Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 64939 

17 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The Exchange initially filed the proposed fee 

changes on July 3, 2023 (SR–C2–2023–014). On 

September 1, 2023, the Exchange withdrew that 

filing and submitted this proposal. 

4See e.g., The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’), General 8, Connectivity to the 

Exchange. Nasdaq and its affiliated exchanges 

charge a monthly fee of $15,000 for each 10Gbps 

Ultra fiber connection to the respective exchange, 

which is analogous to the Exchange’s 10Gbps 

physical port. See also New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, NYSE American LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE 

Chicago Inc., NYSE National, Inc. Connectivity Fee 

Schedule, which provides that 10 Gbps LX LCN 

Circuits (which are analogous to the Exchange’s 10 

Gbps physical port) are assessed $22,000 per 

month, per port. 

5The Affiliate Exchanges are also submitting 

contemporaneous identical rule filings. 

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 (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

BOX–2023–23 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–BOX–2023–23. 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 (https://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 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

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–BOX–2023–23 and should be 

submitted on or before October 11, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.17

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20304 Filed 9–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98397; File No. SR–C2– 

2023–020] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

C2 Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Fees 

Schedule Related to Physical Port 

Fees 

September 14, 2023. 

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 

September 1, 2023, Cboe C2 Exchange, 

Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘C2’’) filed with 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘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. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Cboe C2 Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘C2 Options’’) proposes 

to amend its Fees Schedule. The text of 

the proposed rule change is provided in 

Exhibit 5. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is also available on the Exchange’s 

website (http://markets.cboe.com/us/ 

options/regulation/rule_filings/ctwo/), 

at the Exchange’s Office of the 

Secretary, 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 its 

fee schedule relating to physical 

connectivity fees.3

By way of background, a physical port 

is utilized by a Member or non-Member 

to connect to the Exchange at the data 

centers where the Exchange’s servers are 

located. The Exchange currently 

assesses the following physical 

connectivity fees for Trading Permit 

Holders (‘‘TPHs’’) and non-TPHs on a 

monthly basis: $2,500 per physical port 

for a 1 gigabit (‘‘Gbps’’) circuit and 

$7,500 per physical port for a 10 Gbps 

circuit. The Exchange proposes to 

increase the monthly fee for 10 Gbps 

physical ports from $7,500 to $8,500 per 

port. The Exchange notes the proposed 

fee change better enables it to continue 

to maintain and improve its market 

technology and services and also notes 

that the proposed fee amount, even as 

amended, continues to be in line with, 

or even lower than, amounts assessed by 

other exchanges for similar 

connections.4 The physical ports may 

also be used to access the Systems for 

the following affiliate exchanges and 

only one monthly fee currently (and 

will continue) to apply per port: Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc. (options and 

equities platforms), Cboe EDGX 

Exchange, Inc. (options and equities 

platforms), Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc., 

and Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc. 

(‘‘Affiliate Exchanges’’).5

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 


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64940 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 

6 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

8 Id. 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

10See Securities and Exchange Release No. 83455 

(June 15, 2018), 83 FR 28892 (June 21, 2018) (SR– 

C2–2018–014). 

11See https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/

2010?amount=1. 

12See e.g., The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 

(‘‘Nasdaq’’), General 8, Connectivity to the 

Exchange. Nasdaq and its affiliated exchanges 

charge a monthly fee of $15,000 for each 10Gbps 

Ultra fiber connection to the respective exchange, 

which is analogous to the Exchange’s 10Gbps 

physical port. See also New York Stock Exchange 

LLC, NYSE American LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE 

Chicago Inc., NYSE National, Inc. Connectivity Fee 

Schedule, which provides that 10 Gbps LX LCN 

Circuits (which are analogous to the Exchange’s 10 

Gbps physical port) are assessed $22,000 per 

month, per port. 

13 Id. 

14See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Options Market 

Volume Summary (June 27, 2023), available at 

https://markets.cboe.com/us/options/market_

statistics/. 

15See https://www.nyse.com/markets/americanoptions/membership#directory. 

16See https://www.nyse.com/markets/arcaoptions/membership#directory. 

‘‘Act’’) and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to the Exchange 

and, in particular, the requirements of 

Section 6(b) of the Act.6 Specifically, 

the Exchange believes the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Section 

6(b)(5) 7 requirements that the rules of 

an exchange be designed to prevent 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices, to promote just and equitable 

principles of trade, to foster cooperation 

and coordination with persons engaged 

in regulating, clearing, settling, 

processing information with respect to, 

and facilitating transactions in 

securities, to remove impediments to 

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. 

Additionally, the Exchange believes the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

the Section 6(b)(5) 8 requirement that 

the rules of an exchange not be designed 

to permit unfair discrimination between 

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b)(4) 9 of the Act, which 

requires that Exchange rules provide for 

the equitable allocation of reasonable 

dues, fees, and other charges among its 

TPHs and other persons using its 

facilities. 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

fee change is reasonable as it reflects a 

moderate increase in physical 

connectivity fees for 10 Gbps physical 

ports. Further, the current 10 Gbps 

physical port fee has remained 

unchanged since June 2018.10 Since its 

last increase 5 years ago however, there 

has been notable inflation. Particularly, 

the dollar has had an average inflation 

rate of 3.9% per year between 2018 and 

today, producing a cumulative price 

increase of approximately 21.1% 

inflation since the fee for the 10 Gbps 

physical port was last modified.11

Accordingly, the Exchange believes the 

proposed fee is reasonable as it 

represents only an approximate 13% 

increase from the rates adopted five 

years ago, notwithstanding the 

cumulative rate of 21.1%. 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposed fee is reasonable as it is still 

in line with, or even lower than, 

amounts assessed by other exchanges 

for similar connections.12 As noted 

above, the proposed fee is also the same 

as is concurrently being proposed for its 

Affiliate Exchanges. Further, TPHs are 

able to utilize a single port to connect 

to any of the Affiliate Exchanges with 

no additional fee assessed for that same 

physical port. Particularly, the Exchange 

believes the proposed monthly per port 

fee is reasonable, equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory as it is assessed 

only once, even if it connects with 

another affiliate exchange since only 

one port is being used and the Exchange 

does not wish to charge multiple fees for 

the same port. Indeed, the Exchange 

notes that several ports are in fact 

purchased and utilized across one or 

more of the Exchange’s affiliated 

Exchanges (and charged only once). 

The Exchange also believes that the 

proposed fee change is not unfairly 

discriminatory because it would be 

assessed uniformly across all market 

participants that purchase the physical 

ports. The Exchange believes increasing 

the fee for 10 Gbps physical ports and 

charging a higher fee as compared to the 

1 Gbps physical port is equitable as the 

1 Gbps physical port is 1⁄10th the size of 

the 10 Gbps physical port and therefore 

does not offer access to many of the 

products and services offered by the 

Exchange (e.g., ability to receive certain 

market data products). Thus, the value 

of the 1 Gbps alternative is lower than 

the value of the 10 Gbps alternative, 

when measured based on the type of 

Exchange access it offers. Moreover, 

market participants that purchase 10 

Gbps physical ports utilize the most 

bandwidth and therefore consume the 

most resources from the network. As 

such, the Exchange believes the 

proposed fee change for 10 Gbps 

physical ports is reasonably and 

appropriately allocated. 

The Exchange also notes TPHs and 

non-TPHs will continue to choose the 

method of connectivity based on their 

specific needs and no broker-dealer is 

required to become a TPH of, let alone 

connect directly to, the Exchange. There 

is also no regulatory requirement that 

any market participant connect to any 

one particular exchange. Moreover, 

direct connectivity is not a requirement 

to participate on the Exchange. The 

Exchange also believes substitutable 

products and services are available to 

market participants, including, among 

other things, other options exchanges 

that a market participant may connect to 

in lieu of the Exchange, indirect 

connectivity to the Exchange via a thirdparty reseller of connectivity, and/or 

trading of any options product, such as 

within the Over-the-Counter (OTC) 

markets. Indeed, there are currently 16 

registered options exchanges that trade 

options (12 of which are not affiliated 

with Cboe), some of which have similar 

or lower connectivity fees.13 Based on 

publicly available information, no single 

options exchange has more than 

approximately 19% of the market 

share.14 Further, low barriers to entry 

mean that new exchanges may rapidly 

enter the market and offer additional 

substitute platforms to further compete 

with the Exchange and the products it 

offers. For example, there are 3 

exchanges that have been added in the 

U.S. options markets in the last 5 years 

(i.e., Nasdaq MRX, LLC, MIAX Pearl, 

LLC, and MIAX Emerald LLC) and one 

additional options exchange that is 

expected to launch in 2023 (i.e., MEMX 

LLC). 

As noted above, there is no regulatory 

requirement that any market participant 

connect to any one options exchange, 

nor that any market participant connect 

at a particular connection speed or act 

in a particular capacity on the 

Exchange, or trade any particular 

product offered on an exchange. 

Moreover, membership is not a 

requirement to participate on the 

Exchange. Indeed, the Exchange is 

unaware of any one options exchange 

whose membership includes every 

registered broker-dealer. By way of 

example, while the Exchange currently 

has 52 TPHs, Cboe BZX has 61 members 

that trade options, and Cboe EDGX has 

51 members that trade options. There is 

also no firm that is a Member of C2 

Options only. Further, based on 

publicly available information regarding 

a sample of the Exchange’s competitors, 

NYSE American Options has 71 

members,15 and NYSE Arca Options has 

69 members,16 MIAX Options has 46 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 64941 

17See https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/ 

files/page-files/MIAX_Options_Exchange_

Members_April_2023_04282023.pdf. 18See https://www.miaxglobal.com/sites/default/ 

files/page-files/MIAX_Pearl_Exchange_Members_

01172023_0.pdf. 19For example, a third-party reseller may 

purchase one 10 Gbps physical port from the 

Exchange and resell that connectivity to three 

different market participants who may only need 3 

Gbps each and leverage the same single port. 

20 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

21 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 

members 17 and MIAX Pearl Options has 

40 members.18

A market participant may also submit 

orders to the Exchange via a Member 

broker or a third-party reseller of 

connectivity. The Exchange notes that 

third-party non-TPHs also resell 

exchange connectivity. This indirect 

connectivity is another viable 

alternative for market participants to 

trade on the Exchange without 

connecting directly to the Exchange 

(and thus not pay the Exchange’s 

connectivity fees), which alternative is 

already being used by non-TPHs and 

further constrains the price that the 

Exchange is able to charge for 

connectivity to its Exchange. The 

Exchange notes that it could, but 

chooses not to, preclude market 

participants from reselling its 

connectivity. The Exchange also 

chooses not to adopt fees that would be 

assessed to third-party resellers on a per 

customer basis (i.e., fee based on 

number of TPHs that connect to the 

Exchange indirectly via the third-party). 

Particularly, these third-party resellers 

may purchase the Exchange’s physical 

ports and resell access to such ports 

either alone or as part of a package of 

services. The Exchange notes that 

multiple TPHs are able to share a single 

physical port (and corresponding 

bandwidth) with other non-affiliated 

TPHs if purchased through a third-party 

re-seller.19 This allows resellers to 

mutualize the costs of the ports for 

market participants and provide such 

ports at a price that may be lower than 

the Exchange charges due to this 

mutualized connectivity. These thirdparty sellers may also provide an 

additional value to market participants 

as they may also manage and monitor 

these connections, and clients of these 

third-parties may also be able connect 

from the same colocation facility either 

from their own racks or using the thirdparty’s managed racks and 

infrastructure which may provide 

further cost-savings. Further, the 

Exchange does not receive any 

connectivity revenue when connectivity 

is resold by a third-party, which often 

is resold to multiple customers, some of 

whom are agency broker-dealers that 

have numerous customers of their own. 

Given the availability of third-party 

providers that also offer connectivity 

solutions, the Exchange believes 

participation on the Exchange remains 

affordable (notwithstanding the 

proposed fee change) for all market 

participants, including smaller trading 

firms that may be able to take advantage 

of lower costs that result from 

mutualized connectivity. 

Accordingly, the vigorous 

competition among national securities 

exchanges provides many alternatives 

for firms to voluntarily decide whether 

direct connectivity to the Exchange is 

appropriate and worthwhile, and as 

noted above, no broker-dealer is 

required to become a Member of the 

Exchange, let alone connect directly to 

it. In the event that a market participant 

views the Exchange’s proposed fee 

change as more or less attractive than 

the competition, that market participant 

can choose to connect to the Exchange 

indirectly or may choose not to connect 

to that exchange and connect instead to 

one or more of the other 12 non-Cboe 

affiliated options markets. Moreover, if 

the Exchange charges excessive fees, it 

may stand to lose not only connectivity 

revenues but also revenues associated 

with the execution of orders routed to 

it, and, to the extent applicable, market 

data revenues. The Exchange believes 

that this competitive dynamic imposes 

powerful restraints on the ability of any 

exchange to charge unreasonable fees 

for connectivity. Notwithstanding the 

foregoing, the Exchange still believes 

that the proposed fee increase is 

reasonable, equitably allocated and not 

unfairly discriminatory, even for market 

participants that determine to connect 

directly to the Exchange for business 

purposes, as those business reasons 

should presumably result in revenue 

capable of covering the proposed fee. 

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 that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

proposed fee change will not impact 

intramarket competition because it will 

apply to all similarly situated TPHs 

equally (i.e., all market participants that 

choose to purchase the 10 Gbps physical 

port). Additionally, the Exchange does 

not believe its proposed pricing will 

impose a barrier to entry to smaller 

participants and notes that its proposed 

connectivity pricing is associated with 

relative usage of the various market 

participants. For example, market 

participants with modest capacity needs 

can continue to buy the less expensive 

1 Gbps physical port (which cost is not 

changing) or may choose to obtain 

access via a third-party re-seller. While 

pricing may be increased for the larger 

capacity physical ports, such options 

provide far more capacity and are 

purchased by those that consume more 

resources from the network. 

Accordingly, the proposed connectivity 

fees do not favor certain categories of 

market participants in a manner that 

would impose a burden on competition; 

rather, the allocation reflects the 

network resources consumed by the 

various size of market participants— 

lowest bandwidth consuming members 

pay the least, and highest bandwidth 

consuming members pays the most. 

The Exchange’s proposed fee is also 

still lower than some fees for similar 

connectivity on other exchanges and 

therefore may stimulate intermarket 

competition by attracting additional 

firms to connect to the Exchange or at 

least should not deter interested 

participants from connecting directly to 

the Exchange. Further, if the changes 

proposed herein are unattractive to 

market participants, the Exchange can, 

and likely will, see a decline in 

connectivity via 10 Gbps physical ports 

as a result. The Exchange operates in a 

highly competitive market in which 

market participants can determine 

whether or not to connect directly to the 

Exchange based on the value received 

compared to the cost of doing so. 

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) 

of the Act 20 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 21 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 will institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 


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64942 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 181 / Wednesday, September 20, 2023 / Notices 

22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Options Market 

Volume Summary (August 30, 2023), available at 

https://markets.cboe.com/us/options/market_

statistics/. 

4See e.g., NASDAQ Stock Market Rules, Options 

Rules, Options 7 Pricing Schedule, Sec. 2 Options 

Market—Fees and Rebates, Tiers 1–6; see also NYSE 

Arca Options, Fees and Charges, Customer Posting 

Credit Tiers in Non-Penny Issues. 

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 (https://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

C2–2023–020 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–C2–2023–020. 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 (https://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 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

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–C2–2023–020 and should be 

submitted on or before October 11, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20314 Filed 9–19–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98400; File No. SR–CBOE– 

2023–045] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Fees 

Schedule 

September 14, 2023. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on 

September 1, 2023, Cboe Exchange, Inc. 

(the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘Cboe Options’’) 

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. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Cboe Exchange, Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ 

or ‘‘Cboe Options’’) proposes to amend 

its Fees Schedule. The text of the 

proposed rule change is provided in 

Exhibit 5. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is also available on the Exchange’s 

website (http://www.cboe.com/ 

AboutCBOE/

CBOELegalRegulatoryHome.aspx), at 

the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary, 

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 its 

Fees Schedule, effective September 1, 

2023. 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. More 

specifically, the Exchange is only one of 

16 options venues to which market 

participants may direct their order flow. 

Based on publicly available information, 

no single options exchange has more 

than 19% of the market share.3 Thus, in 

such a low-concentrated and highly 

competitive market, no single options 

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 or 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. In response to the 

competitive environment, the Exchange 

offers tiered pricing in its Fees 

Schedule, like that of other options 

exchanges fees schedules,4 which 

provides Trading Permit Holders 

(‘‘TPHs’’) opportunities to qualify for 

higher rebates or reduced fees where 

certain volume criteria and thresholds 

are met. Tiered pricing provides an 

incremental incentive for TPHs to strive 

for higher tier levels, which provides 

increasingly higher benefits or discounts 

for satisfying increasingly more 

stringent criteria. 


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