Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 8465 

of certain information on the websites of the Trusts) 

(‘‘NYSE Arca Notice’’); Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 58956 (November 14, 2008), 73 FR 

71074 (November 24, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2008– 

124) (Notice of Filing and Order Granting 

Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Change to 

List Shares of iShares Silver Trust) (‘‘NYSE Arca 

Silver Order’’); and Securities Exchange Act Release 

No. 56932 (December 7, 2007), 72 FR 71178 

(December 14, 2007) (SR–NYSEArca–2007–112) 

(approving the listing and trading of shares of the 

iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust) 

(‘‘GSCI Order’’). The NYSE Arca Gold Order, the 

Amex Silver Order, the GSCI Order, and the NYSE 

Arca Notice are referred to collectively as the ‘‘Prior 

Releases.’’ 

8The term ‘‘Official Closing Price’’ is defined in 

NYSE Arca Rule 1.1(ll) as the reference price to 

determine the closing price in a security for 

purposes of Rule 7–E Equities Trading, and the 

procedures for determining the Official Closing 

Price are set forth in that rule. 

9 In approving this proposed rule change, the 

Commission has considered the proposed rule’s 

impact on efficiency, competition, and capital 

formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

11 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

12This approval order is based on all of the 

Exchange’s statements and representations set forth 

above and in Amendment No. 1 to the proposed 

rule change. 

13 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The 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 and the Definitions section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

discussed further below, the Exchange 

proposes to amend the requirements to 

disclose certain information on the 

Trusts’ websites as required by the Prior 

Releases. 

Under the Prior Releases, each of the 

Trusts is required to disseminate on its 

respective website a calculation of the 

premium or discount of the midpoint of 

the respective bid-ask price against NAV 

and data in chart form displaying the 

frequency distribution of discounts and 

premiums of such price against the 

NAV, within appropriate ranges for each 

of the four previous calendar quarters. 

The Exchange proposes to instead 

require each Trust to disseminate via its 

website the premium or discount of the 

Official Closing Price (rather than the 

midpoint of the respective bid-ask price) 

against the NAV as of the prior business 

day, expressed as a percentage of such 

NAV.8 Additionally, each Trust would 

be required to disseminate a table 

showing the number of days its shares 

traded at a premium or discount during 

the most recently completed calendar 

year and the most recently completed 

calendar quarters since that year, as well 

as a line graph showing the shares’ 

premiums or discounts for the most 

recently completed calendar year and 

the most recently completed calendar 

quarters since that year. Other than 

these changes to the information 

disclosed on the Trusts’ websites, each 

of the Trusts would continue to comply 

with all other representations referenced 

in the Prior Releases (including the 

website dissemination of other 

information) and in NYSE Arca Rules 

8.201–E or 8.203–E (as applicable). 

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

After careful review, the Commission 

finds that the proposed rule change, as 

modified by Amendment No. 1, is 

consistent with the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder applicable to 

a national securities exchange.9 In 

particular, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change, as modified 

by Amendment No. 1, is consistent with 

Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,10 which 

requires, among other things, that the 

Exchange’s rules be designed to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices, 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. 

The Exchange states that the proposed 

alternative disclosures would be both 

more specific and more comprehensive 

than the manner by which premium or 

discount information is currently 

disseminated by the Trusts. By 

providing the premium and discount 

information in a table and line graph as 

opposed to only in chart form, and for 

the previous calendar year and the most 

recently completed quarters following 

such calendar year as opposed to only 

for the four previous quarters, the Trusts 

would provide market participants with 

additional information to assess market 

pricing of the Shares against their 

respective NAVs. Additionally, the 

Exchange states that, by disseminating 

the premium or discount of the Official 

Closing Price (rather than the midpoint 

of the respective bid-ask price) against 

the NAV as of the prior business day, 

the Trusts would utilize more up-to-date 

and reliable pricing information 

available for the Shares compared to 

midpoints of the bid-ask prices. 

The Commission believes that the 

proposed alternative disclosures will be 

at least as useful to market participants 

as the currently disclosed data with 

respect to the Shares. Correspondingly, 

the Commission believes that the 

proposed alternative disclosures will 

not negatively impact arbitrage 

opportunities in the Shares that align 

the market prices of the Shares with 

their NAVs. For the foregoing reasons, 

the Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change, as modified by Amendment 

No. 1, is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) 

of the Act 11 and the rules and 

regulations thereunder applicable to a 

national securities exchange.12

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,13 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–NYSEArca– 

2020–98), as modified by Amendment 

No. 1, be, and it hereby is, approved. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.14

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02403 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–91030; File No. SR– 

EMERALD–2021–01] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX 

Emerald, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Fee 

Schedule To Adopt a One-Time 

Membership Application Fee, 

Application Programming Interface 

(‘‘API’’) Testing and Certification Fees, 

and Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification Fees 

February 1, 2021. 

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 January 

21, 2021, 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. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange is filing a proposal to 

amend the MIAX Emerald Fee Schedule 

(the ‘‘Fee Schedule’’) to establish: (1) 

One-time membership application fees 

for new MIAX Emerald Members; 3 and 

(2) per-instance Application 

Programming Interface (‘‘API’’) Testing 

and Certification fees and Network 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
8466 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 

4 ‘‘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 and the Definitions section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

5The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to ‘‘Lead 

Market Makers’’, ‘‘Primary Lead Market Makers’’ 

and ‘‘Registered Market Makers’’ collectively. See 

Exchange Rule 100 and the Definitions section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f. 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84891 

(December 20, 2018), 83 FR 67421 (December 28, 

2018) (File No. 10–233) (order approving 

application of MIAX Emerald, LLC for registration 

as a national securities exchange). 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85393 

(March 21, 2019), 84 FR 11599 (March 27, 2019) 

(SR–EMERALD–2019–15) (Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 

To Establish the MIAX Emerald Fee Schedule). 

9 ‘‘Waiver Period’’ means, for each applicable fee, 

the period of time from the initial effective date of 

the MIAX Emerald Fee Schedule until such time 

that the Exchange has an effective fee filing 

establishing the applicable fee. The Exchange will 

issue a Regulatory Circular announcing the 

establishment of an applicable fee that was subject 

to a Waiver Period at least fifteen (15) days prior 

to the termination of the Waiver Period and 

effective date of any such applicable fee. See the 

Definitions Section of the Fee Schedule. 

10See MIAX Emerald Regulatory Circular 2020– 

41 available at https://www.miaxoptions.com/sites/ 

default/files/circular-files/MIAX_Emerald_RC_

2020_41.pdf. 

11See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 

90183 (October 14, 2020), 85 FR 66607 (October 20, 

2020) (SR–EMERALD–2020–09) (Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 

Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule To Adopt 

Application Programming Interface (‘‘API’’) Testing 

and Certification Fees and Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification Fees); 90196 (October 15, 

2020), 85 FR 67064 (October 21, 2020) (SR– 

EMERALD–2020–11) (Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 

To Amend Its Fee Schedule To Adopt One-Time 

Membership Application Fees and Monthly Trading 

Permit Fees). The Exchange’s prior proposals to 

establish the one-time membership application fee 

and per-instance API Testing and Certification fees 

and Network Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fees are collectively referred to herein as the ‘‘First 

Proposed Rule Changes.’’ The Exchange notes that 

it will refile its proposal to establish monthly 

Trading Permit fees in a separate filing. 

12See id. 

13See Comment Letter from Joseph W. Ferraro III, 

SVP, Deputy General Counsel, the Exchange, dated 

November 20, 2020, notifying the Commission that 

the Exchange will withdraw the First Proposed Rule 

Changes. 

14See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 

90597 (December 8, 2020), 85 FR 80878 (December 

14, 2020) (SR–EMERALD–2020–15) (the ‘‘Second 

Proposed Rule Change’’). 

15See id. 

16See Comment Letter from Joseph W. Ferraro III, 

SVP, Deputy General Counsel, the Exchange, dated 

January 15, 2021, notifying the Commission that the 

Exchange will withdraw the Second Proposed Rule 

Change. 

17See Chapter VI of the Exchange’s rules, 

generally. 

18See MIAX Fee Schedule, Section 3(a). 

19See Cboe Fees Schedule, p. 9, Cboe Trading 

Permit Holder Application Fees. 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fees for Members and non-Members. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings/emerald, at MIAX’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Fee Schedule to establish: (1) One-time 

membership application fees for new 

MIAX Emerald Members based upon the 

applicant’s status as either an Electronic 

Exchange Member (‘‘EEM’’) 4 or as a 

Market Maker; 5 and (2) per-instance 

API Testing and Certification fees and 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees for Members and nonMembers. 

MIAX Emerald commenced 

operations as a national securities 

exchange registered under Section 6 of 

the Act 6 on March 1, 2019.7 The 

Exchange adopted its transaction fees 

and certain of its non-transaction fees in 

its filing SR–EMERALD–2019–15.8 In 

that filing, the Exchange expressly 

waived, among other fees, the one-time 

membership application fee and perinstance API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees, both for Members 

and non-Members, in order to provide 

an incentive to prospective market 

participants to become Exchange 

Members and for prospective Members 

and non-Members to connect to MIAX 

Emerald as soon as possible. At that 

time, the Exchange waived the one-time 

membership application fee and perinstance API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees for the Waiver 

Period,9 and stated that it would 

provide notice to market participants 

when the Exchange intended to 

terminate the Waiver Period. 

On September 15, 2020, the Exchange 

issued a Regulatory Circular which 

announced that the Exchange would 

terminate the Waiver Period for, among 

other fees, the one-time membership 

application fee and per-instance API 

Testing and Certification fees and 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees for Members and nonMembers, beginning October 1, 2020.10

The Exchange initially filed its 

proposals to establish the one-time 

membership application fee and perinstance API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees on October 1, 

2020.11 The First Proposed Rule 

Changes were published for comment in 

the Federal Register between October 

20–21, 2020.12 On November 25, 2020, 

the Exchange withdrew the First 

Proposed Rule Changes 13 and refiled its 

proposal to establish the one-time 

membership application fee and perinstance API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees.14 The Second 

Proposed Rule Change was published 

for comment in the Federal Register on 

December 14, 2020.15 On January 21, 

2021, the Exchange withdrew the 

Second Proposed Rule Change and 

refiled its proposal.16

One-Time Membership Application Fee 

The Exchange proposes to assess a 

one-time membership application fee 

based upon the applicant’s status as 

either an EEM or as a Market Maker. 

The Exchange proposes that applicants 

for MIAX Emerald membership as an 

EEM will be assessed a one-time 

application fee of $2,500. The Exchange 

proposes that applicants for MIAX 

Emerald membership as a Market Maker 

will be assessed a one-time application 

fee of $3,000. The difference in the 

proposed membership application fee to 

be charged to EEMs and Market Makers 

is because of the additional review and 

resources involved in processing a 

Market Maker’s application, as Market 

Makers have greater and more complex 

obligations with respect to doing 

business on the Exchange.17 MIAX 

Emerald’s proposed one-time 

membership application fees are the 

same as the one-time application fees in 

place at the Exchange’s affiliate, Miami 

International Securities Exchange, LLC 

(‘‘MIAX’’) ($2,500 for an EEM and 

$3,000 for a MIAX Market Maker) 18, 

and similar to or less than application 

fees for the Cboe Exchange, Inc. 

(‘‘Cboe’’) ($3,000 for an individual 

applicant and $5,000 for an applicant 

organization) 19 and Nasdaq ISE, LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq ISE’’) ($7,500 per firm for a 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 8467 

20See Nasdaq ISE, Options Rules, Options 7, 

Pricing Schedule, Section 9. Legal and Regulatory 

A. Application. 

21 ‘‘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. 

22The FIX Drop Copy (‘‘FXD’’) Port is a 

messaging interface that will provide a copy of realtime 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 the 

Definitions section of the Fee Schedule. 

23 ‘‘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. 

24The MEI is a connection to the MIAX Emerald 

System that enables Market Makers to submit 

simple and complex electronic quotes to MIAX 

Emerald. The Exchange offers Full Service MEI 

Ports, which 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. Market Makers are limited to two Full 

Service MEI Ports per Matching Engine. The 

Exchange also offers 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 initially receive two 

Limited Service MEI Ports per Matching Engine. 

See the Definitions section of the Fee Schedule. 

25The term ‘‘System’’ means the automated 

trading system used by the Exchange for the trading 

of securities. See Exchange Rule 100. 

26Third Party Vendors are subscribers of MIAX 

Emerald’s market and other data feeds, which they 

in turn use for redistribution purposes. See the 

Definitions section of the Fee Schedule. 

27 ‘‘Service Bureau’’ means a technology provider 

that offers and supplies technology and technology 

services to a trading firm that does not have its own 

proprietary system. See the Definitions section of 

the Fee Schedule. 

primary market maker, $5,500 per firm 

for a competitive market maker, and 

$3,500 per firm for an electronic access 

member).20 Below is the table showing 

the proposed one-time membership 

application fees for EEMs and Market 

Makers: 

Type of membership Application fee 

Electronic Exchange Member ......... $2,500.00 

Market Maker .................................. 3,000.00 

API Testing and Certification Fees for 

Members 

The Exchange also proposes to adopt 

an API Testing and Certification fee for 

Members. An API makes it possible for 

Member software to communicate with 

MIAX Emerald software applications, 

and is subject to Member testing with, 

and certification by, MIAX Emerald. API 

testing and certification includes, for 

EEMs, testing all available order types, 

new order entry, order management, 

order throughput and mass order 

cancellation. For Market Makers, API 

testing and certification also includes 

testing of all available quote types, 

quote throughput, quote management 

and cancellation, Aggregate Risk 

Manager settings and triggers, and 

confirmation of quotes within the 

trading engines. 

The API Testing and Certification fees 

for Members are based upon the type of 

interface that the Member has been 

credentialed to use. The Exchange 

proposes to adopt an API testing and 

certification fee for EEMs (other than 

Clearing Firms): (i) Initially per API for 

Financial Information Exchange 

(‘‘FIX’’) 21 ports, FIX Drop Copy 

(‘‘FXD’’) 22 ports and Clearing Trade 

Drop (‘‘CTD’’) 23 ports in the month the 

EEM has been credentialed to use one 

or more ports in the production 

environment for the tested API, and (ii) 

each time an EEM initiates a change to 

its system that requires testing and 

certification. The Exchange proposes to 

adopt an API testing and certification 

fee for EEM Clearing Firms (i) initially 

per API in the month the EEM Clearing 

Firm has been credentialed to use one 

or more CTD Ports in the production 

environment, and (ii) each time an EEM 

Clearing Firm initiates a change to its 

system that requires testing and 

certification. 

The Exchange proposes to adopt an 

API testing and certification fee for 

Market Makers: (i) Initially per API for 

CTD and MIAX Emerald Express 

Interface (‘‘MEI’’) 24 ports in the month 

the Market Maker has been credentialed 

to use one or more ports in the 

production environment for the tested 

API and the Market Maker has been 

assigned to quote in one or more classes, 

and (ii) each time a Market Maker 

initiates a change to its system that 

requires testing and certification. The 

Exchange also proposes that API Testing 

and Certification fees will not be 

assessed in situations where the 

Exchange initiates a mandatory change 

to the Exchange’s System 25 that requires 

testing and certification. The Exchange 

proposes to assess Member API Testing 

and Certification fees of $1,000 for 

EEMs and $2,500 for Market Makers. 

Below is the proposed table for API 

Testing and Certification fees for 

Members: 

Type of member 

API Testing 

and 

Certification 

fee 

Electronic Exchange Member ......... $1,000.00 

Market Maker .................................. 2,500.00 

API Testing and Certification Fee for 

Non-Members 

The Exchange proposes to adopt an 

API Testing and Certification fee for 

Third Party Vendors,26 Service 

Bureaus 27 and other non-Members 

(such as clearing firms): (i) Initially per 

API for FIX, FXD, CTD and MEI ports 

in the month the Third Party Vendor, 

Service Bureau or non-Member has been 

credentialed to use one or more ports in 

the production environment for the 

tested API, and (ii) each time a Third 

Party Vendor, Service Bureau, or other 

non-Member initiates a change to its 

system that requires testing and 

certification. The Exchange also 

proposes that API Testing and 

Certification fees will not be assessed to 

non-Members in situations where the 

Exchange initiates a mandatory change 

to the Exchange’s System that requires 

testing and certification. 

The Exchange proposes to assess nonMember API Testing and Certification 

fees of $1,200 for Third Party Vendors, 

Service Bureaus and other nonMembers. Below is the proposed table 

for API Testing and Certification fees for 

non-Members: 

Non-Member 

API Testing 

and 

Certification 

fee 

Third Party Vendors and Service 

Bureaus and other non-Members $1,200.00 

The proposed higher fee charged to 

Third Party Vendors, Service Bureaus 

and non-Members reflects the greater 

amount of time spent by MIAX Emerald 

employees testing and certifying nonMembers. It has been MIAX Emerald’s 

experience that Member testing takes 

less time than non-Member testing 

because Members have more experience 

testing these systems with exchanges, 

resulting in generally fewer questions 

and issues arising during the testing and 

certification process. Also, because 

Third Party Vendors and Service 

Bureaus are redistributing data and 

reselling services to other Members and 


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8468 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 

28 ‘‘EENI’’ means the Emerald Express Network 

Interconnect, which is a network infrastructure 

which provides Members and non-Members 

network connectivity to the trading platforms, 

market data systems, test systems, and disaster 

recovery facilities of MIAX Emerald. When utilizing 

a Shared cross-connect, the EENI can also be 

configured to offer network connectivity to the 

trading platforms, market data systems, test 

systems, and disaster recovery facilities of MIAX 

and MIAX PEARL. When utilizing a Dedicated 

cross-connect, the EENI can only be configured to 

offer network connectivity to the trading platforms, 

market data systems, and test systems of MIAX 

Emerald. The EENI consists of the low latency and 

ultra-low latency connectivity options set forth in 

the Exchange’s Fee Schedule. See the Definitions 

section of the Fee Schedule. 

29 ‘‘Shared’’ (cross-connect) means cross-connect 

that provides network connectivity to the trading 

platforms, market data systems, test systems, and/ 

or disaster recovery facilities of MIAX Emerald, 

MIAX and MIAX PEARL via a single, shared 

connection. The following connections can be 

Shared across MIAX Emerald, MIAX and MIAX 

PEARL: 1 Gigabit, 1 Gigabit Disaster Recovery, and 

10 Gigabit Disaster Recovery. See the Definitions 

section of the Fee Schedule. 

market participants, the number and 

types of scenarios that need to be tested 

are more numerous and complex than 

those tested and certified for a single 

Member. 

The Exchange believes it is necessary 

to charge an API Testing and 

Certification fee to Members and nonMembers because of the time and 

resources spent to ensure that Member 

and non-Member APIs function 

correctly to prevent any System 

malfunction. Further, the Exchange 

believes the price differential in API 

Testing and Certification fees for 

Members and non-Members is not 

unfairly discriminatory because, in the 

Exchange’s experience, Member testing 

takes less time than non-Member testing 

as Members have more experience 

testing these systems with exchanges, 

resulting generally in fewer questions 

and issues arising during the testing and 

certification process. 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification Fee for Members 

The Exchange established electronic 

communication connections with 

Members and now proposes to assess 

Members a Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification fee for each 1 

Gigabit (‘‘Gb’’) connection and 10 Gb 

ultra-low-latency (‘‘ULL’’) connection. 

The Exchange proposes to assess a 

Member Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fee: (i) Initially per 

connection in the month the Individual 

Firm has been credentialed to use any 

API or market data feeds in the 

production environment utilizing the 

tested network connection, and (ii) each 

time an individual firm initiates a 

change to its system that requires 

network connectivity testing and 

certification. Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification fees will not be 

assessed in situations where the 

Exchange initiates a mandatory change 

to the Exchange’s system that requires 

testing and certification. Member 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees will not be assessed 

for testing and certification of 

connectivity to the Exchange’s Disaster 

Recovery Facility. 

The Exchange proposes to assess 

Members a Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification Fee of $1,000 

per 1Gb connection and $4,000 per 

10Gb ULL connection. Below is the 

proposed table for Member Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fees: 

Type of member 1 Gigabit 

fee per connection 

10 Gigabit ULL 

fee per connection 

Individual Firm ......................................................................................................................... $1,000.00 $4,000.00 

The proposed fee amounts are 

identical to the fees currently assessed 

for the same services at the Exchange’s 

affiliate options exchanges, MIAX and 

MIAX PEARL, LLC (‘‘MIAX PEARL’’). 

The Exchange notes that the Emerald 

Express Network Interconnect 

(‘‘EENI’’) 28 is a network infrastructure 

which provides Members and nonMembers network connectivity to the 

trading platforms, market data systems, 

test systems, and disaster recovery 

facility of the Exchange. When utilizing 

a Shared 29 cross-connect, the EENI can 

also be configured to offer network 

connectivity to the trading platforms, 

market data systems, test systems, and 

disaster recovery facilities of the 

Exchange’s affiliate options exchanges, 

MIAX and MIAX PEARL. Members 

utilizing a single, Shared cross-connect 

to connect to the trading platforms, 

market data systems, test systems, and 

disaster recovery facilities of the 

Exchange, MIAX and MIAX PEARL will 

only be assessed one Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fee per connection tested, regardless of 

the trading platforms, market data 

systems, test systems, and disaster 

recovery facilities accessed via such 

connection. 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification Fee for Non-Members 

MIAX Emerald established electronic 

communication connections with 

Service Bureaus, Extranet Providers and 

other non-Members, and now proposes 

to assess a Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification fee for each 

1Gb connection and 10Gb ULL 

connection. The Exchange proposes to 

assess a non-Member Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fee: (i) Initially per connection in the 

month the Service Bureau, Extranet 

Provider or other non-Member has been 

credentialed to use any API or market 

data feeds in the production 

environment using the tested network 

connection, and (ii) each time the 

Service Bureau, Extranet Provider or 

other non-Member initiates a change to 

its system that requires network 

connectivity testing and certification. 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees will not be assessed in 

situations where the Exchange initiates 

a mandatory change to the Exchange’s 

system that requires testing and 

certification. Non-Member Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fees will not be assessed for testing and 

certification of connectivity to the 

Exchange’s Disaster Recovery Facility. 

The Exchange proposes to assess nonMembers a Network Connectivity 

Testing and Certification Fee of $1,200 

per 1Gb connection and $4,200 per 

10Gb ULL connection. Below is the 

proposed table for non-Member 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees: 

Non-Member 1 Gigabit 

fee per connection 

10 Gigabit ULL 

fee per connection 

Service Bureau/Extranet Provider and other non-Members ................................................... $1,200.00 $4,200.00 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 8469 

30See MIAX Fee Schedule, Sections 4(c) and 4(d); 

see also MIAX PEARL Fee Schedule, Sections 4(c) 

and 4(d). 

31 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

32 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

33See The Options Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) 

publishes options and futures volume in a variety 

of formats, including daily and monthly volume by 

exchange, available here: https://www.theocc.com/ 

market-data/volume/default.jsp. 

34See the Exchange’s Membership and Technical 

Onboarding process, available at https://

www.miaxoptions.com/membership/emerald. 

35See https://www.miaxoptions.com/exchangemembers/emerald. 

The EENI is also available to nonMember subscribers. For non-Member 

subscribers, when utilizing a Shared 

cross-connect, the EENI can also be 

configured to offer network connectivity 

to the trading platforms, market data 

systems, test systems, and disaster 

recovery facilities of the Exchange’s 

affiliate options exchanges, MIAX and 

MIAX PEARL. Accordingly, nonMembers utilizing Shared crossconnects to connect to the trading 

platforms, market data systems, test 

systems, and disaster recovery facilities 

of the Exchange and its affiliates, MIAX 

and MIAX PEARL, will only be assessed 

one Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fee per connection tested, 

regardless of the trading platforms, 

market data systems, test systems, and 

disaster recovery facilities accessed via 

such connection. The Member and nonMember Network Testing and 

Certification fees represent installation 

and support costs incurred by the 

Exchange as it works with each Member 

and non-Member to make sure there are 

appropriate electronic communication 

connections with MIAX Emerald. The 

Exchange’s affiliate options exchanges, 

MIAX and MIAX PEARL, charge the 

same fees for the same services for their 

Members and non-Members.30 The 

Exchange proposes to assess a higher 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fee to non-Members than to 

Members, similar to how MIAX and 

MIAX PEARL assesses such fees to their 

Members and non-Members. The 

proposed higher fee charged to nonMembers reflects the greater amount of 

time spent by MIAX Emerald employees 

testing and certifying non-Members. It 

has been MIAX Emerald’s experience 

that Member network connectivity 

testing takes less time than non-Member 

network connectivity testing because 

Members have more experience testing 

these systems with exchanges as 

generally fewer questions and issues 

arise during the testing and certification 

process. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Fee Schedule is 

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 31

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 32 in 

particular, in that it is an equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues, fees and 

other charges among its members and 

issuers 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 and dealers. 

The Exchange launched trading on 

March 1, 2019. For the month of 

December 2020, the Exchange had only 

a 3.58% market share of the U.S. 

options industry.33 The Exchange is not 

aware of any evidence that a market 

share of approximately 3% provides the 

Exchange with anti-competitive pricing 

power. If the Exchange were to attempt 

to establish unreasonable pricing, then 

no market participant would apply to 

become a Member of the Exchange, or 

test and certify with the Exchange’s 

trading System. 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

one-time membership application fee is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because it is a one-time 

fee that is reasonably related to (and 

designed to recover) the Exchange’s cost 

associated with reviewing and 

approving membership applications, 

which consists primarily of the time and 

resources of Exchange personnel to 

process the membership application and 

conduct the new member on-boarding 

process. The Exchange’s process for 

reviewing and approving potential new 

Members involves several steps and 

participation from personnel in multiple 

Exchange departments, as follows: (i) 

Reviewing prospective Member 

information provided in various 

membership forms, including, where 

necessary, possibly consulting with 

FINRA, pursuant to the Exchange’s 

Regulatory Services Agreement; (ii) the 

on-boarding process, where Exchange 

personnel contacts the firm for an 

introductory meeting with the 

Exchange’s Business Team to discuss 

goals, answer questions and schedule 

the technical on-boarding meeting; (iii) 

the technical on-boarding meeting, 

where the Exchange’s on-boarding team 

and Trading Operations Team guides 

the firm through the on-boarding 

process with Exchange personnel 

available to discuss network 

connectivity, APIs, Exchange 

functionality and operational issues; 

and (iv) follow-ups with the Trading 

Operations Team to coordinate testing, 

as necessary, until the firm is active in 

the Exchange’s live trading 

environment.34

The Exchange tracks the number of 

hours spent by Exchange personnel 

providing the aforementioned services 

per membership application. Based on 

the average number of person hours 

spent by the Exchange on processing a 

typical membership application, and 

based on the Exchange’s average cost 

per full-time employee (‘‘FTE’’) of 

approximately $250,000 (inclusive of all 

compensation and employee benefits) 

per year, the Exchange represents that 

its cost to provide this service is 

reasonably related to (and often 

exceeds) the amount of the membership 

application fee the Exchange proposes 

to charge for such service. In particular, 

it takes approximately 40 person hours 

to review, on-board and approve a 

membership application. Therefore, the 

cost to the Exchange for the review, onboarding, and approval of each 

application is, on average, 

approximately $4,000–$5,000 (with 

EEM application costs closer to $4,000, 

versus Market Maker application costs 

closer to $5,000). Accordingly, the 

proposed one-time membership 

application fee would enable the 

Exchange to recover a material portion 

of such cost. The Exchange believes this 

is a conservative cost allocation because 

the Exchange is not allocating any 

additional costs beyond the employee 

compensation costs for employees 

directly involved in this process, such 

as costs associated with management 

review and sign off, compliance team 

reviews, technology costs of employees, 

office space costs of employees, costs 

associated with supporting departments’ 

time for things such as internal 

meetings, project management 

coordination among the individuals 

who indirectly support the membership 

approval and on-boarding processes, 

and various other indirectly-related 

costs. 

The Exchange also points out that it 

is not seeking to recoup any of its past 

costs associated with reviewing 

membership applications that took 

place during the Waiver Period. The 

Exchange currently has 35 Members,35

all of whom did not pay the one-time 

membership application fee, as it was 

waived for the Waiver Period when 

these firms all became Members of the 

Exchange. Further, the majority of firms 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
8470 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 

36See id. 

37 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

38See supra note 17. 

39 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

that are Members of the Exchange’s 

affiliate options exchanges, MIAX and 

MIAX PEARL, also became Members of 

those exchanges during similar Waiver 

Periods for the MIAX and MIAX PEARL 

one-time membership application fees. 

Accordingly, the Exchange (and MIAX 

and MIAX PEARL) have assumed 

approximately 100% of the costs 

associated with processing membership 

applications for the majority of Member 

firms approved by the Exchange, MIAX, 

and MIAX PEARL. Accordingly, the 

Exchange believes that it is reasonable, 

equitable, and not unfairly 

discriminatory to now adopt a one-time 

membership application fee that is 

reasonably related to (and designed to 

recover) the Exchange’s cost associated 

with reviewing and approving 

membership applications. 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

API Testing and Certification fees and 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees are reasonable, 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory. The Exchange tracks the 

number of hours spent by Exchange 

personnel providing API testing and 

certification services per billable 

instance. Based on the average number 

of person hours spent by the Exchange 

on API testing and certification services, 

and based on the Exchange’s average 

cost per FTE of approximately $250,000 

(inclusive of all compensation and 

employee benefits) per year, the 

Exchange represents that its costs to 

provide these services are reasonably 

related to (and often exceed) the amount 

of the respective testing and 

certification fees the Exchange proposes 

to charge for such services. In particular, 

it takes approximately 20 person hours 

to complete the API testing and 

certification process. Therefore, the cost 

to the Exchange to provide API testing 

and certification services is, on average, 

approximately $2,500 per instance (with 

EEM and non-Member testing and 

certification costs closer to $2,000, 

versus Market Maker testing and 

certification costs closer to $3,000). 

Accordingly, the proposed API Testing 

and Certification fees would enable the 

Exchange to recover a material portion 

of such costs. The Exchange believes 

this is a conservative cost allocation 

because the Exchange is not allocating 

any additional costs beyond the 

employee compensation costs for 

employees directly involved in this 

process, such as management review 

and sign off, technology costs of 

employees, office space costs of 

employees, costs associated with 

supporting departments’ time for things 

such as internal meetings, project 

management coordination among the 

individuals who indirectly support the 

testing and certification process, and 

various other indirectly-related costs. 

The Exchange also points out that it 

is not seeking to recoup any of its past 

costs associated with conducting API 

testing and certification that took place 

during the Waiver Period. The Exchange 

currently has 35 Members,36 all of 

whom did not pay the API testing and 

certification fee, as it was waived for the 

Waiver Period when these firms all 

became Members of the Exchange. 

Further, the majority of firms that are 

Members of the Exchange’s affiliate 

options exchanges, MIAX and MIAX 

PEARL, also became Members of those 

exchanges during similar Waiver 

Periods for the MIAX and MIAX PEARL 

API Testing and Certification fees. 

Accordingly, the Exchange (and MIAX 

and MIAX PEARL) have assumed 

approximately 100% of the costs 

associated with conducting API testing 

and certification for the majority of 

Member firms approved by the 

Exchange, MIAX, and MIAX PEARL. 

Accordingly, the Exchange believes that 

it is reasonable, equitable, and not 

unfairly discriminatory to now adopt a 

per-instance fee that is reasonably 

related to (and designed to recover) the 

Exchange’s cost associated with 

conducting API testing and certification. 

The Exchange also tracks the number 

of hours spent by Exchange personnel 

providing network connectivity testing 

and certification services per billable 

instance. Based on the average number 

of person hours spent by the Exchange 

on network connectivity testing and 

certification services, and based on the 

Exchange’s average cost per FTE of 

approximately $250,000 (inclusive of all 

compensation and employee benefits) 

per year, the Exchange represents that 

its costs to provide these services are 

reasonably related to (and often exceed) 

the amount of the respective testing and 

certification fees the Exchange proposes 

to charge for such services. In particular, 

it takes approximately 20 person hours 

to complete the network testing and 

certification process for 1 Gigabit 

connections, and approximately 40 

person hours to complete the network 

testing and certification process for 10 

Gigabit ULL connections. Therefore, the 

cost to the Exchange to provide network 

connectivity testing and certification 

services is, on average, approximately 

$2,500 per instance for 1 Gigabit 

connections, and approximately $5,000 

per instance for 10 Gigabit ULL 

connections. Accordingly, the proposed 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees would enable the 

Exchange to recover a material portion 

of such costs. The Exchange believes 

this is a conservative cost allocation 

because the Exchange is not allocating 

any additional costs beyond the 

employee compensation costs for 

employees directly involved in this 

process, such as management review 

and sign off, technology costs of 

employees, office space costs of 

employees, costs associated with 

supporting departments’ time for things 

such as internal meetings, project 

management coordination among the 

individuals who indirectly support the 

testing and certification process, and 

various other indirectly-related costs. 

The Exchange believes the difference 

in the proposed membership 

application fee to be charged to EEMs 

and Market Makers is an equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues and fees 

pursuant to Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 37

because of the additional review and 

resources involved in processing a 

Market Maker’s application as opposed 

to an EEM’s application, as Market 

Makers have greater and more complex 

obligations with respect to doing 

business on the Exchange.38

The Exchange believes its proposal to 

adopt API Testing and Certification fees 

and Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees for Members and nonMembers is an equitable allocation of 

reasonable dues and fees pursuant to 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 39 because it is 

a per-instance fee that is reasonably 

related to (and designed to recover) the 

Exchange’s cost associated with 

providing such API Testing and 

Certification services and Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

services, which consists primarily of the 

time and resources spent to ensure that 

Member and non-Member APIs and 

connectivity function correctly to 

prevent any System malfunction. 

Further, the Exchange believes the 

price differential in API Testing and 

Certification fees and Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fees for Members and non-Members is 

not unfairly discriminatory because, in 

the Exchange’s experience, Member 

testing utilizes less Exchange resources 

and employee time than non-Member 

testing as Members have more 

experience testing these systems with 

exchanges, resulting generally in fewer 

questions and issues arising during the 

testing and certification process. Also, 

with respect to API testing and 

certification, because Third Party 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 8471 

40 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

41See supra note 30. 42See supra note 17. 43See supra notes 18, 19, 20 and 30. 

Vendors and Service Bureaus are 

redistributing data and reselling services 

to other Members and market 

participants the number and types of 

scenarios that need to be tested are more 

numerous and complex than those 

tested and certified for Members. 

The Exchange believes the difference 

in the proposed 1 Gigabit and 10 Gigabit 

ULL network connectivity testing and 

certification fees is an equitable 

allocation of reasonable dues and fees 

pursuant to Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 40

because of the additional review and 

resources involved in testing and 

certifying a 10 Gigabit ULL connection 

as opposed to a 1 Gigabit connection, as 

10 Gigabit ULL connections offer vastly 

greater products and services which 

require significantly more time to test, 

including Market Maker quoting 

systems. The Exchange believes its 

proposed API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees are reasonable and 

well within the range of non-transaction 

fees assessed among other exchanges, 

including the Exchange’s affiliate 

options exchanges, MIAX and MIAX 

PEARL.41

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

Intra-Market Competition 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed fees do not put any market 

participants at a relative disadvantage 

compared to other market participants. 

The proposed fees would apply to all 

new Exchange Members and those firms 

looking to establish APIs and network 

connectivity in the same manner. 

Market participants may not only 

choose whether to become Exchange 

Members at all, but may choose to 

become members at competing options 

exchanges instead. 

The Exchange further believes the 

proposed fees do not place any market 

participant at a disadvantage compared 

to other market participants because the 

proposed API Testing and Certification 

and Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees are intended to cover 

the situations where a Member or nonMember firm makes changes to its own 

system for its own business purpose 

(i.e., instances where a firm is trying to 

improve its quoting engine), which 

requires the Exchange to test those rearchitected systems. This testing 

requires the time of Exchange personnel 

in several departments (Trading 

Operations, Business, On-Boarding, 

Membership), and occurs primarily 

outside of normal business hours, often 

over the course of the weekend. The 

proposed fees are a way for the 

Exchange to recoup its costs associated 

with this testing. When the Exchange 

determines to make upgrades to its own 

system which requires mandatory 

testing and certification by Members, 

the Exchange does not charge any fees. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed fees do not dampen 

innovation because the majority of 

Exchange Members are members of 

most, if not all, of the other 15 options 

exchanges. Those exchanges also 

require testing and certification any 

time the Member makes changes to its 

system at those exchanges, and also 

charge a fee to recoup the costs 

associated with testing and certifying 

members. The Exchange also notes that 

it has never received a complaint from 

a Member or non-Member any time a 

Member or non-Member has made a 

change to its own system that resulted 

in the Exchange assessing a testing and 

certification fee. Without some sort of 

testing and certification fee, the 

Exchange believes that Members and 

non-Members might be less efficient in 

testing their systems, potentially 

resulting in excessive time being 

consumed by the Exchange re-testing 

and re-certifying Members and nonMembers, to the detriment of all market 

participants as Exchange resources are 

diverted away from other trading 

operations. 

The Exchange also believes that the 

proposed fees neither favor nor penalize 

one or more categories of market 

participants in a manner that would 

impose an undue burden on 

competition. To the extent that various 

market participants are charged 

different fees for the one-time 

membership application and perinstance API and network connectivity 

testing, those distinctions are not 

unfairly discriminatory and do not 

unfairly burden one set of market 

participants over another. The 

difference in the proposed membership 

application fee to be charged to EEMs 

and Market Makers is because of the 

additional review and resources 

involved in processing a Market Maker’s 

application, as Market Makers have 

greater and more complex obligations 

with respect to doing business on the 

Exchange.42 The proposed higher fee 

charged to Third Party Vendors, Service 

Bureaus and non-Members reflects the 

greater amount of time spent by MIAX 

Emerald employees testing and 

certifying non-Members. It has been 

MIAX Emerald’s experience that 

Member testing takes less time than 

non-Member testing because Members 

have more experience testing these 

systems with exchanges, resulting in 

generally fewer questions and issues 

arising during the testing and 

certification process. Also, because 

Third Party Vendors and Service 

Bureaus are redistributing data and 

reselling services to other Members and 

market participants, the number and 

types of scenarios that need to be tested 

are more numerous and complex than 

those tested and certified for a single 

Member. The higher fee charged to nonMembers reflects the greater amount of 

time spent by MIAX Emerald employees 

testing and certifying non-Members. It 

has been MIAX Emerald’s experience 

that Member network connectivity 

testing takes less time than non-Member 

network connectivity testing because 

Members have more experience testing 

these systems with exchanges as 

generally fewer questions and issues 

arise during the testing and certification 

process. The proposed higher fee 

charged for 10 Gigabit ULL connections 

versus 1 Gigabit ULL connections 

reflects the greater amount of time spent 

by MIAX Emerald employees testing 

and certifying 10 Gigabit ULL 

connections. MIAX Emerald’s proposed 

one-time membership application fee 

and per-instance API Testing and 

Certification fee levels and Network 

Connectivity Testing and Certification 

fee levels, as described herein, are 

comparable to fee levels charged by 

other options exchanges for the same or 

similar services, including those fees 

assessed by the Exchange’s affiliates, 

MIAX and MIAX PEARL.43

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed API Testing and Certification 

fees and Network Connectivity Testing 

and Certification fees do not place 

certain market participants at a relative 

disadvantage to other market 

participants because the fees do not 

apply unequally to different size market 

participants, but instead would allow 

the Exchange to charge for the time and 

resource necessary for API testing and 

certification and network connectivity 

testing and certification for Members 

and non-Members to ensure proper 

functioning of all available order types, 

new order entry, order management, 

order throughput and mass order 

cancellation (as well as, for Market 

Makers, all available quote types, quote 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
8472 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Notices 

44 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

45 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 46 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

throughput, quote management and 

cancellation, Aggregate Risk Manager 

settings and triggers, and confirmation 

of quotes within the trading engines). 

Accordingly, the proposed API Testing 

and Certification fees and network 

connectivity testing and certification 

fees do not favor certain categories of 

market participants in a manner that 

would impose a burden on competition. 

Inter-Market Competition 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

API Testing and Certification fees and 

Network Connectivity Testing and 

Certification fees do not place an undue 

burden on competition on other SROs 

that is not necessary or appropriate. The 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

fees do not impose a burden on 

competition or on other exchanges that 

is not necessary or appropriate because 

of the availability of numerous 

substitute options exchanges. There are 

15 other options exchanges where 

market participants can become 

members. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor 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,44 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 45 thereunder. At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

summarily may temporarily suspend 

such rule change if it appears to the 

Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors, 

or otherwise in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. If the Commission 

takes such action, the Commission shall 

institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule 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 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

EMERALD–2021–01 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• 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–2021–01. 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 (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–EMERALD–2021–01 and 

should be submitted on or before 

February 26, 2021. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.46

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02398 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

[Public Notice: 11343] 

Notice of Department of State 

Sanctions Actions on Hong Kong 

Normalization 

SUMMARY: The Secretary of State has 

imposed sanctions on six individuals 

pursuant to the President’s Executive 

Order on Hong Kong Normalization. 

DATES: The Secretary of State’s 

determination regarding the six 

individuals identified in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

was effective on January 15, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Taylor Ruggles, Director, Office of 

Economic Sanctions Policy and 

Implementation, Bureau of Economic 

and Business Affairs, Department of 

State, Washington, DC 20520, tel.: (202) 

647 7677, email: RugglesTV@state.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 4(a)(iii)(A) of Executive Order 

(E.O.) 13936, the Secretary of State, in 

consultation with the Secretary of the 

Treasury, or the Secretary of the 

Treasury, in consultation with the 

Secretary of State, may authorize the 

imposition of sanctions blocking all 

property or interests in property that are 

in the United States, that hereafter come 

within the United States, or that are in 

or hereafter come within the possession 

or control of any United States person, 

of any foreign person upon determining 

that the person met any criteria set forth 

in section 4 of E.O. 13936. 

The Secretary of State has 

determined, pursuant to section 

4(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 13936, that You 

Quan, Sun Wenqing AKA Sun Qingye, 

and Tam Yiu-Chung, are or have been 

leaders or officials of entities, including 

any government entity, that have 

engaged in, or whose members have 

engaged in, developing, adopting, or 

implementing the National Security 

Law. 

The Secretary of State has 

determined, pursuant to section 

4(a)(iii)(A) of E.O. 13936, that Frederic 

Choi Chin-Pang, Kelvin Kong Hok Lai, 

and Andrew Kan Kai Yan are foreign 

persons who are or have been leaders or 

officials of an entity, including any 

government entity, that has engaged in, 

or whose members have engaged in, 

coercing, arresting, detaining or 

imprisoning individuals under the 

authority of, or in developing, adopting, 

or implementing, the National Security 

Law. 

These persons have been added to the 

list of Specially Designated Nationals 

and Blocked Persons List and all 

property and interests in property 


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