Notice2026-18814
Self-Regulatory Organizations; MEMX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Exchange's Fee Schedule
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
September 15, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58486-58490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18814]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-106330; File No. SR-MEMX-2026-30]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; MEMX LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange's Fee Schedule
September 10, 2026.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that
on August 31, 2026, MEMX LLC (``MEMX'' or the ``Exchange'') filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ``Commission'') the
proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which
Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing
this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from
interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange is filing with the Commission a proposed rule change
to amend the Exchange's fee schedule applicable to Members \3\ (the
``Fee Schedule'') pursuant to Exchange Rules 15.1(a) and (c). As is
further described below, the Exchange proposes to amend the MEMX
Options Fee Schedule (the ``Options Fee Schedule'') by adopting the
Volume Tier 1 and making additional changes to certain transaction fees
and rebates. The Exchange proposes to implement the changes to the
Options Fee Schedule pursuant to this proposal on September 1, 2026.
The text of the proposed rule change is provided in Exhibit 5.
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\3\ See Exchange Rule 1.5(p).
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II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
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 the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The purpose of the proposed rule change is to amend the Options Fee
Schedule by: (i) increasing the transaction rebate provided for
Customer \4\ capacity executions that add liquidity \5\ in Non-Penny
\6\ options; (ii) reducing the rebate for Market Maker \7\ capacity
executions that add liquidity in
[[Page 58487]]
Penny \8\ options; (iii) reducing the rebate for Market Maker capacity
executions that add liquidity in Non-Penny options; (iv) increasing the
fee charged for executions that remove liquidity \9\ in Non-Penny
options and which are made in the Market Maker, Professional,\10\
Firm,\11\ Away Market Maker \12\ or Broker-Dealer \13\ capacities; (v)
reducing the rebate for executions that add liquidity in Non-Penny
options made in the Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, or Broker-
Dealer capacities, and (vi) adopting a Volume Tier under which the
Exchange will provide an enhanced rebate for executions of contracts in
Penny options that add liquidity to the Exchange and that are made in
the Customer capacity for Members that meet specific volume criteria,
each as further described below.
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\4\ Customer capacity applies to any order for the account of a
Priority Customer. ``Priority Customer'' means any person or entity
that is neither a broker or dealer in securities nor a Professional.
See Rule 16.1 of the MEMX Rulebook. MEMX Options provides fee
qualifier ``c'' for Customer transactions.
\5\ MEMX Options provides Fee Code ``D'' for transactions that
add liquidity to the MEMX Options Book.
\6\ MEMX Options provides Fee Code ``N'' for transactions in
Non-Penny options. Fee Codes are provided by the Exchange on the
monthly invoices provided to Options Members.
\7\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, ``Market Maker'' applies
to any order for the account of a registered Market Maker. MEMX
Options provides fee qualifier ``m'' for market maker transactions.
\8\ MEMX Options provides Fee Code ``P'' for transactions in
Penny options.
\9\ MEMX Options provides Fee Code ``R'' for transactions that
remove liquidity from the MEMX Options Book.
\10\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, ``Professional'' applies
to any order for the account of a Professional. The term
``Professional'' means any person or entity that (A) is not a broker
or dealer in securities; and (B) places more than 390 orders in
listed options per day on average during a calendar month for its
own beneficial account(s). All Professional orders shall be
appropriately marked by Options Members. See Exchange Rule 16.1.
MEMX Options provides fee qualifier ``p'' for professional
transactions.
\11\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, ``Firm'' applies to any
order for the proprietary account of an OCC clearing member. MEMX
Options provides fee qualifier ``f'' for firm transactions.
\12\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, ``Away Market Maker''
applies to any order for the account of a market maker on another
options exchange. MEMX Options provides fee qualifier ``a'' for away
market maker transactions.
\13\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, ``Broker Dealer'' applies
to any order for the account of a broker-dealer, including a foreign
broker dealer. MEMX Options provides fee qualifier ``b'' for broker-
dealer transactions.
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The Exchange first notes that it operates in a highly competitive
market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be
excessive or incentives to be insufficient. The Exchange is one of only
18 options venues to which market participants may direct their order
flow. Based on publicly available information, no single options
exchange has more than approximately 17.5% of the market share and
currently the Exchange represents only approximately 3.2% of the market
share.\14\ In such a low-concentrated and highly competitive market, no
single options exchange, including the Exchange, possesses significant
pricing power in the execution of option order flow. The Exchange
believes that the ever-shifting market share among the exchanges from
month to month demonstrates that market participants can shift order
flow, discontinue, or reduce use of certain categories of products in
response to fee changes. Accordingly, competitive forces constrain the
Exchange's transaction fees, and market participants can readily trade
on competing venues if they deem pricing levels at those other venues
to be more favorable. The Exchange's Fee Schedule sets forth standard
rebates and rates applied per contract.
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\14\ Market share percentage calculated as of August 31, 2026.
The Exchange receives and processes data made available through the
consolidated data feeds (i.e., OPRA).
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Increased Transaction Rebate for Executions of Non-Penny Options in the
Customer Capacity Which Add Liquidity to the MEMX Options Book
Currently, the Exchange provides a standard transaction rebate of
$1.17 per contract for executions of Non-Penny options (as defined
above) in the Customer capacity which add liquidity to the MEMX Options
Book. Now, the Exchange proposes to increase the standard transaction
rebate on such contracts from $1.17 per contract to $1.19 per contract.
The purpose of increasing the rebate is to incentivize Members to
execute additional contracts in Non-Penny names in the Customer
capacity which add liquidity. The Exchange's proposal is designed to
encourage the execution of additional contracts on the Exchange in
order to enhance volume, deepen liquidity and promote price discovery
on the MEMX Options platform. The Exchange believes that the increased
rebate is in line with or exceeds the rebates provided by other
national securities exchanges and will incentivize Members to route
additional order flow to the Exchange.\15\
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\15\ See, e.g., the MIAX Pearl Fee Schedule which similarly
provides a rebate of $1.19 per contract for executions of Non-Penny
options in a Customer capacity that add liquidity, available at:
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Options_Fee_Schedule_08012026.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Options_Fee_Schedule_08012026.pdf</a>.
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Reduced Transaction Rebate for Executions of Penny Options in the
Market Maker Capacity Which Add Liquidity to the MEMX Options Book
Currently, the Exchange provides a standard transaction rebate of
$0.45 per contract for executions of Penny options (as defined above)
in the Market Maker capacity which add liquidity to the MEMX Options
Book. Now, the Exchange proposes to reduce the standard transaction
rebate on such contracts from $0.45 per contract to $0.43 per contract.
The purpose of reducing the rebate is for business and competitive
reasons as the Exchange believes that reducing such rebate would
decrease the Exchange's expenditures with respect to its transaction
pricing in a manner that is still consistent with the Exchange's
overall pricing philosophy of encouraging executions which add
liquidity to the MEMX Options Book. The Exchange believes that the
reduced rebate continues to be in line with or exceeds the rebates
provided by other national securities exchanges and will continue to
incentivize Members to route order flow to the Exchange.\16\
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\16\ See, e.g., the Nasdaq Options pricing schedule (available
at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7</a>), which reflects rebates ranging from $0.20 to $0.47 per
contract to add liquidity in Penny symbols as a Market Maker,
depending on the amount of volume transacted by the market
participant. See also, the MIAX Pearl fee schedule, (available at:
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees">https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees</a>),
which reflects rebates ranging from $0.25 per contract to $0.48 per
contact to add liquidity in Penny symbols as a MIAX Pearl Market
Maker, depending on the amount of volume transacted by the market
participant.
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Reduced Transaction Rebate for Executions of Non-Penny Options in the
Market Maker Capacity Which Add Liquidity to the MEMX Options Book
Currently, the Exchange provides a standard transaction rebate of
$0.80 per contract for executions of Non-Penny options (as defined
above) in the Market Maker capacity which add liquidity to the MEMX
Options Book. Now, the Exchange proposes to reduce the standard
transaction rebate on such contracts from $0.80 per contract to $0.75
per contract. The purpose of reducing the rebate is for business and
competitive reasons as the Exchange believes that reducing such rebate
would decrease the Exchange's expenditures with respect to its
transaction pricing in a manner that is still consistent with the
Exchange's overall pricing philosophy of encouraging executions which
add liquidity to the MEMX Options Book. The Exchange believes that the
reduced rebate continues to be in line with or exceeds the rebates
provided by other national securities exchanges and will continue to
incentivize Members to route order flow to the Exchange.\17\
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\17\ See, e.g., the Nasdaq Options pricing schedule (available
at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7</a>), which reflects rebates ranging from $0.30 to $0.40 per
contract to add liquidity in Non-Penny symbols as a Market Maker,
depending on the amount of volume transacted by the market
participant. See also, the MIAX Pearl fee schedule, (available at:
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees">https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees</a>),
which reflects rebates ranging from $0.55 per contract to $0.80 per
contact to add liquidity in Non-Penny symbols as a Market Maker,
depending on the amount of volume transacted by the market
participant.
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[[Page 58488]]
Increased Transaction Fee for Executions of Non-Penny Options in the
Market Maker, Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, and Broker-Dealer
Capacities Which Remove Liquidity From the MEMX Options Book
Currently, the Exchange assesses a standard transaction fee of
$1.21 per contract for executions of Non-Penny options (as defined
above) in the Market Maker, Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, and
Broker Dealer capacities which remove liquidity from the MEMX Options
Book. Now, the Exchange proposes to increase the standard transaction
fee on such contracts from $1.21 per contract to $1.22 per contract.
The purpose of increasing the fee is for business and competitive
reasons, as the Exchange believes that increasing the fee would
generate additional revenue to offset costs associated with the
operation of the MEMX Options platform. Furthermore, the Exchange
believes that the increased fee continues to be in line with or below
the fees the charged by other national securities exchanges and will
continue to incentivize Members to route order flow to the
Exchange.\18\
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\18\ See, e.g., the Nasdaq Options pricing schedule (available
at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7</a>), which reflects a fee of $1.25 per contract for
executions in Non-Penny options in the Market Maker, Broker-Dealer,
and Firm capacities that remove liquidity. The Exchange notes that
this standard fee does not apply to executions in Non-Penny options
in the Professional capacity for which the Nasdaq Options Market
charges a fee of $0.85 per contract. See also the Nasdaq Texas
options trading fee schedule (available at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaqtx/rules/NTX%20Options%207">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaqtx/rules/NTX%20Options%207</a>)
which reflects a standard fee of $1.25 per contract for executions
in Non-Penny options that remove liquidity for all non-Customer
capacities.
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Reduced Transaction Rebate for Executions of Non-Penny Options in the
Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, and Broker-Dealer Capacities
Which Add Liquidity to the MEMX Options Book
Currently, the Exchange provides a standard transaction rebate of
$0.72 per contract for executions of Non-Penny options (as defined
above) in the Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, and Broker Dealer
capacities which add liquidity to the MEMX Options Book. Now, the
Exchange proposes to reduce the standard transaction rebate on such
contracts from $0.72 per contract to $0.70 per contract. The purpose of
reducing the rebate is for business and competitive reasons as the
Exchange believes that reducing such rebate would decrease the
Exchange's expenditures with respect to its transaction pricing in a
manner that is still consistent with the Exchange's overall pricing
philosophy of encouraging executions which add liquidity to the MEMX
Options Book. The Exchange believes that the reduced rebate continues
to be in line with or exceeds the rebates provided by other national
securities exchanges and will continue to incentivize Members to route
order flow to the Exchange.\19\
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\19\ See e.g., the MIAX Pearl fee schedule, (available at:
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees">https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-options/pearl-options/fees</a>),
which reflects rebates ranging from $0.55 per contract to $0.80 per
contact to add liquidity in Non-Penny symbols as Non-Priority
Customer, BD, and Non-MIAX Pearl Market Maker, depending on the
amount of volume transacted by the market participant.
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Adoption of Volume Tier
The Exchange is also proposing to adopt a new Volume Tier
applicable to the rebate provided for executions that add liquidity in
Penny options that are made in the Customer capacity (``Added Customer
Penny Volume''). Under this tier, the Exchange will provide an enhanced
rebate for Members that meet certain volume criteria. Specifically,
under the proposed Volume Tier 1, the Exchange is proposing to provide
an enhanced rebate of $0.53 per contract for executions of Added
Customer Penny Volume for Members that qualify for Volume Tier 1 \20\
by achieving an ADAV \21\ in the Customer capacity, in Penny and non-
Penny options that is equal to or greater than 1.2% of the equity and
ETF option TCV.\22\ As proposed, ADAV will be calculated on a monthly
basis, and Members that qualify for the Volume Tier by achieving the
specified ADAV threshold in a particular month will receive the
proposed enhanced rebate of $0.53 per contract for all executions of
Added Customer Penny Volume in that month.
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\20\ Executions of Added Professional Penny Volume for Members
that qualify for the Volume Tier 1 receive a Fee Code of ``Dc1P''
for such executions on the monthly invoices provided to Members. The
Exchange is proposing to add a note under the Volume Tier pricing
table on the Fee Schedule that contains this information.
\21\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, the term ``ADAV'' means
the average daily added volume calculated as the number of contracts
added per day. ADAV is calculated on a monthly basis.
\22\ As set forth on the Fee Schedule, the term ``TCV'' means
the total consolidated volume calculated as the volume reported by
all exchanges to the consolidated transaction reporting plan for the
month for which the fees apply.
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The Exchange believes that the proposed Volume Tier 1 provides an
incremental incentive for Members to strive for higher ADAV on the
Exchange to receive the proposed enhanced rebate for executions of
Added Customer Penny Volume. As such, the proposed Volume Tier 1 is
designed to encourage Members that provide liquidity on the Exchange to
maintain or increase their order flow, thereby contributing to a deeper
and more liquid market to the benefit of all market participants and
enhancing the attractiveness of the Exchange as a trading venue.
Further, the Exchange notes that other options exchanges maintain
tiered pricing structures whereby enhanced rebates are provided for
members that meet certain volume requirements, and other exchanges
maintains similar tiers with a rebate applicable to Added Customer
Penny Volume.\23\
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\23\ See Nasdaq Options Pricing Schedule, Section 2 Nasdaq
Options Market--Fees and Rebates, (available at: <a href="https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/nasdaq/rules/nasdaq-options-7</a>)
which provides rebates ranging from $0.20 to $0.48 per contract
across six different volume tiers for execution of Added Customer
Penny Volume. See also the MIAX Pearl Fee Schedule (available at:
<a href="https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Options_Fee_Schedule_08012026.pdf">https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/files/fee_schedule-files/MIAX_Pearl_Options_Fee_Schedule_08012026.pdf</a>) which provides rebates
ranging from $0.25 to $0.52 per contract across five different
volume tiers for executions of Added Customer Penny Volume.
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2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that its proposal to amend the Options Fee
Schedule is consistent with the provisions of Section 6 of the Act,\24\
in general, and with Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\25\ in
particular, in that it provides for the equitable allocation of
reasonable dues, fees and other charges among Options Members and other
persons using its facilities. The Exchange also believes the proposal
furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act in that it is
designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system, and, in general to protect investors and the
public interest and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination
between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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\24\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\25\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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MEMX Options operates in a highly fragmented and competitive market
in which market participants can readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive or
incentives to be insufficient, and the Exchange represents only a small
percentage of the overall market. The Commission and the courts have
repeatedly expressed their preference for competition over regulatory
intervention in determining
[[Page 58489]]
prices, products, and services in the securities markets. In Regulation
NMS, the Commission highlighted the importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues and also recognized that current
regulation of the market system ``has been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its broader forms that are most
important to investors and listed companies.'' \26\
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\26\ Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 2005),
70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
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Accordingly, competitive forces constrain the Exchange's
transaction fees and rebates, and market participants can readily trade
on competing venues if they deem pricing levels at those other venues
to be more favorable. The Exchange believes the proposal reflects a
reasonable and competitive pricing structure which the Exchange
believes would promote price discovery and enhance liquidity and market
quality on the Exchange to the benefit of all Members and market
participants.
The Exchange believes that the proposed changes to increase the
rebate for executions of Non-Penny options made in the Customer
capacity that add liquidity to the Exchange is reasonable because it is
designed to incentivize Members to submit additional liquidity adding
orders to the Exchange, thereby contributing to a deeper and more
liquid market to the benefit of all market participants and enhancing
the attractiveness of the Exchange as a trading venue. The Exchange
further believes that the proposed change is equitable and not unfairly
discriminatory because the increased rebate will apply to all market
participants that have executions in a Customer capacity in Non-Penny
options that add liquidity to the Exchange.
The Exchange similarly believes that its proposed changes to reduce
the rebates for executions that add liquidity in Penny and Non-Penny
options made in the Market Maker capacity, reduce the rebate for
executions that add liquidity in Non-Penny options made in the
Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker and Broker-Dealer capacities, and
increase the fee charged for executions that remove liquidity in Non-
Penny options made in all non-Customer capacities \27\ are all
reasonable and equitable because each of these changes is designed to
generate additional revenue or decrease the Exchange's expenditures
with respect to its transaction pricing in a manner that is still
consistent with the Exchange's overall pricing philosophy of
encouraging executions which add liquidity to the MEMX Options Book.
The Exchange believes that the proposed changes are equitable and not
unfairly discriminatory because the reduced rebates and/or increased
fees, as applicable, will apply equally to all similarly situated
market participants. Specifically, all members executing Penny and/or
Non-Penny options while acting in the same relevant capacity--whether
as a Market Maker, Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker and/or Broker
dealer--would receive the same fee or rebate, as applicable.
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\27\ All non-Customer capacities include the Market Maker,
Professional, Firm, Away Market Maker, and Broker-Dealer capacities.
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The Exchange further believes the proposed reduced rebates and
increased fees are appropriate because they are comparable to, and
competitive with, the rebates and fees provided by other exchanges for
executions in the same capacities in Penny or Non-Penny options which
add or remove liquidity, as applicable.\28\
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\28\ See supra notes 16, 17, 18 and 19.
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Lastly, the Exchange believes its proposal to adopt the Volume Tier
1 is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory, as it is open to all
Members and is designed to encourage Members that provide liquidity on
the Exchange to maintain or increase their order flow, thereby
contributing to a deeper and more liquid market to the benefit of all
market participants and enhancing the attractiveness of the Exchange as
a trading venue. Additionally, the Exchange believes the proposed
enhanced rebate for executions of Added Customer Penny Volume for
qualifying Members (i.e., $0.53 per contract) is reasonable, as it is
in line with what other exchanges offer under similar volume tiers.\29\
Thus, the Exchange believes that it is reasonable, consistent with an
equitable allocation of fees, and not unfairly discriminatory to pay
such higher rebate for executions of Added Customer Penny Volume to
Members that qualify for the Volume Tier 1 in comparison with the
standard rebate in recognition of benefits to the Exchange and market
participants described above, particularly as the magnitude of the
additional rebate is not unreasonably high and is, instead, reasonably
related to the enhanced market quality it is designed to achieve.
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\29\ See supra note 23.
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For the reasons discussed above, the Exchange submits that its
proposed change to the Options Transaction Fee Schedule satisfies the
requirements of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act \30\ in that it
provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and
other charges among its Members and other persons using its facilities
and are not designed to unfairly discriminate between customers,
issuers, brokers, or dealers. As described more fully below in the
Exchange's statement regarding burden on competition, the Exchange
believes that its transaction pricing is subject to significant
competitive forces, and that the proposed rebate described herein is
appropriate to address such forces.
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\30\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposal will result in any
burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Instead, as discussed above,
the proposal is intended to decrease the Exchange's expenditures,
generate additional revenue with respect to its transaction pricing,
and incentivize market participants to direct additional order flow to
the MEMX Options platform, which the Exchange believes would promote
price discovery and enhance liquidity and market quality on the
Exchange to the benefit of all Members and market participants.
Further, MEMX Options' proposed amended rebates and fee, and proposed
new Volume Tier are all in line with rebates and fees assessed by other
options exchanges.\31\ As a result, the Exchange believes that the
proposal furthers the Commission's goal in adopting Regulation NMS of
fostering competition among orders, which promotes ``more efficient
pricing of individual stocks for all types of orders, large and
small.'' \32\
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\31\ See supra notes 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 23.
\32\ See supra note 26.
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Intramarket Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intramarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act because the
proposed amended rebates and fees and Volume Tier apply equally to all
Options Members. The proposed increased rebate for executions of added
volume in Non-Penny options made in a Customer capacity is intended to
encourage the execution of additional contracts on the Exchange in
order to enhance volume, deepen liquidity and promote price discovery
on the MEMX Options platform. The proposed amended fees and rebates for
executions of Penny and Non-Penny options in the
[[Page 58490]]
remaining non-Customer capacities are intended to decrease the
Exchange's expenditures and generate additional revenue with respect to
its transaction pricing, in a manner that is comparable with the
rebates offered and fees assessed by other exchanges for executions in
the same capacities that add and remove liquidity, as applicable.
Similarly, the opportunity to qualify for the Volume Tier 1 and thus
received an enhanced rebate for executions of Added Customer Penny
Volume would be available to all Members that meet the associated
volume requirement in any month. The Exchange believes the volume
requirement of the Volume Tier 1 is attainable for several market
participants who execute Added Customer Penny Volume on the Exchange
and is reasonably related to the enhanced market quality that the
Volume Tier 1 is designed to promote. As such, the Exchange does not
believe the proposed changes would impose any burden on intramarket
competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
Intermarket Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intermarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. As previously
discussed, the Exchange operates in a highly competitive market.
Members have numerous alternative venues that they may participate on
and direct their order flow, including 17 other options exchanges and
off-exchange venues. Therefore, no exchange possesses significant
pricing power in the execution of option order flow. To the contrary,
the Exchange believes that the proposal will increase competition and
is intended to encourage market participants to trade on the exchange
by providing rebates and assessing fees, as well as a new Volume Tier
that is comparable to those offered by other exchanges, which the
Exchange believes will help to encourage Members to send orders to the
Exchange to the benefit of all Exchange participants.
Additionally, the Commission has repeatedly expressed its
preference for competition over regulatory intervention in determining
prices, products, and services in the securities markets. Specifically,
in Regulation NMS, the Commission highlighted the importance of market
forces in determining prices and SRO revenues and, also, recognized
that current regulation of the market system ``has been remarkably
successful in promoting market competition in its broader forms that
are most important to investors and listed companies.'' \33\ The fact
that this market is competitive has also long been recognized by the
courts. In NetCoalition v. SEC, the D.C. Circuit stated as follows:
``[n]o one disputes that competition for order flow is `fierce.' . . .
As the SEC explained, `[i]n the U.S. national market system, buyers and
sellers of securities, and the broker-dealers that act as their order-
routing agents, have a wide range of choices of where to route orders
for execution'; [and] `no exchange can afford to take its market share
percentages for granted' because `no exchange possesses a monopoly,
regulatory or otherwise, in the execution of order flow from broker
dealers' . . . .''.\34\ Accordingly, the Exchange does not believe its
proposed pricing changes impose any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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\33\ Id.
\34\ NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 (D.C. Cir. 2010)
(quoting Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59039 (December 2,
2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782-83 (December 9, 2008) (SR-NYSE-2006-21)).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange neither solicited nor received comments on the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act \35\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(2) \36\ thereunder.
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\35\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
\36\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(2).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings to
determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or
disapproved.
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#443631282169272b2929212a3037043721276a232b32"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="443631282169272b2929212a3037043721276a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>. Please include
file number SR-MEMX-2026-30 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-MEMX-2026-30. 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-MEMX-2026-30 and should be submitted on
or before October 6, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\37\
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\37\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-18814 Filed 9-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 15, 2026.
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