84002 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3For example, subscribers to the intraday product 

will receive the first calculation of intraday data by 

approximately 9:42 a.m. ET, which represents data 

captured from 9:30 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. Subscribers 

will receive the next update at 9:52 a.m., 

representing the data previously provided together 

with data captured from 9:40 a.m. through 9:50 

a.m., and so forth. Each update will represent the 

aggregate data captured from the current 

‘‘snapshot’’ and all previous ‘‘snapshots.’’ 

4These substitute products are: Nasdaq PHLX 

Options Trade Outline, Nasdaq Options Trade 

Outline, ISE Profile, GEMX Trade Profile data; 

open-close data from C2, EDGX, and BZX; Open 

Close Reports from MIAX Options, Pearl, and 

Emerald; and NYSE Options Open-Close Volume 

Summary. 

5The discount will apply on an order-by-order 

basis. To qualify for the discount, an order must 

contain End-of-Day Ad-hoc Requests (historical 

data) and/or Intraday Ad-hoc Requests (historical 

data) and must total $20,000 or more; the Exchange 

will not aggregate purchases made throughout a 

billing cycle for purposes of the incentive program. 

The discount will apply to the total purchase price, 

once the $20,000 minimum purchase is satisfied 

(for example, a qualifying order of $25,000 would 

be discounted to $20,000, i.e. receive a 20% 

discount of $5,000). 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99028; File No. SR–CBOE– 

2023–061] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Fee 

Schedule 

November 28, 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 November 

15, 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 Fee 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/CBOELegalRegulatory

Home.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 update its 

Fee Schedule to provide a 20% discount 

on fees assessed to Exchange Members 

and non-Members that purchase 

$20,000 or more of historical OpenClose Data, effective November 15, 2023 

through December 31, 2023. 

By way of background, the Exchange 

currently offers End-of-Day (‘‘EOD’’) and 

Intraday Open-Close Data (collectively, 

‘‘Open-Close Data’’). EOD Open-Close 

Data is an end-of-day volume summary 

of trading activity on the Exchange at 

the option level by origin (customer, 

professional customer, broker-dealer, 

and market maker), side of the market 

(buy or sell), price, and transaction type 

(opening or closing). The customer and 

professional customer volume is further 

broken down into trade size buckets 

(less than 100 contracts, 100–199 

contracts, greater than 199 contracts). 

The EOD Open-Close Data is proprietary 

Exchange trade data and does not 

include trade data from any other 

exchange. It is also a historical data 

product and not a real-time data feed. 

The Exchange also offers Intraday OpenClose Data, which provides similar 

information to that of EOD Open-Close 

Data but is produced and updated every 

10 minutes during the trading day. Data 

is captured in ‘‘snapshots’’ taken every 

10 minutes throughout the trading day 

and is available to subscribers within 

five minutes of the conclusion of each 

10-minute period.3 The Intraday OpenClose Data provides a volume summary 

of trading activity on the Exchange at 

the option level by origin (customer, 

professional customer, broker-dealer, 

and market maker), side of the market 

(buy or sell), and transaction type 

(opening or closing). The customer and 

professional customer volume are 

further broken down into trade size 

buckets (less than 100 contracts, 100– 

199 contracts, greater than 199 

contracts). The Intraday Open-Close 

Data is proprietary Exchange trade data 

and does not include trade data from 

any other exchange. All Open-Close 

Data products are completely voluntary 

products, in that the Exchange is not 

required by any rule or regulation to 

make this data available and that 

potential customers may purchase it on 

an ad-hoc basis only if they voluntarily 

choose to do so. 

Cboe LiveVol, LLC (‘‘LiveVol’’), a 

wholly owned subsidiary of the 

Exchange’s parent company, Cboe 

Global Markets, Inc., makes the OpenClose Data available for purchase to 

Members and non-Members on the 

LiveVol DataShop website 

(datashop.cboe.com). Customers may 

currently purchase Open-Close Data on 

a subscription basis (monthly or 

annually) or by ad hoc request for a 

specified month (historical file, e.g., 

request for Intraday Open-Close Data for 

month of June 2023 or End-of-Day 

Open-Close Data for month of June 

2023). An ad-hoc request can be for any 

number of months for which the data is 

available. 

Open-Close Data is subject to direct 

competition from similar end-of-day 

and intraday options trading summaries 

offered by several other options 

exchanges.4 All of these exchanges offer 

essentially the same end-of-day and 

intraday options trading summary 

information. 

The Exchange proposes to provide a 

temporary pricing incentive program in 

which Members or Non-Members that 

purchase historical Open-Close Data 

will receive a percentage fee discount 

where specific purchase thresholds are 

met. Specifically, the Exchange 

proposes to provide a 20% discount for 

ad-hoc purchases of historical OpenClose Data of $20,000 or more.5 The 

proposed program will apply to all 

market participants irrespective of 

whether the market participant is a new 

or current purchaser; however, the 

discount cannot be combined with any 

other discounts offered by the Exchange, 

including the academic discount 

provided for Qualifying Academic 

Purchasers of historical Open-Close 

Data. The Exchange intends to introduce 

the discount program beginning 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 84003 

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

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

8 Id. 

9See supra note 4. 

10See Cboe Global Markets U.S. Options Market 

Month-to-Date Volume Summary (November 8, 

2023), available at https://markets.cboe.com/us/ 

options/market_statistics/. 

11See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005) 

(‘‘Regulation NMS Adopting Release’’). 

November 15, 2023, with the program 

remaining in effect through December 

31, 2023. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘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. 

In adopting Regulation NMS, the 

Commission granted self-regulatory 

organizations (‘‘SROs’’) and brokerdealers increased authority and 

flexibility to offer new and unique 

market data to the public. It was 

believed that this authority would 

expand the amount of data available to 

consumers, and also spur innovation 

and competition for the provision of 

market data. The Exchange believes the 

proposed fee changes will further 

broaden the availability of U.S. option 

market data to investors consistent with 

the principles of Regulation NMS. 

Open-Close Data is designed to help 

investors understand underlying market 

trends to improve the quality of 

investment decisions. Indeed, 

purchasers of the data may be able to 

enhance their ability to analyze option 

trade and volume data and create and 

test trading models and analytical 

strategies. The Exchange believes OpenClose Data provides a valuable tool that 

purchasers can use to gain 

comprehensive insight into the trading 

activity in a particular series, but also 

emphasizes such data is not necessary 

for trading and as noted above, is 

entirely optional. Moreover, several 

other exchanges offer a similar data 

product which offer same type of data 

content through end-of-day or intraday 

reports.9

The Exchange also operates in a 

highly competitive environment. 

Indeed, there are currently 17 registered 

options exchanges that trade options. 

Based on publicly available information, 

no single options exchange has more 

than 15% of the market share.10 The 

Commission has repeatedly expressed 

its preference for competition over 

regulatory intervention in determining 

prices, products, and services in the 

securities markets. Particularly, in 

Regulation NMS, the Commission 

highlighted the importance of market 

forces in determining prices and SRO 

revenues and, also, recognized that 

current regulation of the market system 

‘‘has been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 11

Making similar data products available 

to market participants fosters 

competition in the marketplace, and 

constrains the ability of exchanges to 

charge supracompetitive fees. In the 

event that a market participant views 

one exchange’s data product as more or 

less attractive than the competition they 

can and do switch between similar 

products. The proposed fees are a result 

of the competitive environment, as the 

Exchange seeks to adopt fees to attract 

purchasers of historical Open-Close 

Data. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed incentive program for any 

Member or non-Member who purchases 

historical Open-Close Data is reasonable 

because such purchasers would receive 

a 20% discount for purchasing $20,000 

or more worth of historical Open-Close 

Data. The Exchange believes the 

proposed discount is reasonable as it 

will give purchasers the ability to use 

and test the historical Open-Close Data 

at a discounted rate, prior to purchasing 

additional months or a monthly 

subscription, and will therefore 

encourage and promote users to 

purchase the historical Open-Close 

Data. Further, the proposed discount is 

intended to promote increased use of 

the Exchange’s historical Open-Close 

Data by defraying some of the costs a 

purchaser would ordinarily have to 

expend before using the data product. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed discount is equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory because it will 

apply equally to all Members and nonMembers who purchase historical OpenClose Data. Lastly, the purchase of this 

data product is discretionary and not 

compulsory. Indeed, no market 

participant is required to purchase the 

historical Open-Close Data, and the 

Exchange is not required to make the 

historical Open-Close Data available to 

all investors. Potential purchasers may 

request the data at any time if they 

believe it to be valuable or may decline 

to purchase such data. 

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 

Exchange operates in a highly 

competitive environment in which the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

fees to remain competitive. Because 

competitors are free to modify their own 

fees in response, the Exchange believes 

that the degree to which fee changes in 

this market may impose any burden on 

competition is extremely limited. As 

discussed above, Open-Close Data is 

subject to direct competition from 

several other options exchanges that 

offer substitutes to Open-Close Data. 

Moreover, purchase of Open-Close Data 

is optional. It is designed to help 

investors understand underlying market 

trends to improve the quality of 

investment decisions, but is not 

necessary to execute a trade. 

The proposed rule changes are 

grounded in the Exchange’s efforts to 

compete more effectively. In this 

competitive environment, potential 

purchasers are free to choose which, if 

any, similar product to purchase to 

satisfy their need for market 

information. As a result, the Exchange 

believes this proposed rule change 

permits fair competition among national 

securities exchanges. Further, the 

Exchange believes that these changes 

will not cause any unnecessary or 

inappropriate burden on intermarket 

competition, as the proposed incentive 

program applies uniformly to any 

purchaser of historical Open-Close Data. 

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. 


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84004 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f). 

14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98562 

(Sept. 27, 2023), 88 FR 68240 (‘‘Notice’’). The 

Commission has received no comments on the 

proposal. 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98945, 

88 FR 81150 (Nov. 21, 2023). The Commission 

designated January 1, 2024, as the date by which 

the Commission shall approve or disapprove, or 

institute proceedings to determine whether to 

disapprove, the proposed rule change. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

7See Notice, supra note 3. 

8See id. at 68250. Franklin Holdings, LLC 

(‘‘Sponsor’’) is the sponsor of the Fund. See id. at 

68241. 

9See id. at 68249. In seeking to achieve its 

investment objective, the Fund will hold bitcoin 

and may hold cash or cash equivalents. Coinbase 

Custody Trust Company, LLC will be responsible 

for custody of the Fund’s bitcoin holdings and Bank 

of New York Mellon will be the custodian for the 

Fund’s cash holdings, if any. See id. at 68241, 

68250. 

10See id. at 68250. 

11See id. at 68251. 

12See id. 

13See id. at 68249–50, 68251. 

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 12 and paragraph (f) of Rule 

19b–4 13 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. 

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– 

CBOE–2023–061 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–CBOE–2023–061. 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–CBOE–2023–061 and should be 

submitted on or before December 22, 

2023. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.14

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26492 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99030; File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2023–072] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Order Instituting 

Proceedings To Determine Whether To 

Approve or Disapprove a Proposed 

Rule Change To List and Trade Shares 

of the Franklin Bitcoin ETF Under BZX 

Rule 14.11(e)(4), Commodity-Based 

Trust Shares 

November 28, 2023. 

On September 26, 2023, Cboe BZX 

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BZX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule 

change to list and trade shares 

(‘‘Shares’’) of the Franklin Bitcoin ETF 

(‘‘Fund’’) under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4), 

Commodity-Based Trust Shares. The 

proposed rule change was published for 

comment in the Federal Register on 

October 3, 2023.3

On November 15, 2023, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the 

Commission designated a longer period 

within which to approve the proposed 

rule change, disapprove the proposed 

rule change, or institute proceedings to 

determine whether to disapprove the 

proposed rule change.5 This order 

institutes proceedings under Section 

19(b)(2)(B) of the Act 6 to determine 

whether to approve or disapprove the 

proposed rule change. 

I. Summary of the Proposal 

As described in more detail in the 

Notice,7 the Exchange proposes to list 

and trade the Shares of the Fund, a 

series of the Franklin Templeton Digital 

Holdings Trust (‘‘Trust’’), under BZX 

Rule 14.11(e)(4), which governs the 

listing and trading of Commodity-Based 

Trust Shares on the Exchange. 

The investment objective of the Fund 

is to generally reflect the performance of 

the price of bitcoin before payment of 

the Fund’s expenses.8 The Fund’s assets 

will consist of bitcoin held by the 

Fund’s bitcoin custodian on behalf of 

the Fund and cash holdings, if any, held 

by the Fund’s cash custodian.9 The 

Fund will value its Shares daily based 

on the value of bitcoin as reflected by 

the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate 

(‘‘Reference Rate’’).10 The administrator 

for the Fund will determine the net 

asset value (‘‘NAV’’) of the Fund on 

each day that the Exchange is open for 

regular trading, as promptly as 

practicable after 4:00 p.m. ET.11 In 

determining the Fund’s NAV, the 

administrator for the Fund will value 

the bitcoin held by the Fund based on 

the price set by the Reference Rate as of 

4:00 p.m. ET.12 When the Fund sells or 

redeems its Shares, it will do so in ‘‘inkind’’ transactions with authorized 

participants in large blocks of Shares.13


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