Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 27, 2024 / Notices 93757 

79 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

80 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

81 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

best and conservative estimation of 

potential initial future revenues from 

data product subscriptions is $250,000. 

Together with the estimated reporting 

fee revenues discussed above, FINRA 

estimates approximately $4.2 million in 

annual revenue from reporting fees and 

$250,000 in revenue from data product 

subscriptions for total annual revenue of 

approximately $4.5 million. This aligns 

with FINRA’s estimated incremental 

direct ongoing costs of approximately 

$4.5 million per year from 2026 through 

2028, and approximately $4.4 million in 

incremental direct ongoing costs 

thereafter. 

Alternatives Considered 

In developing the proposed rule 

change, FINRA considered various 

alternatives and the potential costs and 

benefits of those alternatives. Among 

other things, FINRA considered a 

volume-based reporting fee structure 

where reporting fees would vary 

depending on loan size. However, 

because loan size may not be 

proportional to the potential revenue 

from reportable securities loans, a 

volume-based reporting fee structure 

may create distortions in the market. For 

example, the ratio of lending revenue to 

loan volume for short-term financing or 

balance sheet management is generally 

lower than for securities lending 

transactions used for accessing hard-toborrow securities. Volume-based 

reporting fees also could result in a 

substantial concentration of reporting 

fees on Covered Persons with a higher 

share of large-volume loans. Therefore, 

FINRA believes that a flat fee rate per 

report will distribute fees in a more 

equitable manner across market 

participants. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) 

of the Act 79 and paragraph (f)(2) of Rule 

19b–4 thereunder.80 At any time within 

60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

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

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

FINRA–2024–020 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–FINRA–2024–020. 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 

FINRA. 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–FINRA–2024–020 and 

should be submitted on or before 

December 18, 2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.81

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27742 Filed 11–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101699; File No. SR– 

SAPPHIRE–2024–36] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX 

Sapphire, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Exchange 

Rule 402, Criteria for Underlying 

Securities To List and Trade Options 

on the iShares Bitcoin Trust (the 

‘‘Trust’’) 

November 21, 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 November 

18, 2024, MIAX Sapphire, LLC 

(‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change 

as described in Items I and II below, 

which Items have been prepared by the 

Exchange. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Exchange Rule 402, Criteria for 

Underlying Securities. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s website at https://

www.miaxglobal.com/markets/usoptions/miax-sapphire/rule-filings, at 

the Exchange’s principal office, and at 

the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 


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93758 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 27, 2024 / Notices 

3The Exchange notes that its affiliate exchanges, 

MIAX Options and MIAX Pearl, submitted 

substantively identical proposals. The Exchange 

notes that all the rules of Chapter III of the MIAX 

Options Exchange, including Rules 307 and 309, are 

incorporated by reference to MIAX Pearl and MIAX 

Sapphire. The Exchange also notes that all of the 

rules of Chapter III of the MIAX Options Exchange, 

including Rules 307 and 309, and the rules of 

Chapter IV of the MIAX Options Exchange, 

including Rule 402, are incorporated by reference 

to MIAX Emerald. 

4On January 10, 2024, the Commission approved 

proposals by NYSE Arca, Inc., The Nasdaq Stock 

Market LLC, and Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. to list 

and trade the shares of 11 bitcoin-based 

commodity-based trust shares and trust units, 

including the iShares Bitcoin Trust. See Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 99306 (Jan. 10, 2024), 89 

FR 3008 (Jan. 17, 2024) (order approving File Nos. 

SR–NYSEARCA–2021–90; SR–NYSEARCA–2023– 

44; SR–NYSEARCA–2023–58; SR–NASDAQ–2023– 

016; SR–NASDAQ–2023–019; SR–CboeBZX–2023– 

028; SR–CboeBZX–2023–038; SR–CboeBZX–2023– 

040; SR–CboeBZX–2023–042; SR–CboeBZX–2023– 

044; SR–CboeBZX–2023–072) (‘‘Bitcoin ETP 

Order’’). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 101128 

(September 20, 2024), 89 FR 78942 (September 26, 

2024) (SR–ISE–2024–03) (Self-Regulatory 

Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice of Filing of 

Amendment Nos. 4 and 5 and Order Granting 

Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, 

as Modified by Amendment Nos. 1, 4, and 5, to 

Permit the Listing and Trading of Options on the 

iShares Bitcoin Trust). 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99306 

(Jan. 10, 2024), 89 FR 3008 (Jan. 17, 2024) (order 

approving File Nos. SR–NYSEARCA–2021–90; SR– 

NYSEARCA–2023–44; SR–NYSEARCA–2023–58; 

SR–NASDAQ–2023–016; SR–NASDAQ–2023–019; 

SR–CboeBZX–2023–028; SR–CboeBZX–2023–038; 

SR–CboeBZX–2023–040; SR–CboeBZX–2023–042; 

SR–CboeBZX–2023–044; SR–CboeBZX–2023– 

072)(Order Granting Accelerated Approval of 

Proposed Rule Changes, as Modified by 

Amendments Thereto, To List and Trade BitcoinBased Commodity-Based Trust Shares and Trust 

Units) for a complete description of the Trust. 

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 

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 

Exchange Rule 402, Criteria for 

Underlying Securities,3 to allow the 

Exchange to list and trade options on 

the iShares Bitcoin Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’), 

designating the Trust as appropriate for 

options trading on the Exchange.4 This 

is a competitive filing based on a similar 

proposal submitted by Nasdaq ISE, LLC 

(‘‘ISE’’) and approved by the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’).5

Current Exchange Rule 402(i)(4) 

provides that securities deemed 

appropriate for options trading include 

shares or other securities (‘‘Exchange 

Traded Fund Shares’’) that are traded on 

a national securities exchange and are 

defined as ‘‘NMS stock’’ under Rule 600 

of Regulation NMS, and that meet 

specified criteria enumerated in the 

rule. Sub Section 4 of Exchange Rule 

402(i) provides that such shares or other 

securities: 

(4) are issued by the SPDR® Gold 

Trust or the iShares COMEX Gold Trust 

or the iShares Silver Trust or the ETFS 

Silver Trust or the ETFS Gold Trust or 

the ETFS Palladium Trust or the ETFS 

Platinum Trust or the Sprott Physical 

Gold Trust. 

In addition, the underlying securities 

and Exchange Rule 402i, including the 

commodity based trusts in Exchange 

Rule 402(i)(4), must meet the 

requirements of Exchange Rule 402(i), 

Sections i(5)(i)(A) or (B). 

Proposal 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Exchange Rule 402(i)(4) to expand the 

list of securities that are appropriate for 

options trading on the Exchange. 

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 

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 day to 

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 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 

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, 


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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 Exchange Rule 402(i)(4). 

10See Exchange Rule 401, which provides that 

the rights and obligations of holders and writers are 

set forth in the Rules of the Options Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘OCC’’); see also OCC Rules, Chapters 

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). 

11See Exchange Rule 404(b). The monthly 

expirations are subject to certain listing criteria for 

underlying securities described within Exchange 

Rule 404 and its Interpretations and Policies. 

Monthly listings expire the third Friday of the 

month. The term ‘‘expiration date’’ (unless 

separately defined elsewhere in the OCC By-Laws), 

when used in respect of an option contract (subject 

to certain exceptions), means the third Friday of the 

expiration month of such option contract, or if such 

Friday is a day on which the exchange on which 

such option is listed is not open for business, the 

preceding day on which such exchange is open for 

business. See OCC By-Laws Article I, Section 1. 

Pursuant to Exchange Rule 404(c), additional series 

of options of the same class may be opened for 

trading on the Exchange when the Exchange deems 

it necessary to maintain an orderly market, to meet 

customer demand or when the market price of the 

underlying stock moves more than five strike prices 

from the initial exercise price or prices. Pursuant 

to Exchange Rule 404(e), new series of options on 

an individual stock may be added until the 

beginning of the month in which the options 

contract will expire. Due to unusual market 

conditions, the Exchange, in its discretion, may add 

a new series of options on an individual stock until 

the close of trading on the business day prior to 

expiration. 

12See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretations and 

Policies .02. 

13See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretations and 

Policies .13. 

14See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretations and 

Policies .03. 

15See Exchange Rule 406(a). 

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 commoditybased trusts on which options may be 

listed on the Exchange (e.g., SPDR®

Gold Trust, the iShares COMEX Gold 

Trust, the iShares Silver Trust, or the 

ETFS Gold Trust),9 the Trust essentially 

offers the same objectives and benefits 

to investors as do other commoditybased trusts on which options may be 

listed on the Exchange. 

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 (including 

as proposed in the filing submitted by 

Exchange’s affiliate, MIAX Options), 

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-based trusts deemed 

appropriate for options trading on the 

Exchange pursuant to Exchange Rule 

402(i)(4). 

The Exchange’s initial listing 

standards for ETFs on which options 

may be listed and traded on the 

Exchange will apply to the Trust. 

Pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(a), a 

security (which includes ETFs) on 

which options may be listed and traded 

on the Exchange must be duly registered 

(with the Commission) and be an NMS 

stock (as defined in Rule 600 of 

Regulation NMS under the Act,) and be 

characterized by a substantial number of 

outstanding shares that are widely held 

and actively traded. Exchange Rule 

402(i) requires that, in relevant part, 

ETFs must either (1) meet the criteria 

and standards set forth in Exchange 

Rule 402(a) or Exchange Rule 402(b), or 

(2) be available for creation or 

redemption each business day from or 

through the issuer in cash or in kind at 

a price related to net asset value, and 

the issuer must be obligated to issue 

ETFs in a specified aggregate number 

even if some or all of the investment 

assets required to be deposited have not 

been received by the issuer, subject to 

the condition that the person obligated 

to deposit the investments has 

undertaken to deliver the investment 

assets 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, as provided in the 

respective prospectus. 

Options on the Trust will also be 

subject to the Exchange’s continued 

listing standards set forth in Exchange 

Rule 403(g), for ETFs deemed 

appropriate for options trading pursuant 

to Exchange Rule 402(i). Specifically, 

Exchange Rule 403(g) provides that 

ETFs that were initially approved for 

options trading pursuant to Exchange 

Rule 402(i) shall be deemed not 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 

that such ETFs, if the ETFs are delisted 

from trading pursuant to Exchange Rule 

403(b)(4), are halted or suspended from 

trading in their primary market. 

Additionally, options on ETFs may be 

subject to the suspension of opening 

transactions in any of the following 

circumstances: (1) in the case of options 

covering ETFs approved for trading 

under Exchange Rule 402(i)(5)(i)(A), in 

accordance with the terms of paragraphs 

(b)(1), (2), and (3) of Exchange Rule 403; 

(2) in the case of options covering ETFs 

approved for trading under Exchange 

Rule 402(i)(5)(i)(B), following the initial 

twelve-month period beginning upon 

the commencement of trading in the 

ETFs on a national securities exchange 

and are defined as an NMS stock, there 

are fewer than 50 record and/or 

beneficial holders of such ETFs for 30 

or more consecutive trading days; (3) 

the value of the index or portfolio of 

securities, non-U.S. currency, or 

portfolio of commodities including 

commodity futures contracts, options on 

commodity futures contracts, swaps, 

forward contracts and/or options on 

physical commodities and/or financial 

instruments and money market 

instruments on which the ETFs are 

based is no longer calculated or 

available; or (4) such other event shall 

occur or condition exist 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.10 Consistent 

with current Exchange Rule 404, 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 11 and may also list series of 

options on the Trust for trading on a 

weekly,12 monthly,13 or quarterly 14

basis. The Exchange may also list longterm equity option series (‘‘LEAPS’’) 

that expire from 12 to 39 months from 

the time they are listed.15

Pursuant to Exchange Rule 404, 

Interpretation and Policy .06, 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 Exchange Rule 402(i) 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 


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16See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretations and 

Policies .02(e). 

17 Id. 

18See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretation and 

Policy .01. 

19See Exchange Rule 404, Interpretation and 

Policy .04. 

20See Exchange Rule 404(f). 

21See Exchange Rule 510. 

22The surveillance program includes real-time 

patterns for price and volume movements and posttrade surveillance patterns (e.g., spoofing, marking 

the close, pinging, phishing). 

23Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, among other things, 

requires every SRO registered as a national 

securities exchange or national securities 

association to comply with the Act, the rules and 

regulations thereunder, and the SRO’s own rules, 

and, absent reasonable justification or excuse, 

enforce compliance by its members and persons 

associated with its members. See 15 U.S.C. 

78q(d)(1) and 17 CFR 240.17d–2. Section 17(d)(1) 

of the Act allows the Commission to relieve an SRO 

of certain responsibilities with respect to members 

of the SRO who are also members of another SRO 

(‘‘common members’’). Specifically, Section 

17(d)(1) allows the Commission to relieve an SRO 

of its responsibilities to: (i) receive regulatory 

reports from such members; (ii) examine such 

members for compliance with the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the 

SRO; or (iii) carry out other specified regulatory 

responsibilities with respect to such members. 

24See supra note 4. 

25See Bitcoin ETP Order, 89 FR at 3010–11. 

26See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99295 

(January 8, 2024), 89 FR 2321, 2334–35 (January 12, 

2024) (SR–NASDAQ–2023–016) (Notice of Filing of 

Amendment No. 1 to a Proposed Rule Change To 

List and Trade Shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust 

Under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)). 

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.16 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 

$150.17 Additionally, the Exchange may 

list series of options pursuant to the $1 

Strike Price Interval Program,18 the 

$0.50 Strike Program,19 and the $2.50 

Strike Price Program.20 Pursuant to 

Exchange Rule 510, 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 21 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 Rules 404 and 

510, as applicable. 

Position and exercise limits for 

options on ETFs, including options on 

the Trust, are determined pursuant to 

the Exchange’s affiliate MIAX Options 

Rules 307 and 309, respectively. 

Position and exercise limits for ETF 

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, recapitalizations, 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. The Exchange further 

notes that the Exchange’s affiliate MIAX 

Options Rule 1502, which governs 

margin requirements applicable to 

trading on the Exchange, including 

options on ETFs, will also apply to the 

trading of the Trust options. 

Notwithstanding the position limits in 

the Exchange’s affiliate MIAX Options 

Rule 307(d) and exercise limits in the 

Exchange’s affiliate MIAX Options Rule 

309, the Exchange proposes the position 

and exercise limits for the options on 

the Trust to be 25,000 contracts on the 

same side pursuant to proposed 

Supplementary Material .01 to the 

Exchange’s affiliate MIAX Options Rule 

307 and proposed Supplementary 

Material .01 to the Exchange’s affiliate 

MIAX Options Rule 309. 

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. 

Today, the Exchange has an adequate 

surveillance program in place for 

options. The Exchange intends to apply 

those same program procedures to 

options on the Trust that it applies to 

the Exchange’s other options 

products.22 The Exchange’s staff will 

have access to the surveillance programs 

conducted by its affiliate exchanges, 

MIAX Options and MIAX Pearl with 

respect to trading in the shares of the 

underlying Trust when conducting 

surveillances for market abuse or 

manipulation in the options on the 

Trust. Additionally, the Exchange is a 

member of the Intermarket Surveillance 

Group (‘‘ISG’’) under the Intermarket 

Surveillance Group Agreement. ISG 

members work together to coordinate 

surveillance and investigative 

information sharing in the stock, 

options, and futures markets. In 

addition to obtaining surveillance data 

from MIAX Options and MIAX 

Sapphire, the Exchange will be able to 

obtain information regarding trading in 

the shares of the underlying Trust from 

Nasdaq, LLC and other markets through 

ISG. In addition, the Exchange has a 

Regulatory Services Agreement with the 

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 

(‘‘FINRA’’). Pursuant to a multi-party 

17d–2 joint plan, all options exchanges 

allocate regulatory responsibilities to 

FINRA to conduct certain optionsrelated market surveillance that are 

common to rules of all options 

exchanges.23

The underlying shares of spot bitcoin 

ETPs, including the Trust, are also 

subject to safeguards related to 

addressing market abuse and 

manipulation. As the Commission 

stated in Bitcoin ETP Order: 

Each Exchange has a comprehensive 

surveillance-sharing agreement with the 

CME via their common membership in 

the Intermarket Surveillance Group. 

This facilitates the sharing of 

information that is available to the CME 

through its surveillance of its markets, 

including its surveillance of the CME 

bitcoin futures market.24

The Exchange states that, given the 

consistently high correlation between 

the CME bitcoin futures market and the 

spot bitcoin market, as confirmed by the 

Commission through robust correlation 

analysis, the Commission was able to 

conclude that such surveillance sharing 

agreements could reasonably be 

‘‘expected to assist in surveilling for 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices in the specific context of the 

[Bitcoin ETPs].’’ 25

In light of surveillance measures 

related to both options and futures as 

well as the underlying Trust,26 the 

Exchange believes that existing 

surveillance procedures are designed to 

deter and detect possible manipulative 

behavior which might potentially arise 

from listing and trading the proposed 

options on the Trust. Further, the 

Exchange represents that it will 

implement any new surveillance 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 27, 2024 / Notices 93761 

27Effective 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. 

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

29 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

30 Id. 

31The surveillance program includes real-time 

patterns for price and volume movements and posttrade surveillance patterns (e.g., spoofing, marking 

the close, pinging, phishing). 

32Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, among other things, 

requires every SRO registered as a national 

securities exchange or national securities 

association to comply with the Act, the rules and 

regulations thereunder, and the SRO’s own rules, 

and, absent reasonable justification or excuse, 

enforce compliance by its members and persons 

associated with its members. See 15 U.S.C. 

78q(d)(1) and 17 CFR 240.17d–2. Section 17(d)(1) 

of the Act allows the Commission to relieve an SRO 

of certain responsibilities with respect to members 

of the SRO who are also members of another SRO 

(‘‘common members’’). Specifically, Section 

17(d)(1) allows the Commission to relieve an SRO 

of its responsibilities to: (i) receive regulatory 

reports from such members; (ii) examine such 

members for compliance with the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the 

SRO; or (iii) carry out other specified regulatory 

responsibilities with respect to such members. 

procedures it deems necessary to 

effectively monitor the trading of 

options on the Trust. 

The Exchange has also analyzed its 

capacity and represents that it believes 

the Exchange and 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 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 Exchange Rule 

402(i)(4) to amend the name ‘‘ETFS 

Gold Trust’’ to ‘‘Aberdeen Standard 

Physical Gold Trust.’’ In 2018 ETFS 

Gold Trust was renamed.27 At this time, 

the Exchange proposes to amend the 

name of the ETF to reflect its current 

name. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the Act 

and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to the Exchange 

and, in particular, the requirements of 

Section 6(b) of the Act.28 Specifically, 

the Exchange believes the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Section 

6(b)(5) 29 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) 30 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 Exchange Rule 

402(i)(4). 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 (including as proposed 

in the filing submitted by Exchange’s 

affiliate, MIAX Options), and margin 

requirements, will govern the listing 

and trading of options on the Trust. The 

proposed position and exercise limits 

for options on the Trust is 25,000 

contracts. These position and exercise 

limits are the lowest position and 

exercise limits available in the options 

industry, are extremely conservative 

and more than appropriate given the 

Trust’s market capitalization, average 

daily volume, and high number of 

outstanding shares. The proposed 

position limit, and exercise limit, is 

consistent with the Act as it addresses 

concerns related to manipulation and 

protection of investors because the 

position limit (and exercise limit) is 

extremely conservative and more than 

appropriate given the Trust is actively 

traded. 

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. 

Today, the Exchange has an adequate 

surveillance program in place for 

options. The Exchange intends to apply 

those same program procedures to 

options on the Trust that it applies to 

the Exchange’s other options 

products.31 The Exchange’s staff will 

have access to the surveillance programs 

conducted by its affiliate exchanges, 

MIAX Options and MIAX Sapphire with 

respect to the underlying Trust when 

conducting surveillances for market 

abuse or manipulation in the options on 

the Trust. The Exchange will review 

activity in the underlying Trust when 

conducting surveillances for market 

abuse or manipulation in the options on 

the Trust. Additionally, the Exchange is 

a member of the ISG under the 

Intermarket Surveillance Group 

Agreement. ISG members work together 

to coordinate surveillance and 

investigative information sharing in the 

stock, options, and futures markets. In 

addition to obtaining surveillance data 

from MIAX Options and MIAX 

Sapphire, the Exchange will be able to 

obtain information from ISE and other 

markets through ISG. In addition, the 

Exchange has a Regulatory Services 

Agreement with FINRA. Pursuant to a 

multi-party 17d–2 joint plan, all options 

exchanges allocate regulatory 

responsibilities to FINRA to conduct 

certain options-related market 

surveillance that are common to rules of 

all options exchanges.32

The underlying shares of spot bitcoin 

ETPs, including the Trust, are also 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
93762 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 27, 2024 / Notices 

33See supra note 4. 

34See Bitcoin ETP Order, 89 FR at 3010–11. 

35See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99295 

(January 8, 2024), 89 FR 2321, 2334–35 (January 12, 

2024) (SR–NASDAQ–2023–016) (Notice of Filing of 

Amendment No. 1 to a Proposed Rule Change To 

List and Trade Shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust 

Under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)). 

36See 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 SRPhlx–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). 

37See 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; SRNYSEArca– 

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). 

38 Id. 

39See 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). 

40 Id. 

41See supra note 5. 

42 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii). 

43 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

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

45 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6)(iii) requires a self-regulatory organization to 

give the Commission written notice of its intent to 

file the proposed rule change, along with a brief 

description and text of the proposed rule change, 

at least five business days prior to the date of filing 

of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time 

subject to safeguards related to 

addressing market abuse and 

manipulation. As the Commission 

stated in Bitcoin ETP Order: 

Each Exchange has a comprehensive 

surveillance-sharing agreement with the 

CME via their common membership in 

the Intermarket Surveillance Group. 

This facilitates the sharing of 

information that is available to the CME 

through its surveillance of its markets, 

including its surveillance of the CME 

bitcoin futures market.33

The Exchange states that, given the 

consistently high correlation between 

the CME bitcoin futures market and the 

spot bitcoin market, as confirmed by the 

Commission through robust correlation 

analysis, the Commission was able to 

conclude that such surveillance sharing 

agreements could reasonably be 

‘‘expected to assist in surveilling for 

fraudulent and manipulative acts and 

practices in the specific context of the 

[Bitcoin ETPs].’’ 34

In light of surveillance measures 

related to both options and futures as 

well as the underlying Trust,35 the 

Exchange believes that existing 

surveillance procedures are designed to 

deter and detect possible manipulative 

behavior which might potentially arise 

from listing and trading the proposed 

options on the Trust. Further, the 

Exchange represents that it will 

implement any new surveillance 

procedures it deems necessary to 

effectively monitor the trading of 

options on the Trust. 

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,36 the iShares 

COMEX Gold Trust 37 the iShares Silver 

Trust,38 the ETFS Gold Trust,39 and the 

ETFS Silver Trust.40

Further, the Exchange’s proposal to 

amend the name ‘‘ETFS Gold Trust’’ to 

‘‘Aberdeen Standard Physical Gold 

Trust’’ in Exchange Rule 402(i)(4) is 

consistent with the Act and the 

protection of investors as this 

amendment reflects the current name of 

this product. 

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. In this regard 

and as indicated above, the Exchange 

notes that the rule change is being 

proposed as a competitive response to 

filings submitted by ISE.41

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 (including as proposed 

in the filing submitted by Exchange’s 

affiliate, MIAX Options), 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 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 Exchange Rule 402(i)(4) does 

not impose an undue burden on 

competition as this amendment reflects 

the current name of this product. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The Exchange has filed the proposed 

rule change pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 42 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.43 Because the 

foregoing proposed rule change does 

not: (i) significantly affect the protection 

of investors or the public interest; (ii) 

impose any significant burden on 

competition; and (iii) become operative 

for 30 days from the date on which it 

was filed, or such shorter time as the 

Commission may designate, it has 

become effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 44 and 

subparagraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b–4 

thereunder.45


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 229 / Wednesday, November 27, 2024 / Notices 93763 

as designated by the Commission. The Exchange 

has satisfied this requirement. 

46 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

47 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 

48See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

101128 (September 20, 2024), 89 FR 78942 

(September 26, 2024) (SR–ISE–2024–03) (SelfRegulatory Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Notice 

of Filing of Amendment Nos. 4 and 5 and Order 

Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule 

Change, as Modified by Amendment Nos. 1, 4, and 

5, to Permit the Listing and Trading of Options on 

the iShares Bitcoin Trust). 

49For purposes only of waiving the 30-day 

operative delay, the Commission has also 

considered the proposed rule’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 

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

50 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12), (59). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99149 

(Dec. 13, 2023), 89 FR 2714 (Jan. 16, 2024) (S7–23– 

22) (‘‘Adopting Release,’’ and the rules adopted 

therein as ‘‘Treasury Clearing Rules’’). See also 17 

CFR 240.15c3–3a. 

4Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99844 

(March 22, 2024), 89 FR 21603 (Mar. 28, 2024) (File 

No. SR–FICC–2024–007) (‘‘Notice of Filing’’). FICC 

also filed a related Advance Notice with the 

Commission pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) of Title 

VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act, entitled the Payment, 

Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act of 2010 

and Rule 19b–4(n)(1)(i) under the Exchange Act. 12 

U.S.C. 5465(e)(1). 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1) and 17 CFR 

240.19b–4, respectively. The Advance Notice was 

Continued 

A proposed rule change filed under 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 46 under the Act does 

not normally become operative prior to 

30 days after the date of the filing. 

However, pursuant to Rule 19b– 

4(f)(6)(iii),47 the Commission may 

designate a shorter time if such action 

is consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest. The 

Exchange has requested that the 

Commission waive the 30-day operative 

delay so that the proposal may become 

operative immediately upon filing. The 

Commission previously approved the 

listing of options on iShares Bitcoin 

Trust.48 The Exchange has provided 

information regarding the underlying 

iShares Bitcoin Trust, including, among 

other things, information regarding 

trading volume, the number of 

beneficial holders, and the market 

capitalization of the iShares Bitcoin 

Trust. The proposal also establishes 

position and exercise limits for options 

on the iShares Bitcoin Trust and 

provides information regarding the 

surveillance procedures that will apply 

to iShares Bitcoin Trust options. The 

Commission believes that waiver of the 

operative delay could benefit investors 

by providing an additional venue for 

trading iShares Bitcoin Trust options. 

Therefore, the Commission believes that 

waiver of the 30-day operative delay is 

consistent with the protection of 

investors and the public interest. 

Accordingly, the Commission hereby 

waives the 30-day operative delay and 

designates the proposed rule change as 

operative upon filing.49

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

should be approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

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

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include file number SR– 

SAPPHIRE–2024–36 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–SAPPHIRE–2024–36. 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–SAPPHIRE–2024–36 and should be 

submitted on or before December 18, 

2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.50

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27744 Filed 11–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101695; File No. SR–FICC– 

2024–007] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Fixed 

Income Clearing Corporation; Order 

Approving Proposed Rule Change, as 

Modified by Partial Amendment No. 1, 

To Modify the GSD Rules (i) Regarding 

the Separate Calculation, Collection 

and Holding of Margin for Proprietary 

Transactions and That for Indirect 

Participant Transactions, and (ii) To 

Address the Conditions of Note H to 

Rule 15c3–3a 

November 21, 2024. 

On March 14, 2024, Fixed Income 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘FICC’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change SR–FICC–2024– 

007 pursuant to Section 19(b) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 2

thereunder to modify FICC’s 

Government Securities Division 

(‘‘GSD’’) Rulebook (‘‘GSD Rules’’) to 

calculate, collect, and hold margin for 

transactions that a direct GSD 

participant enters into for its own 

benefit (‘‘proprietary transactions’’) 

separately from margin a direct 

participant submits to FICC on behalf of 

indirect participants and to address 

conditions of Note H to Rule 15c3–3a 

under the Exchange Act (the ‘‘Proposed 

Rule Change’’).3 The Proposed Rule 

Change was published for public 

comment in the Federal Register on 

March 28, 2024.4


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1