# Miami International Holdings

Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH), trading as MIAX, is an American company formed in 2007 that operates global financial exchanges and execution services.
The company owns several U.S. exchanges for equities, equity options, and commodities. These include the MIAX Exchange Group — which is composed of MIAX, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Pearl Equities, MIAX Emerald, and MIAX Sapphire — and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX). It also owns the Bermuda Stock Exchange and Dorman Trading, a Futures Commission Merchant. MIH also has a subsidiary, Miami International Technologies, which is focused on the sale and licensing of trading technology developed by MIAX Exchange Group.
The firm is also the owner of LedgerX, the first-ever approved exchange and clearinghouse for derivatives contracts in digital currencies in the U.S.
Despite its name, MIH is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

## History

MIH launched the Miami International Securities Exchange (MIAX) in 2012, after receiving approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In 2019, MIH acquired a majority stake in the Bermuda Stock Exchange.
The company received approval from the SEC and launched MIAX Pearl Equities, MIH's first equities exchange, in 2020. MIAX Pearl Equities received backing and support from member firms such as IMC Financial Markets, Susquehanna International Group, Two Sigma Investments, Hudson River Trading, and Chicago Trading Company. The exchange also became a participant in the UTP Plan.
In 2022, MIH acquired Dorman Trading, a full-service Futures Commission Merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Subsequently, the company filed for a U.S. initial public offering with the SEC. MIH's equities exchange, MIAX Pearl Equities, reached a market share of 0.99% at the end of the same year.
On April 25, 2023, MIH entered into an agreement to acquire LedgerX, a subsidiary of FTX and a CFTC-regulated exchange and clearinghouse for Bitcoin and Ethereum options and futures, in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings of FTX.
On October 17, 2023, MIH announced that it had filed the Form 1 application to the SEC to register MIAX Sapphire, a new exchange for U.S. options. The exchange is expected to commence trading operations in the second quarter of 2024.
In November 2023, MIH announced plans to open a new options trading pit and offices in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, which would house MIH's new trading venue, MIAX Sapphire. The new exchange, MIH's fourth options exchange, would include a physical trading floor in Miami, the first of its kind.
In 2024, the firm named former Citadel Securities executive Troy Kane CEO of its newly-formed futures business, MIAX Futures.

## SPIKES Volatility Index

Through its MIAX options exchanges, MIH also provides the Spikes Volatility Index and Spikes futures, the only other volatility index used to measure US stock market volatility other than Cboe's VIX index.

## Lawsuits

In 2017, Nasdaq brought forward a lawsuit against MIH claiming the latter used trade secrets to create MIAX's trading platforms and obtain a patent. In its suit, Nasdaq alleged that at least 15 of its former employees joined MIH and that three of them had forwarded technical documents to their personal emails before joining the rival firm. MIH countered with its own suits, arguing that seven of Nasdaq's existing patents tried asserted claim over the invention of options trading.
In 2020, after the SEC granted MIH to offer its SPIKES futures product on its MIAX options exchanges, rival firm Cboe Global Markets sued to stop the product from being listed.