Makers, which are
an integral component of the option industry marketplace, but have been
decreasing in number in recent years, due to industry consolidation and
lower market maker profitability. Accordingly, the Exchange believes
the reduced fee will promote competition by incentivizing these
additional Market Makers to register to make markets on the Exchange to
increase liquidity.
Inter-Market Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed changes will result
in any burden on inter-market competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. In contrast, the
Exchange believes that, without the fee changes proposed herein, the
Exchange is potentially at a competitive disadvantage to certain other
exchanges that have in place comparable or higher fees for similar
services, as described above. The Exchange believes that non-
transaction fees can be used to foster more competitive transaction
pricing and additional infrastructure investment and there are other
options markets of which market participants may connect to trade
options that charge higher or comparable rates as the Exchange for
similar services and products. Accordingly, the Exchange does not
believe its proposed fee changes impose any burden on competition that
is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the
Act.
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,\90\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \91\ 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
[[Page 18899]]
interest, for the protection of investors, or 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\90\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
\91\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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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#c1b3b4ada4eca2aeacaca4afb5b281b2a4a2efa6aeb7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="80f2f5ece5ade3efedede5eef4f3c0f3e5e3aee7eff6">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-EMERALD-2026-08 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-EMERALD-2026-08.
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-EMERALD-2026-08 and
should be submitted on or before May 4, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\92\
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\92\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-07042 Filed 4-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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