Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 5047 

72 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 0.5 hours per fund + 1 hour per fund = 1.5 hours 

per fund. 2 1.5 hours per fund x 11,241 funds = 16,862 

hours. 3 $21,400 per fund x 11,241 funds = 

$240,557,400. 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.72

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01395 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[SEC File No. 270–574, OMB Control No. 

3235–0648] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; Extension: Rule 

498 

Upon Written Request, Copies Available 

From: Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–2736 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (‘‘Paperwork 

Reduction Act’’), the Securities and 

Exchange Commission (‘‘the 

Commission’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) a request for extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information discussed below. 

Rule 498 (17 CFR 230.498) under the 

Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et 

seq.) (‘‘Securities Act’’) permits openend management investment companies 

(‘‘funds’’) to satisfy their prospectus 

delivery obligations under the Securities 

Act by sending or giving key 

information directly to investors in the 

form of a summary prospectus 

(‘‘Summary Prospectus’’) and providing 

the statutory prospectus on a website. 

Upon an investor’s request, funds are 

also required to send the statutory 

prospectus to the investor. In addition, 

under rule 498, a fund that relies on the 

rule to meet its statutory prospectus 

delivery obligations must make 

available, free of charge, the fund’s 

current Summary Prospectus, statutory 

prospectus, statement of additional 

information, and most recent annual 

and semi-annual reports to shareholders 

at the website address specified in the 

required Summary Prospectus legend 

(17 CFR 270.498(e)(1)). A Summary 

Prospectus that complies with rule 498 

is deemed to be a prospectus that is 

authorized under Section 10(b) of the 

Securities Act and Section 24(g) of the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 

U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.). 

The purpose of rule 498 is to enable 

a fund to provide investors with a 

Summary Prospectus containing key 

information necessary to evaluate an 

investment in the fund. Unlike many 

other federal information collections, 

which are primarily for the use and 

benefit of the collecting agency, this 

information collection is primarily for 

the use and benefit of investors. The 

information filed with the Commission 

also permits the verification of 

compliance with securities law 

requirements and assures the public 

availability and dissemination of the 

information. 

Based on an analysis of fund filings, 

the Commission estimates that 

approximately 11,241 funds are using a 

Summary Prospectus. The Commission 

estimates that the annual hourly burden 

per fund associated with the 

compilation of the information required 

on the cover page or the beginning of 

the Summary Prospectus is 0.5 hours, 

and estimates that the annual hourly 

burden per fund to comply with the 

website posting requirement is 

approximately 1 hour, requiring a total 

of 1.5 hours per fund per year.1 Thus the 

total annual hour burden associated 

with these requirements of the rule is 

approximately 16,862.2 The 

Commission estimates that the annual 

cost burden is approximately $21,400 

per fund, for a total annual cost burden 

of approximately $240,557,400.3

Estimates of the average burden hours 

are made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act and are not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules and forms. 

Under rule 498, use of the Summary 

Prospectus is voluntary, but the rule’s 

requirements regarding provision of the 

statutory prospectus upon investor 

request are mandatory for funds that 

elect to send or give a Summary 

Prospectus in reliance upon rule 498. 

The information provided under rule 

498 will not be kept confidential. An 

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and 

a person is not required to respond to, 

a collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

The public may view background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following website: 

www.reginfo.gov. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice by February 26, 2024 to (i) 

MBX.OMB.OIRA.SEC_desk_officer@

omb.eop.gov and (ii) David Bottom, 

Director/Chief Information Officer, 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

c/o John Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, or by sending an 

email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: January 22, 2024. 

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01436 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99396; File No. SR–ISE– 

2024–03] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed 

Rule Change, as Modified by 

Amendment No. 1, To List and Trade 

Options on iShares Bitcoin Trust 

January 19, 2024. 

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 9, 

2024, Nasdaq ISE, LLC (‘‘ISE’’ or 

‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or 

‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II, 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the Exchange. On January 11, 2024, 

the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to 

the proposal, which supersedes the 

original filing in its entirety. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change, as modified by Amendment No. 

1, from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Options 4, Section 3, Criteria for 

Underlying Securities. This Amendment 

No. 1 supersedes the original filing in its 

entirety. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/ 

rulebook/ise/rules, at the principal 

office of the Exchange, and at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
5048 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 

3The Commission recently approved a rule 

change to list and trade shares of the Trust pursuant 

to Rule 5711(d) of The Nasdaq Stock Exchange LLC 

(‘‘Commodity-Based Trust Shares’’). See Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 99306 (January 10, 2024) 

(SR–NASDAQ–2023–016) (not yet published) 

(hereinafter ‘‘SR–NASDAQ–2023–016’’). The 

Exchange represents it would not list options on the 

Trust unless it satisfied all applicable criteria in 

Options 4, Section 3. 

4Options 4, Section 3(h)(1) and (2) state that the 

Exchange-Traded Fund Shares either (i) meet the 

criteria and guidelines set forth in paragraphs (a) 

and (b) described herein; or (ii) the ExchangeTraded Fund Shares are available for creation or 

redemption each business day from or through the 

issuing trust, investment company, commodity pool 

or other entity in cash or in kind at a price related 

to net asset value, and the issuer is obligated to 

issue Exchange-Traded Fund Shares in a specified 

aggregate number even if some or all of the 

investment assets and/or cash required to be 

deposited have not been received by the issuer, 

subject to the condition that the person obligated 

to deposit the investment assets has undertaken to 

deliver them as soon as possible and such 

undertaking is secured by the delivery and 

maintenance of collateral consisting of cash or cash 

equivalents satisfactory to the issuer of the 

Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, all as described in 

the Exchange-Traded Fund Shares’ prospectus. 

Also, the Exchange-Traded Fund Shares based on 

international or global indexes, or portfolios that 

include non-U.S. securities, shall meet the criteria 

in Options 4, Section 3(h)(2)(A)–(F). 

5Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend 

Options 3, Section 4(h)(iv) to include the name of 

the Trust to enable options to be listed on the Trust 

on the Exchange. 

6See SR–NASDAQ–2023–016 for a complete 

description of the Trust. 

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 

Options 4, Section 3, Criteria for 

Underlying Securities, to allow the 

Exchange to list and trade options on 

iShares Bitcoin Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’) 3 as 

a Unit deemed appropriate for options 

trading on the Exchange. 

Currently, Options 4, Section 3(h) 

provides that securities deemed 

appropriate for options trading shall 

include shares or other securities 

(‘‘Exchange-Traded Fund Shares’’ or 

‘‘ETFs’’) that are traded on a national 

securities exchange and are defined as 

an ‘‘NMS’’ stock under Rule 600 of 

Regulation NMS, and that meet certain 

criteria specified in Options 4, Section 

3(h), including that they: 

(i) represent interests in registered 

investment companies (or series thereof) 

organized as open-end management 

investment companies, unit investment trusts 

or similar entities that hold portfolios of 

securities and/or financial instruments, 

including, but not limited to, stock index 

futures contracts, options on futures, options 

on securities and indices, equity caps, collars 

and floors, swap agreements, forward 

contracts, repurchase agreements and reverse 

repurchase agreements (the ‘‘Financial 

Instruments’’), and money market 

instruments, including, but not limited to, 

U.S. government securities and repurchase 

agreements (the ‘‘Money Market 

Instruments’’) comprising or otherwise based 

on or representing investments in broadbased indexes or portfolios of securities and/ 

or Financial Instruments and Money Market 

Instruments (or that hold securities in one or 

more other registered investment companies 

that themselves hold such portfolios of 

securities and/or Financial Instruments and 

Money Market Instruments) or 

(ii) represent interests in a trust or similar 

entity that holds a specified non-U.S. 

currency or currencies deposited with the 

trust when aggregated in some specified 

minimum number may be surrendered to the 

trust or similar entity by the beneficial owner 

to receive the specified non-U.S. currency or 

currencies and pays the beneficial owner 

interest and other distributions on the 

deposited non-U.S. currency or currencies, if 

any, declared and paid by the trust 

(‘‘Currency Trust Shares’’) or 

(iii) represent commodity pool interests 

principally engaged, directly or indirectly, in 

holding and/or managing portfolios or 

baskets of securities, commodity futures 

contracts, options on commodity futures 

contracts, swaps, forward contracts and/or 

options on physical commodities and/or nonU.S. currency (‘‘Commodity Pool ETFs’’) or 

(iv) represent interests in the SPDR® Gold 

Trust, the iShares COMEX Gold Trust, the 

iShares Silver Trust, or the ETFS Gold Trust 

or 

(v) represents an interest in a registered 

investment company (‘‘Investment 

Company’’) organized as an open-end 

management company or similar entity, that 

invests in a portfolio of securities selected by 

the Investment Company’s investment 

adviser consistent with the Investment 

Company’s investment objectives and 

policies, which is issued in a specified 

aggregate minimum number in return for a 

deposit of a specified portfolio of securities 

and/or a cash amount with a value equal to 

the next determined net asset value (‘‘NAV’’), 

and when aggregated in the same specified 

minimum number, may be redeemed at a 

holder’s request, which holder will be paid 

a specified portfolio of securities and/or cash 

with a value equal to the next determined 

NAV (‘‘Managed Fund Share’’). 

In addition to the aforementioned 

requirements, Options 4, Section 3(h)(1) 

and (2) must be met to list options on 

ETFs.4

Proposal 

The Exchange proposes to expand the 

list of ETFs that are appropriate for 

options trading on the Exchange in 

Options 3, Section 4(h)(iv) to include 

the Trust.5

Description of the Trust 6

The Shares are issued by the Trust, a 

Delaware statutory trust. The Trust 

operates pursuant to a trust agreement 

(the ‘‘Trust Agreement’’) between the 

Sponsor, BlackRock Fund Advisors (the 

‘‘Trustee’’) as the trustee of the Trust 

and Wilmington Trust, National 

Association, as Delaware trustee (the 

‘‘Delaware Trustee’’). The Trust issues 

Shares representing fractional 

undivided beneficial interests in its net 

assets. The assets of the Trust consist 

only of bitcoin, held by a custodian on 

behalf of the Trust except under limited 

circumstances when transferred through 

the Trust’s prime broker temporarily 

(described below), and cash. Coinbase 

Custody Trust Company, LLC (the 

‘‘Bitcoin Custodian’’) is the custodian 

for the Trust’s bitcoin holdings, and 

maintains a custody account for the 

Trust (‘‘Custody Account’’); Coinbase, 

Inc. (the ‘‘Prime Execution Agent’’), an 

affiliate of the Bitcoin Custodian, is the 

prime broker for the Trust and 

maintains a trading account for the 

Trust (‘‘Trading Account’’); and Bank of 

New York Mellon is the custodian for 

the Trust’s cash holdings (the ‘‘Cash 

Custodian’’ and together with the 

Bitcoin Custodian, the ‘‘Custodians’’) 

and the administrator of the Trust (the 

‘‘Trust Administrator’’). Under the Trust 

Agreement, the Trustee may delegate all 

or a portion of its duties to any agent, 

and has delegated the bulk of the dayto-day responsibilities to the Trust 

Administrator and certain other 

administrative and record-keeping 

functions to its affiliates and other 

agents. The Trust is not an investment 

company registered under the 

Investment Company Act of 1940, as 

amended (the ‘‘1940 Act’’). 

The investment objective of the Trust 

is to reflect generally the performance of 

the price of bitcoin. The Trust seeks to 

reflect such performance before 

payment of the Trust’s expenses and 

liabilities. The Shares are intended to 

constitute a simple means of making an 

investment similar to an investment in 

bitcoin through the public securities 

market rather than by acquiring, holding 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 5049 

7The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in 

blocks of 40,000 or integral multiples thereof. A 

block of 40,000 Shares is called a ‘‘Basket.’’ These 

transactions take place in exchange for bitcoin. 

8The term ‘‘cold storage’’ refers to a safeguarding 

method by which the private keys corresponding to 

the Trust’s bitcoins are generated and stored in an 

offline manner, subject to layers of procedures 

designed to enhance security. Private keys are 

generated by the Bitcoin Custodian in offline 

computers that are not connected to the internet so 

that they are more resistant to being hacked. 9See ISE Options 4, Section 3(h)(iv). 

10Options 4, Section 4(b)(5) provides, if an 

underlying security is approved for options listing 

and trading under the provisions of Options 4, 

Section 3(c), the trading volume of the Original 

Security (as therein defined) prior to but not after 

the commencement of trading in the Restructure 

Security (as therein defined), including ‘whenissued’ trading, may be taken into account in 

determining whether the trading volume 

requirement of (3) of this paragraph (b) is satisfied. 

11See Options 4, Section 4(g). 12Options 4, Section 4(b)(5)(1) through (4) 

provides, if: (1) there are fewer than 6,300,000 

shares of the underlying security held by persons 

other than those who are required to report their 

security holdings under Section 16(a) of the Act, (2) 

there are fewer than 1,600 holders of the underlying 

security, (3) the trading volume (in all markets in 

which the underlying security is traded) has been 

less than 1,800,000 shares in the preceding twelve 

(12) months, or (4) the underlying security ceases 

to be an ‘NMS stock’ as defined in Rule 600 of 

Regulation NMS under the Exchange Act. Options 

4, Section 3(h)(i) refers to Financial Instruments 

and Money Market Instruments. In addition, the 

Exchange proposes to amend the citation to 

‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(A)(i)’’ herein to ‘‘Options 

4, Section 3(h)(i).’’ 

13Options 4, Section 3(h)(ii) refers to Currency 

Trust Shares. In addition, the Exchange proposes to 

amend the citation to ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(ii)’’ herein to ‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(ii).’’ 

and trading bitcoin directly on a peerto-peer or other basis or via a digital 

asset exchange. The Shares have been 

designed to remove the obstacles 

represented by the complexities and 

operational burdens involved in a direct 

investment in bitcoin, while at the same 

time having an intrinsic value that 

reflects, at any given time, the 

investment exposure to the bitcoin 

owned by the Trust at such time, less 

the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. 

Although the Shares are not the exact 

equivalent of a direct investment in 

bitcoin, they provide investors with an 

alternative method of achieving 

investment exposure to bitcoin through 

the public securities market, which may 

be more familiar to them. 

Custody of the Trust’s Bitcoin 

An investment in the Shares is backed 

by bitcoin held by the Bitcoin Custodian 

on behalf of the Trust. All of the Trust’s 

bitcoin will be held in the Custody 

Account, other than the Trust’s bitcoin 

which is temporarily maintained in the 

Trading Account under limited 

circumstances, i.e., in connection with 

creation and redemption Basket 7

activity or sales of bitcoin deducted 

from the Trust’s holdings in payment of 

Trust expenses or the Sponsor’s fee (or, 

in extraordinary circumstances, upon 

liquidation of the Trust). The Custody 

Account includes all of the Trust’s 

bitcoin held at the Bitcoin Custodian, 

but does not include the Trust’s bitcoin 

temporarily maintained at the Prime 

Execution Agent in the Trading Account 

from time to time. The Bitcoin 

Custodian will keep all of the private 

keys associated with the Trust’s bitcoin 

held in the Custody Account in ‘‘cold 

storage’’.8 The hardware, software, 

systems, and procedures of the Bitcoin 

Custodian may not be available or costeffective for many investors to access 

directly. 

The Exchange believes that offering 

options on the Trust will benefit 

investors by providing them with an 

additional, relatively lower cost 

investing tool to gain exposure to spot 

Bitcoin as well as a hedging vehicle to 

meet their investment needs in 

connection with Bitcoin products and 

positions. Similar to other commodity 

ETFs in which options may be listed on 

ISE (e.g., SPDR® Gold Trust, the iShares 

COMEX Gold Trust, the iShares Silver 

Trust, or the ETFS Gold Trust),9 the 

proposed ETF is a trust that essentially 

offers the same objectives and benefits 

to investors. 

Options on the Trust will trade in the 

same manner as options on other ETFs 

on the Exchange. Exchange Rules that 

currently apply to the listing and 

trading of all options on ETFs on the 

Exchange, including, for example, Rules 

that govern listing criteria, expirations, 

exercise prices, minimum increments, 

position and exercise limits, margin 

requirements, customer accounts and 

trading halt procedures, will apply to 

the listing and trading of options on the 

Trust on the Exchange. Today, these 

rules apply to options on the various 

commodities ETFs deemed appropriate 

for options trading on the Exchange 

pursuant to Options 4, Section 3(h)(iv). 

The Exchange’s initial listing 

standards for ETFs on which options 

may be listed and traded on the 

Exchange will apply to the Trust. The 

initial listing standard as set forth in 

Options 4, Section 3(a) provides that: 

Underlying securities with respect to 

which put or call options contracts are 

approved for listing and trading on the 

Exchange must meet the following criteria: 

(1) the security must be registered and be an 

‘‘NMS stock’’ as defined in Rule 600 of 

Regulation NMS under the Exchange Act; 

and (2) the security shall be characterized by 

a substantial number of outstanding shares 

that are widely held and actively traded. 

Pursuant to ISE Options 4, Section 3, 

ETFs on which options may be listed 

and traded must satisfy the listing 

standards set forth in Options 4, Section 

3(h). Specifically, the Trust must meet 

either: 

(1) the criteria and guidelines for 

underlying securities set forth in Options 4, 

Section 3(h), or 

(2) it must be available for creation or 

redemption each business day from or 

through the issuing trust, investment 

company, commodity pool or other entity in 

cash or in kind at a price related to net asset 

value, and the issuer is obligated to issue 

Exchange-Traded Fund Shares in a specified 

aggregate number even if some or all of the 

investment assets and/or cash required to be 

deposited have not been received by the 

issuer, subject to the condition that the 

person obligated to deposit the investment 

assets has undertaken to deliver them as soon 

as possible and such undertaking is secured 

by the delivery and maintenance of collateral 

consisting of cash or cash equivalents 

satisfactory to the issuer of the ExchangeTraded Fund Shares, all as described in the 

Exchange-Traded Fund Shares’ prospectus, 

or the Exchange-Traded Fund Shares must be 

based on international or global indexes, or 

portfolios that include non-U.S. securities, 

and meet other criteria. 

Options on the Trust will also be 

subject to the Exchange’s continued 

listing standards for options on ETFs set 

forth in Options 4, Section 4(g). 

Specifically, options approved for 

trading pursuant to Options 4, Section 

3(h) will not be deemed to meet the 

requirements for continued approval, 

and the Exchange shall not open for 

trading any additional series of option 

contracts of the class covering such 

ETFs if the ETFs are delisted from 

trading as provided in subparagraph 

(b)(5) of Options 4, Section 4 10 or the 

ETFs are halted or suspended from 

trading on their primary market.11 In 

addition, the Exchange shall consider 

the suspension of opening transactions 

in any series of options of the class 

covering ETFs in any of the following 

circumstances: 

(1) in the case of options covering 

Exchange-Traded Fund Shares approved 

pursuant to Options 4, Section 3(h)(A)(i), in 

accordance with the terms of subparagraphs 

(b)(1), (2), (3) and (4) of Options 4, Section 

4; 12

(2) in the case of options covering Fund 

Shares approved pursuant to Options 4, 

Section 3(h)(A)(ii),13 following the initial 

twelve-month period beginning upon the 

commencement of trading in the ExchangeTraded Fund Shares on a national securities 

exchange and are defined as an ‘‘NMS stock’’ 

under Rule 600 of Regulation NMS [sic], 

there were fewer than 50 record and/or 

beneficial holders of such Exchange-Traded 

Fund Shares for 30 or more consecutive 

trading days; 

(3) the value of the index or portfolio of 

securities or non-U.S. currency, portfolio of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
5050 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 

14See Options 4, Section 2, Rights and 

Obligations of Holders and Writers, which provides 

that the rights and obligations of holders and 

writers shall be as set forth in the Rules of the 

Clearing Corporation. See also OCC Rules, Chapter 

VIII, which governs exercise and assignment, and 

Chapter IX, which governs the discharge of delivery 

and payment obligations arising out of the exercise 

of physically settled stock option contracts. OCC 

Rules can be located at: https://www.theocc.com/ 

getmedia/9d3854cd-b782-450f-bcf7-33169b0576ce/ 

occ_rules.pdf. 

15See Supplementary .03 to Options 4, Section 5. 

16See Supplementary .04 to Options 4, Section 5. 

17See Options 4, Section 8. 

18See Supplementary Material .03(e) to Options 

4, Section 5. 

19 Id. 

20See Supplementary Material .01 to Options 4, 

Section 5. 

21See Supplementary Material .05 to Options 4, 

Section 5. 

22See Supplementary Material .02 to Options 4, 

Section 5. 

23See Supplementary Material .06 to Options 4, 

Section 5. 

24Options that are eligible to participate in the 

Penny Interval Program have a minimum increment 

of $0.01 below $3.00 and $0.50 above $3.00. See 

Supplementary Material .01 to Options 3, Section 

3. 

25Effective October 1, 2018 ETFS Gold Trust was 

renamed Aberdeen Standard Gold ETF Trust. 

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1450923/ 

000138713118005292/ex10-2.htm. 

26 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

27 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

commodities including commodity futures 

contracts, options on commodity futures 

contracts, swaps, forward contracts, options 

on physical commodities and/or Financial 

Instruments and Money Market Instruments, 

on which the Exchange-Traded Fund Shares 

are based is no longer calculated or available; 

or 

(4) such other event occurs or condition 

exists that in the opinion of the Exchange 

makes further dealing in such options on the 

Exchange inadvisable. 

Options on the Trust would be 

physically settled contracts with 

American-style exercise.14 Consistent 

with current Options 4, Section 5, 

which governs the opening of options 

series on a specific underlying security 

(including ETFs), the Exchange will 

open at least one expiration month for 

options on the Trust and may also list 

series of options on the Trust for trading 

on a weekly 15 or quarterly 16 basis. The 

Exchange may also list long-term equity 

option series (‘‘LEAPS’’) 17 that expire 

from twelve to thirty-nine [sic] from the 

time they are listed. 

Pursuant to Options 4, Section 5(d), 

which governs strike prices of series of 

options on ETFs, the interval between 

strike prices of series of options on ETFs 

approved for options trading pursuant 

to Section 3(h) of Options 4 shall be 

fixed at a price per share which is 

reasonably close to the price per share 

at which the underlying security is 

traded in the primary market at or about 

the same time such series of options is 

first open for trading on the Exchange, 

or at such intervals as may have been 

established on another options exchange 

prior to the initiation of trading on the 

Exchange. With respect to the Short 

Term Options Series or Weekly 

Program, during the month prior to 

expiration of an option class that is 

selected for the Short Term Option 

Series Program, the strike price intervals 

for the related non-Short Term Option 

(‘‘Related non-Short Term Option’’) 

shall be the same as the strike price 

intervals for the Short Term Option.18

Specifically, the Exchange may open for 

trading Short Term Option Series at 

strike price intervals of (i) $0.50 or 

greater where the strike price is less 

than $100, and $1 or greater where the 

strike price is between $100 and $150 

for all option classes that participate in 

the Short Term Options Series Program; 

(ii) $0.50 for option classes that trade in 

one dollar increments and are in the 

Short Term Option Series Program; or 

(iii) $2.50 or greater where the strike 

price is above $150.19 Additionally, the 

Exchange may list series of options 

pursuant to the $1 Strike Price Interval 

Program,20 the $0.50 Strike Program,21

the $2.50 Strike Price Program,22 and 

the $5 Strike Program.23 Options 3, 

Section 3 governs the minimum 

increment for bids and offers for both 

equity and index options. Pursuant to 

Options 3, Section 3, where the price of 

a series of options for the Trust is less 

than $3.00 the minimum increment will 

be $0.05, and where the price is $3.00 

or higher, the minimum increment will 

be $0.10 24 consistent with the 

minimum increments for options on 

other ETFs listed on the Exchange. Any 

and all new series of Trust options that 

the Exchange lists will be consistent and 

comply with the expirations, strike 

prices, and minimum increments set 

forth in Options 4, Section 5 and 

Options 3, Section 3, as applicable. 

Position and exercise limits for 

options on ETFs, including options on 

the Trust, are determined pursuant to 

Options 9, Sections 13 and 15, 

respectively. Position and exercise 

limits for ETFs options vary according 

to the number of outstanding shares and 

the trading volumes of the underlying 

ETF over the past six months, where the 

largest in capitalization and the most 

frequently traded ETFs have an option 

position and exercise limit of 250,000 

contracts (with adjustments for splits, 

re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side 

of the market; and smaller capitalization 

ETFs have position and exercise limits 

of 200,000, 75,000, 50,000 or 25,000 

contracts (with adjustments for splits, 

re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side 

of the market. Further, Options 6C, 

Section 3, which governs margin 

requirements applicable to the trading 

of all options on the Exchange including 

options on ETFs, will also apply to the 

trading of the Trust options. 

The Exchange represents that the 

same surveillance procedures applicable 

to all other options on other ETFs 

currently listed and traded on the 

Exchange will apply to options on the 

Trust. Also, the Exchange represents 

that it has the necessary systems 

capacity to support the new option 

series. The Exchange believes that its 

existing surveillance and reporting 

safeguards are designed to deter and 

detect possible manipulative behavior 

which might potentially arise from 

listing and trading options on ETFs, 

including the proposed Trust options. 

The Exchange has also analyzed its 

capacity and represents that it believes 

the Exchange and the Options Price 

Reporting Authority or ‘‘OPRA’’ have 

the necessary systems capacity to 

handle the additional traffic associated 

with the listing of new series that may 

result from the introduction of options 

on the Trust up to the number of 

expirations currently permissible under 

the Exchange Rules. Because the 

proposal is limited to one class, the 

Exchange believes any additional traffic 

that may be generated from the 

introduction of the Trust options will be 

manageable. 

Finally, the Exchange proposes a 

technical amendment to Options 4, 

Section 3(h)(iv) to amend the name 

‘‘ETFS Gold Trust’’ to ‘‘Aberdeen 

Standard Physical Gold Trust.’’ In 2018 

this ETF was renamed.25 At this time, 

the Exchange proposes to amend the 

name of the ETF to reflect its current 

name. The Exchange also proposes to 

correct two citations in Options 4, 

Section 4(g). The Exchange proposes to 

update a citation in Options 4, Section 

4(g)(1) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(i)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(i)’’ The Exchange also proposes to 

update a citation in Options 4, Section 

4(g)(2) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(ii)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(ii).’’ 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) 

of the Act,26 in general, and furthers the 

objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,27

in particular, in that it is designed to 

prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, to foster 

cooperation and coordination with 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 5051 

28 15 U.S.C. 78(f)(b)(5). 

29See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57897 

(May 30, 2008), 73 FR 32061 (June 5, 2008) (SR– 

Amex–2008–15; SR–CBOE–2005–11; SR–ISE–2008– 

12; SR–NYSEArca–2008–52; and SR–Phlx–2008– 

17) (Order Granting Approval of a Proposed Rule 

Change, as Modified, and Notice of Filing and 

Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed 

Rule Changes, as Modified, Relating to Listing and 

Trading Options on the SPDR Gold Trust). 

30See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59055 

(December 4, 2008), 73 FR 75148 (December 10, 

2008) (SR–Amex–2008–68; SR–BSE–2008–51; SR– 

CBOE–2008–72; SR–ISE–2008–58; SR–NYSEArca– 

2008–66; and SR–Phlx–2008–58) (Notice of Filing 

and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of 

Proposed Rule Changes Relating to the Listing and 

Trading Options on Shares of the iShares COMEX 

Gold Trust and the iShares Silver Trust). 

31 Id. 

32See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61483 

(February 3, 2010), 75 FR 6753 (February 10, 2010) 

(SR–CBOE–2010–007; SR–ISE–2009–106; SR– 

NYSEAmex–2009–86; and SR–NYSEArca–2009– 

110) (Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule 

Changes and Notice of Filing and Order Granting 

Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change 

Relating to Listing and Trading Options on the 

ETFS Gold Trust and the ETFS Silver Trust). 

33 Id. 

34The Exchange proposes to update a citation in 

Options 4, Section 4(g)(1) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(i)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(i)’’ The 

Exchange also proposes to update a citation in 

Options 4, Section 4(g)(2) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(ii)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(ii).’’ 

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) 28 requirement that 

the rules of an exchange not be designed 

to permit unfair discrimination between 

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

In particular, the Exchange believes 

that the proposal to list and trade 

options on the Trust will remove 

impediments to and perfect the 

mechanism of a free and open market 

and a national market system and, in 

general, protect investors because 

offering options on the Trust will 

provide investors with a greater 

opportunity to realize the benefits of 

utilizing options on an ETF based on 

spot bitcoin, including cost efficiencies 

and increased hedging strategies. The 

Exchange believes that offering options 

on a competitively priced ETF based on 

spot bitcoin will benefit investors by 

providing them with an additional, 

relatively lower cost risk management 

tool allowing them to manage, more 

easily, their positions, and associated 

risks, in their portfolios in connection 

with exposure to spot bitcoin. Today, 

the Exchange lists options on other 

commodity ETFs structured as a trust, 

which essentially offer the same 

objectives and benefits to investors, and 

for which the Exchange has not 

identified any issues with the continued 

listing and trading of options on those 

ETFs. 

The Exchange also believes the 

proposal to permit options on the Trust 

will remove impediments to and perfect 

the mechanism of a free and open 

market and a national market system, 

because options on the Trust will 

comply with current Exchange Rules. 

Options on the Trust must satisfy the 

initial listing standards and continued 

listing standards currently in the 

Exchange Rules, applicable to options 

on all ETFs, including options on other 

commodity ETFs already deemed 

appropriate for options trading on the 

Exchange pursuant to Options 4, 

Section 3(h)(iv). Further, Exchange 

Rules that currently govern the listing 

and trading of options on ETFs, 

including permissible expirations, strike 

prices, minimum increments, position 

and exercise limits, and margin 

requirements, will govern the listing 

and trading of options on the Trust. The 

Exchange represents that it has the 

necessary systems capacity to support 

options on the Trust. The Exchange 

believes that its existing surveillance 

and reporting safeguards are designed to 

deter and detect possible manipulative 

behavior which might arise from listing 

and trading options on ETFs, including 

the Trust options. 

Finally, the Commission has 

previously approved the listing and 

trading of options on other commodity 

ETFs structured as a trust, such as 

SPDR® Gold Trust,29 the iShares 

COMEX Gold Trust 30 the iShares Silver 

Trust,31 the ETFS Gold Trust,32 and the 

ETFS Silver Trust.33

Further, the Exchange’s proposal to 

amend the name ‘‘ETFS Gold Trust’’ to 

‘‘Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold 

Trust’’ in Options 4, Section 3(h)(iv) is 

consistent with the Act and the 

protection of investors as this 

amendment reflects the current name of 

this product. Also, the Exchange’s 

proposal to correct two citations in 

Options 4, Section 4(g) 34 are consistent 

with the Act as these amendments are 

intended to update incorrect citations. 

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 does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on intramarket competition 

that is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act 

as options on the Trust will be subject 

to initial listing standards and 

continued listing standards the same as 

other options on ETFs listed on the 

Exchange. Further, options on the Trust 

will be subject to Exchange Rules that 

currently govern the listing and trading 

of options on ETFs, including 

permissible expirations, strike prices, 

minimum increments, position and 

exercise limits, and margin 

requirements. Options on the Trust will 

be equally available to all market 

participants who wish to trade such 

options. Also, and as stated above, the 

Exchange already lists options on other 

commodity ETFs structured as a trust. 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposal to list and trade options on 

the Trust will impose any burden on 

intermarket competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. To the extent 

that permitting options on the Trust to 

trade on the Exchange may make the 

Exchange a more attractive marketplace 

to market participants, such market 

participants are free to elect to become 

market participants on the Exchange. 

Additionally, other options exchanges 

are free to amend their listing rules, as 

applicable, to permit them to list and 

trade options on the Trust. The 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

rule change may relieve any burden on, 

or otherwise promote, competition as it 

is designed to increase competition for 

order flow on the Exchange in a manner 

that is beneficial to investors by 

providing them with a lower-cost option 

to hedge their investment portfolios. 

The Exchange notes that it operates in 

a highly competitive market in which 

market participants can readily direct 

order flow to competing venues that 

offer similar products. Ultimately, the 

Exchange believes that offering options 

on the Trust for trading on the Exchange 

will promote competition by providing 

investors with an additional, relatively 

low-cost means to hedge their portfolios 

and meet their investment needs in 

connection with spot bitcoin prices and 

bitcoin related products and positions. 

Finally, the Exchange’s proposal to 

amend the name ‘‘ETFS Gold Trust’’ to 

‘‘Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold 

Trust’’ in Options 4, Section 3(h)(iv) 

does not impose an undue burden on 

competition as this amendment reflects 

the current name of this product. Also, 

the Exchange’s proposal to correct two 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
5052 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Notices 

35The Exchange proposes to update a citation in 

Options 4, Section 4(g)(1) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(i)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(i)’’ The 

Exchange also proposes to update a citation in 

Options 4, Section 4(g)(2) from ‘‘Options 4, Section 

3(h)(A)(ii)’’ to ‘‘Options 4, Section 3(h)(ii).’’ 

36 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

citations in Options 4, Section 4(g) 35

does not impose an undue burden on 

competition as these amendments are 

intended to update incorrect citations. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Within 45 days of the date of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register or within such longer period 

up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may 

designate if it finds such longer period 

to be appropriate and publishes its 

reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which 

the Exchange consents, the Commission 

will: 

A. by order approve or disapprove 

such proposed rule change, or 

B. institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule change 

should be 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, as modified by Amendment No. 

1, 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– 

ISE–2024–03 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–ISE–2024–03. 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–ISE–2024–03 and should be 

submitted on or before February 15, 

2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.36

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01389 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–99400; File No. SR–BOX– 

2024–04] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; BOX 

Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Fee 

Schedule for Trading on the BOX 

Options Market LLC Facility To 

Decrease Certain Electronic NonAuction Transaction Fees 

January 19, 2024. 

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 

12, 2024, BOX Exchange LLC 

(‘‘Exchange’’) 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 

Exchange filed the proposed rule change 

pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the 

Act,3 and Rule 19b–4(f)(2) thereunder,4

which renders the proposal effective 

upon filing with the Commission. 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 the Substance 

of the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange is filing with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change 

to amend the Fee Schedule on the BOX 

Options Market LLC (‘‘BOX’’) options 

facility. The text of the proposed rule 

change is available from the principal 

office of the Exchange, at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room 

and also on the Exchange’s internet 

website at https://rules.boxexchange.

com/rulefilings. 

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 

Section IV.A (Non-Auction 

Transactions) of the BOX Fee Schedule. 

The Exchange proposes to decrease 

Professional Customer and Broker 

Dealer maker fees on transactions in 

Penny Interval Classes and SPY where 

the contra party is a Public Customer. 

In Section IV.A of the BOX Fee 

Schedule, fees and credits for electronic 

Non-Auction Transactions are assessed 

depending on three factors: (i) the 

account type of the Participant 

submitting the order; (ii) whether the 

Participant is a liquidity provider or 

liquidity taker; and (iii) the account type 

of the contra party. Currently, when a 

Professional Customer or Broker Dealer 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES