Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 517 

21 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(2)(i) and (e)(2)(v). 

22 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(i). 

23 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(3)(i). 

24 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(19). 

25 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(19). 

26 15 U.S.C. 78q–1(b)(3)(F). 

27 17 CFR 240.17Ad–22(e)(2)(i), (e)(2)(v), (e)(3)(i), 

and (e)(19). 

28 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

29 In approving the proposed rule change, the 

Commission considered the proposal’s impact on 

efficiency, competition, and capital formation. 15 

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

30 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The term ‘‘Market Makers’’ refers to ‘‘Lead 

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

and ‘‘Registered Market Makers’’ collectively. See 

Exchange Rule 100. 

4The term ‘‘Proprietary Product’’ means a class 

of options that is listed exclusively on the 

Exchange. See Exchange Rule 100. 

direct lines of responsibility for the 

Credit and Treasury teams. 

Therefore, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with Rule 17Ad–22(e)(2)(i) and 

(e)(2)(v).21

iii. Consistency With Rule 17Ad– 

22(e)(3)(i) Under the Act 

Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(i) requires that 

ICE Clear Europe establish, implement, 

maintain, and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to, 

among other things, maintain a sound 

risk management framework for 

comprehensively managing legal, credit, 

liquidity, operational, general business, 

investment, custody, and other risks 

that arise in or are borne by ICE Clear 

Europe, which includes risk 

management policies, procedures, and 

systems designed to identify, measure, 

monitor, and manage the range of risks 

that arise in or are borne by ICE Clear 

Europe, that are subject to review on a 

specified periodic basis and approved 

by the board of directors annually.22 As 

discussed above, the CC Risk Policy and 

the CC Risk Procedures would describe 

how ICE Clear Europe monitors and 

mitigates counterparty credit risk. The 

Commission believes that together these 

documents would allow ICE Clear 

Europe to comprehensively measure the 

credit risk posed by Clearing Members 

and FSPs through, among other things, 

assessing prospective Clearing Members 

and FSPs against certain credit 

eligibility criteria. The Commission 

further believes that CRS scores, 

periodic reviews, trigger-based reviews, 

and exposure limits would provide ICE 

Clear Europe a comprehensive means of 

monitoring the credit risk posed by 

Clearing Members and FSPs. Finally, 

the Commission believes that the 

mitigating actions discussed above 

would reduce or eliminate ICE Clear 

Europe’s exposure to a Clearing Member 

or FSP, thereby helping ICE Clear 

Europe manage overall credit risk. 

Therefore, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with Rule 17Ad–22(e)(3)(i).23

iv. Consistency With Rule 17Ad– 

22(e)(19) Under the Act 

Rule 17Ad–22(e)(19) requires that ICE 

Clear Europe establish, implement, 

maintain, and enforce written policies 

and procedures reasonably designed to 

identify, monitor, and manage the 

material risks to ICE Clear Europe 

arising from arrangements in which 

firms that are indirect participants in 

ICE Clear Europe rely on the services 

provided by direct participants to access 

ICE Clear Europe’s payment, clearing, or 

settlement facilities.24 As discussed 

above, the CC Risk Policy and the CC 

Risk Procedures would require that ICE 

Clear Europe monitor clients of Clearing 

Members that are not affiliates of the 

Clearing Member to consider whether 

default of the client could cause the 

default of the Clearing Member. The 

Commission believes this would help 

ICE Clear Europe to monitor and 

manage the risks that clients, as indirect 

participants, could pose to Clearing 

Members, as direct participants in ICE 

Clear Europe. The Commission further 

believes that such client/Clearing 

Member arrangements could pose 

material risks to ICE Clear Europe 

through its relationships with Clearing 

Members. 

Therefore, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with Rule 17Ad–22(e)(19).25

IV. Conclusion 

On the basis of the foregoing, the 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

requirements of the Act, and in 

particular, with the requirements of 

Section 17A(b)(3)(F) of the Act,26 and 

Rules 17Ad–22(e)(2)(i), (e)(2)(v), 

(e)(3)(i), and (e)(19).27

It is therefore ordered pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 28 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–ICEEU–2021– 

015), be, and hereby is, approved.29

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.30

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–28575 Filed 1–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–93881; File No. SR–MIAX– 

2021–63] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Miami 

International Securities Exchange, 

LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 

Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule 

December 30, 2021. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 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 December 23, 2021, Miami 

International Securities Exchange LLC 

(‘‘MIAX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule change 

as described in Items I, II, and III below, 

which Items have been prepared by the 

Exchange. The Commission is 

publishing this notice to solicit 

comments on the proposed rule change 

from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange is filing a proposal to 

amend the MIAX Options Fee Schedule 

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

waiver period for certain nontransaction fees applicable to Market 

Makers 3 that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products 4 until June 30, 2022; and (2) 

extend the SPIKES Options Market 

Maker Incentive Program (the 

‘‘Incentive Program’’) until March 31, 

2022. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

https://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings, at MIAX’s principal office, and 

at the Commission’s Public Reference 

Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 


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518 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 84417 

(October 12, 2018), 83 FR 52865 (October 18, 2018) 

(SR–MIAX–2018–14) (Order Granting Approval of a 

Proposed Rule Change by Miami International 

Securities Exchange, LLC to List and Trade on the 

Exchange Options on the SPIKES® Index). 

6See Securities Exchange Release No. 85283 

(March 11, 2019), 84 FR 9567 (March 15, 2019) (SR– 

MIAX–2019–11). The Exchange initially filed the 

proposal on February 15, 2019 (SR–MIAX–2019– 

04). That filing was withdrawn and replaced with 

SR–MIAX–2019–11. On September 30, 2020, the 

Exchange filed its proposal to, among other things, 

reorganize the Fee Schedule to adopt new Section 

(1)(b), Proprietary Products Exchange Fees, and 

moved the fees and rebates for SPIKES options into 

new Section (1)(b)(i). See Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 90146 (October 9, 2020), 85 FR 65443 

(October 15, 2020) (SR–MIAX–2020–32); Securities 

Exchange Act Release No. 90814 (December 29, 

2020), 86 FR 327 (January 5, 2021) (SR–MIAX– 

2020–39). 

7See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 86109 

(June 14, 2019), 84 FR 28860 (June 20, 2019) (SR– 

MIAX–2019–28); 87282 (October 10, 2019), 84 FR 

55658 (October 17, 2019) (SR–MIAX–2019–43); 

87897 (January 6, 2020), 85 FR 1346 (January 10, 

2020) (SR–MIAX–2019–53); 89289 (July 10, 2020), 

85 FR 43279 (July 16, 2020) (SR–MIAX–2020–22); 

90146 (October 9, 2020), 85 FR 65443 (October 15, 

2020) (SR–MIAX–2020–32); 90814 (December 29, 

2020), 86 FR 327 (January 5, 2021) (SR–MIAX– 

2020–39); 91498 (April 7, 2021), 86 FR 19293 (April 

13, 2021) (SR–MIAX–2021–06). 

8The term ‘‘Member’’ means an individual or 

organization approved to exercise the trading rights 

associated with a Trading Permit. Members are 

deemed ‘‘members’’ under the Exchange Act. See 

Exchange Rule 100. 

9Full Service MEI Ports provide Market Makers 

with the ability to send Market Maker simple and 

complex quotes, eQuotes, and quote purge messages 

to the MIAX System. Full Service MEI Ports are also 

capable of receiving administrative information. 

Market Makers are limited to two Full Service MEI 

Ports per matching engine. See Fee Schedule, note 

27. 

10The term ‘‘Electronic Exchange Member’’ or 

‘‘EEM’’ means the holder of a Trading Permit who 

is not a Market Maker. Electronic Exchange 

Members are deemed ‘‘members’’ under the 

Exchange Act. See Exchange Rule 100. 

11See Fee Schedule, Section (3)(b). 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

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

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend the 

Fee Schedule to: (1) Extend the waiver 

period for certain non-transaction fees 

applicable to Market Makers that trade 

solely in Proprietary Products until June 

30, 2022; and (2) extend the Incentive 

Program until March 31, 2022. 

Background 

On October 12, 2018, the Exchange 

received approval from the Commission 

to list and trade on the Exchange, 

options on the SPIKES® Index, a new 

index that measures expected 30-day 

volatility of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF 

Trust (commonly known and referred to 

by its ticker symbol, ‘‘SPY’’).5 The 

Exchange adopted its initial SPIKES 

transaction fees on February 15, 2019 

and adopted a new section of the Fee 

Schedule—Section (1)(a)(xi), SPIKES— 

for those fees.6 Options on the SPIKES 

Index began trading on the Exchange on 

February 19, 2019. 

On May 31, 2019, the Exchange filed 

its first proposal in a series of proposals 

with the Commission to amend the Fee 

Schedule to waive certain nontransaction fees applicable to Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on the 

SPIKES Index) beginning September 30, 

2019, through December 31, 2021.7 In 

particular, the Exchange adopted fee 

waivers for Membership Application 

fees, monthly Market Maker Trading 

Permit fees, Application Programming 

Interface (‘‘API’’) Testing and 

Certification fees for Members,8 and 

monthly MIAX Express Interface 

(‘‘MEI’’) Port 9 fees assessed to Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

throughout the entire period of 

September 30, 2019 through December 

31, 2021. The Exchange now proposes 

to extend the waiver period for the same 

non-transaction fees applicable to 

Market Makers that trade solely in 

Proprietary Products (including options 

on SPIKES) until June 30, 2022. In 

particular, the Exchange proposes to 

waive Membership Application fees, 

monthly Market Maker Trading Permit 

fees, Member API Testing and 

Certification fees, and monthly MEI Port 

fees assessed to Market Makers that 

trade solely in Proprietary Products 

(including options on SPIKES) until 

June 30, 2022. 

Membership Application Fees 

The Exchange currently assesses 

Membership fees for applications of 

potential Members. The Exchange 

assesses a one-time Membership 

Application fee on the earlier of (i) the 

date the applicant is certified in the 

membership system, or (ii) once an 

application for MIAX membership is 

finally denied. The one-time application 

fee is based upon the applicant’s status 

as either a Market Maker or an 

Electronic Exchange Member 

(‘‘EEM’’).10 A Market Maker is assessed 

a one-time Membership Application fee 

of $3,000. 

The Exchange proposes that the 

waiver for the one-time Membership 

Application fee of $3,000 for Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

will be extended from December 31, 

2021 until June 30, 2022, which the 

Exchange proposes to state in the Fee 

Schedule. The purpose of this proposed 

change is to continue to provide an 

incentive for potential Market Makers to 

submit membership applications, which 

should result in an increase of potential 

liquidity in Proprietary Products, 

including options on SPIKES. Even 

though the Exchange proposes to extend 

the waiver of this particular fee, the 

overall structure of the fee is outlined in 

the Fee Schedule so that there is general 

awareness that the Exchange intends to 

assess such a fee after June 30, 2022. 

Trading Permit Fees 

The Exchange issues Trading Permits 

that confer the ability to transact on the 

Exchange. MIAX Trading Permits are 

issued to Market Makers and EEMs. 

Members receiving Trading Permits 

during a particular calendar month are 

assessed monthly Trading Permit fees as 

set forth in the Fee Schedule. As it 

relates to Market Makers, MIAX 

currently assesses a monthly Trading 

Permit fee in any month the Market 

Maker is certified in the membership 

system, is credentialed to use one or 

more MIAX MEI Ports in the production 

environment and is assigned to quote in 

one or more classes. MIAX assesses the 

monthly Market Maker Trading Permit 

fee for its Market Makers based on the 

greatest number of classes listed on 

MIAX that the MIAX Market Maker was 

assigned to quote in on any given day 

within a calendar month and the 

applicable fee rate is the lesser of either 

the per class basis or percentage of total 

national average daily volume 

measurements. A MIAX Market Maker 

is assessed a monthly Trading Permit 

Fee according to the following table: 11


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 519 

12A FIX Port is an interface with MIAX systems 

that enables the Port user (typically an Electronic 

Exchange Member or a Market Maker) to submit 

simple and complex orders electronically to MIAX. 

See Fee Schedule, note 24. 

13Clearing Trade Drop (‘‘CTD’’) provides 

Exchange members with real-time clearing trade 

updates. The updates include the Member’s 

clearing trade messages on a low latency, real-time 

basis. The trade messages are routed to a Member’s 

connection containing certain information. The 

information includes, among other things, the 

following: (i) Trade date and time; (ii) symbol 

information; (iii) trade price/size information; (iv) 

Member type (for example, and without limitation, 

Market Maker, Electronic Exchange Member, 

Broker-Dealer); (v) Exchange Member Participant 

Identifier (‘‘MPID’’) for each side of the transaction, 

including Clearing Member MPID; and (vi) strategy 

specific information for complex transactions. CTD 

Port Fees will be assessed in any month the 

Member is credentialed to use the CTD Port in the 

production environment. See Fee Schedule, Section 

(5)(d)(iii). 

14The FIX Drop Copy Port (‘‘FXD’’) is a 

messaging interface that will provide a copy of realtime trade execution, trade correction and trade 

cancellation information for simple and complex 

orders to FIX Drop Copy Port users who subscribe 

to the service. FIX Drop Copy Port users are those 

users who are designated by an EEM to receive the 

information and the information is restricted for use 

by the EEM only. FXD Port Fees will be assessed 

in any month the Member is credentialed to use the 

FXD Port in the production environment. See Fee 

Schedule, Section (5)(d)(iv). 

Type of trading permit 

Monthly MIAX 

Trading Permit 

Fee 

Market Maker assignments 

(the lesser of the applicable measurements below) W 

Per class % of National average daily volume 

Market Maker (includes 

RMM, LMM, PLMM).

$7,000.00 

12,000.00 

Up to 10 Classes ................................................

Up to 40 Classes ................................................

Up to 20% of Classes by volume. 

Up to 35% of Classes by volume. 

* 17,000.00 Up to 100 Classes .............................................. Up to 50% of Classes by volume. 

* 22,000.00 Over 100 Classes ............................................... Over 50% of Classes by volume up to all 

Classes listed on MIAX. 

W Excludes Proprietary Products. 

* For these Monthly MIAX Trading Permit Fee levels, if the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month is less 

than 0.060% of the total monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed option classes for that 

month, then the fee will be $15,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. 

MIAX proposes that the waiver for the 

monthly Trading Permit fee for Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

will be extended from December 31, 

2021, to June 30, 2022, which the 

Exchange proposes to state in the Fee 

Schedule. The purpose of this proposed 

change is to continue to provide an 

incentive for Market Makers to provide 

liquidity in Proprietary Products on the 

Exchange, which should result in 

increasing potential order flow and 

volume in Proprietary Products, 

including options on SPIKES. Even 

though the Exchange proposes to extend 

the waiver of this particular fee, the 

overall structure of the fee is outlined in 

the Fee Schedule so that there is general 

awareness by potential Members 

seeking a Trading Permit that the 

Exchange intends to assess such a fee 

after June 30, 2022. 

The Exchange also proposes that 

Market Makers who trade Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

along with multi-listed classes will 

continue to not have Proprietary 

Products (including SPIKES) counted 

toward those Market Makers’ class 

assignment count or percentage of total 

national average daily volume. This 

exclusion is noted with the symbol ‘‘W’’ 

following the table that shows the 

monthly Trading Permit fees currently 

assessed to Market Makers in Section 

(3)(b) of the Fee Schedule. 

API Testing and Certification Fee 

The Exchange assesses an API Testing 

and Certification fee to all Members 

depending upon Membership type. An 

API makes it possible for Members’ 

software to communicate with MIAX 

software applications, and is subject to 

Members testing with, and certification 

by, MIAX. The Exchange offers four 

types of interfaces: (i) The Financial 

Information Exchange Port (‘‘FIX 

Port’’),12 which enables the FIX Port 

user (typically an EEM or a Market 

Maker) to submit simple and complex 

orders electronically to MIAX; (ii) the 

MEI Port, which enables Market Makers 

to submit simple and complex 

electronic quotes to MIAX; (iii) the 

Clearing Trade Drop Port (‘‘CTD 

Port’’),13 which provides real-time trade 

clearing information to the participants 

to a trade on MIAX and to the 

participants’ respective clearing firms; 

and (iv) the FIX Drop Copy Port (‘‘FXD 

Port’’),14 which provides a copy of realtime trade execution, correction and 

cancellation information through a FIX 

Port to any number of FIX Ports 

designated by an EEM to receive such 

messages. 

API Testing and Certification fees for 

Market Makers are assessed (i) initially 

per API for CTD and MEI ports in the 

month the Market Maker has been 

credentialed to use one or more ports in 

the production environment for the 

tested API and the Market Maker has 

been assigned to quote in one or more 

classes, and (ii) each time a Market 

Maker initiates a change to its system 

that requires testing and certification. 

API Testing and Certification fees will 

not be assessed in situations where the 

Exchange initiates a mandatory change 

to the Exchange’s system that requires 

testing and certification. The Exchange 

currently assesses a Market Maker an 

API Testing and Certification fee of 

$2,500. The API Testing and 

Certification fees represent costs 

incurred by the Exchange as it works 

with each Member for testing and 

certifying that the Member’s software 

systems communicate properly with 

MIAX’s interfaces. 

MIAX proposes to extend the waiver 

of the API Testing and Certification fee 

for Market Makers that trade solely in 

Proprietary Products (including options 

on SPIKES) from December 31, 2021, 

until June 30, 2022, which the Exchange 

proposes to state in the Fee Schedule. 

The purpose of this proposed change is 

to continue to provide an incentive for 

potential Market Makers to develop 

software applications to trade in 

Proprietary Products, including options 

on SPIKES. Even though the Exchange 

proposes to extend the waiver of this 

particular fee, the overall structure of 

the fee is outlined in the Fee Schedule 

so that there is general awareness that 

the Exchange intends to assess such a 

fee after June 30, 2022. 

MEI Port Fees 

MIAX assesses monthly MEI Port fees 

to Market Makers in each month the 

Member has been credentialed to use 

the MEI Port in the production 

environment and has been assigned to 

quote in at least one class. The amount 

of the monthly MEI Port fee is based 

upon the number of classes in which the 

Market Maker was assigned to quote on 

any given day within the calendar 

month, and upon the class volume 

percentages set forth in the table below. 

The class volume percentage is based on 

the total national average daily volume 

in classes listed on MIAX in the prior 

calendar quarter. Newly listed option 


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520 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 

15See Fee Schedule (5)(d)(ii). 

16See SR–MIAX–2021–45. 

17See MIAX Options Regulatory Circular 2021– 

56, SPIKES Options Market Maker Incentive 

Program (September 30, 2021) available at https:// 

www.miaxoptions.com/sites/default/files/ 

circularfiles/MIAX_Options_RC_2021_56.pdf. 

18See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93424 

(October 26, 2021), 86 FR 60322 (November 1, 2021) 

(SR–MIAX–2021–49). 

19See id., at note 4. 

20The Exchange notes that at the end of the 

extension period, the Incentive Program will expire 

unless the Exchange files another 19b–4 Filing to 

amend the terms or extend the Incentive Program. 

classes are excluded from the 

calculation of the monthly MEI Port fee 

until the calendar quarter following 

their listing, at which time the newly 

listed option classes will be included in 

both the per class count and the 

percentage of total national average 

daily volume. The Exchange assesses 

MIAX Market Makers the monthly MEI 

Port fee based on the greatest number of 

classes listed on MIAX that the MIAX 

Market Maker was assigned to quote in 

on any given day within a calendar 

month and the applicable fee rate that 

is the lesser of either the per class basis 

or percentage of total national average 

daily volume measurement. MIAX 

assesses MEI Port fees on Market Makers 

according to the following table: 15

Monthly MIAX 

MEI fees 

Market Maker assignments 

(the lesser of the applicable measurements below) W 

Per class % of National average daily volume 

$5,000.00 ............................. Up to 5 Classes .............................................................. Up to 10% of Classes by volume. 

$10,000.00 ........................... Up to 10 Classes ............................................................ Up to 20% of Classes by volume. 

$14,000.00 ........................... Up to 40 Classes ............................................................ Up to 35% of Classes by volume. 

$17,500.00 * ......................... Up to 100 Classes .......................................................... Up to 50% of Classes by volume. 

$20,500.00 * ......................... Over 100 Classes ........................................................... Over 50% of Classes by volume up to all Classes listed 

on MIAX. 

W Excludes Proprietary Products. 

* For these Monthly MIAX MEI Fees levels, if the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month is less than 0.060% 

of the total monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed option classes for that month, then the 

fee will be $14,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. 

MIAX proposes to extend the waiver 

of the monthly MEI Port fee for Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

from December 31, 2021, until June 30, 

2022, which the Exchange proposes to 

state in the Fee Schedule. The purpose 

of this proposal is to continue to 

provide an incentive to Market Makers 

to connect to MIAX through the MEI 

Port such that they will be able to trade 

in MIAX Proprietary Products. Even 

though the Exchange proposes to extend 

the waiver of this particular fee, the 

overall structure of the fee is outlined in 

the Fee Schedule so that there is general 

awareness that the Exchange intends to 

assess such a fee after June 30, 2022. 

The Exchange notes that for the 

purposes of this proposed change, other 

Market Makers who trade MIAX 

Proprietary Products (including options 

on SPIKES) along with multi-listed 

classes will continue to not have 

Proprietary Products (including SPIKES) 

counted toward those Market Makers’ 

class assignment count or percentage of 

total national average daily volume. 

This exclusion is noted by the symbol 

‘‘W’’ following the table that shows the 

monthly MEI Port Fees currently 

assessed for Market Makers in Section 

(5)(d)(ii) of the Fee Schedule. 

The proposed extension of the fee 

waivers are targeted at market 

participants, particularly market 

makers, who are not currently members 

of MIAX, who may be interested in 

being a Market Maker in Proprietary 

Products on the Exchange. The 

Exchange estimates that there are fewer 

than ten (10) such market participants 

that could benefit from the extension of 

these fee waivers. The proposed 

extension of the fee waivers does not 

apply differently to different sizes of 

market participants, however the fee 

waivers do only apply to Market Makers 

(and not EEMs). 

Market Makers, unlike other market 

participants, take on a number of 

obligations, including quoting 

obligations that other market 

participants do not have. Further, 

Market Makers have added market 

making and regulatory requirements, 

which normally do not apply to other 

market participants. For example, 

Market Makers have obligations to 

maintain continuous markets, engage in 

a course of dealings reasonably 

calculated to contribute to the 

maintenance of a fair and orderly 

market, and to not make bids or offers 

or enter into transactions that are 

inconsistent with a course of dealing. 

Accordingly, the Exchange believes it is 

reasonable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to continue to offer the 

fee waivers to Market Makers because 

the Exchange is seeking additional 

liquidity providers for Proprietary 

Products, in order to enhance liquidity 

and spreads in Proprietary Products, 

which is traditionally provided by 

Market Makers, as opposed to EEMs. 

Incentive Program Extension 

On September 30, 2021, the Exchange 

filed its initial proposal to implement a 

SPIKES Options Market Maker Incentive 

Program for SPIKES options to 

incentivize Market Makers to improve 

liquidity, available volume, and the 

quote spread width of SPIKES options 

beginning October 1, 2021, and ending 

December 31, 2021.16 Technical details 

regarding the Incentive Program were 

published in a Regulatory Circular on 

September 30, 2021.17 On October 12, 

2021, the Exchange withdrew SR– 

MIAX–2021–45 and refiled its proposal 

to implement the Incentive Program to 

provide additional details.18 In that 

filing, the Exchange specifically noted 

that the Incentive Program would expire 

at the end of the period (December 31, 

2021) unless the Exchange filed another 

19b–4 Filing to amend the fees (or 

extend the Incentive Program).19 The 

Exchange now proposes to extend the 

Incentive Program for three months, 

with the Incentive Program ending on 

March 31, 2022.20

The Exchange proposes to extend the 

Incentive Program for SPIKES options to 

continue to incentivize Market Makers 

to improve liquidity, available volume, 

and the quote spread width of SPIKES 

options. Currently, to be eligible to 

participate in the Incentive Program, a 

Market Maker must meet certain 

minimum requirements related to quote 

spread width in certain in-the-money 

(ITM) and out-of-the-money (OTM) 

options as determined by the Exchange 

and communicated to Members via 


TKELLEY on DSK125TN23PROD with NOTICE 
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21See supra note 17. 

22See id. 

23See id. 

24See id. 

25See id. 

26See id. 

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

28 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

Regulatory Circular.21 Market Makers 

must also satisfy a minimum time in the 

market in the front 2 expiry months of 

70%, and have an average quote size of 

25 contracts. The Exchange established 

two separate incentive compensation 

pools that are used to compensate 

Market Makers that satisfy the criteria 

pursuant to the Incentive Program. 

The first pool (Incentive 1) has a total 

amount of $40,000 per month, which is 

allocated to Market Makers that meet 

the minimum requirements of the 

Incentive Program. Market Makers are 

required to meet minimum spread 

width requirements in a select number 

of ITM and OTM SPIKES option 

contracts as determined by the 

Exchange and communicated to 

Members via Regulatory Circular.22 A 

complete description of how the 

Exchange calculates the minimum 

spread width requirements in ITM and 

OTM SPIKES options can be found in 

the published Regulatory Circular.23

Market Makers are also required to 

maintain the minimum spread width, 

described above, for at least 70% of the 

time in the front two (2) SPIKES options 

contract expiry months and maintain an 

average quote size of at least 25 SPIKES 

options contracts. The amount available 

to each individual Market Maker is 

capped at $10,000 per month for 

satisfying the minimum requirements of 

the Incentive Program. In the event that 

more than four Market Makers meet the 

requirements of the Incentive Program, 

each qualifying Market Maker is entitled 

to receive a pro-rated share of the 

$40,000 monthly compensation pool 

dependent upon the number of 

qualifying Market Makers in that 

particular month. 

The second pool (Incentive 2 Pool) is 

capped at a total amount of $100,000 

per month which is used during the 

Incentive Program to further incentivize 

Market Makers who meet or exceed the 

requirements of Incentive 1 (‘‘qualifying 

Market Makers’’) to provide tighter 

quote width spreads. The Exchange 

ranks each qualifying Market Maker’s 

quote width spread relative to each 

other qualifying Market Maker’s quote 

width spread. Market Makers with 

tighter spreads in certain strikes, as 

determined by the Exchange and 

communicated to Members via 

Regulatory Circular,24 are eligible to 

receive a pro-rated share of the 

compensation pool as calculated by the 

Exchange and communicated to 

Members via Regulatory Circular,25 not 

to exceed $25,000 per Member per 

month. Qualifying Market Makers are 

ranked relative to each other based on 

the quality of their spread width (i.e., 

tighter spreads are ranked higher than 

wider spreads) and the Market Maker 

with the best quality spread width 

receives the highest rebate, while other 

eligible qualifying Market Makers 

receive a rebate relative to their quality 

spread width. 

The Exchange now proposes to extend 

the Incentive Program until March 31, 

2022. The Exchange does not propose to 

make any amendments to how it 

calculates any of the incentives 

provided for in Incentive Pools 1 or 2. 

The details of the Incentive Program can 

continue to be found in the Regulatory 

Circular that was published on 

September 30, 2021 to all Exchange 

Members.26 The purpose of this 

extension is to continue to incentivize 

Market Makers to improve liquidity, 

available volume, and the quote spread 

width of SPIKES options. The Exchange 

will announce the extension of the 

Incentive Program to all Members via a 

Regulatory Circular. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Fee Schedule is 

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 27

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act 28 in 

particular, in that it is an equitable 

allocation of reasonable fees and other 

charges among its members and issuers 

and other persons using its facilities. 

The Exchange also believes the proposal 

furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) 

of the Act in that it is designed to 

promote just and equitable principles of 

trade, to remove impediments to and 

perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general to protect 

investors and the public interest and is 

not designed to permit unfair 

discrimination between customers, 

issuers, brokers and dealers. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal to extend the fee waiver period 

for certain non-transaction fees for 

Market Makers in Proprietary Products 

is an equitable allocation of reasonable 

fees because the proposal continues to 

waive non-transaction fees for a limited 

period of time in order to enable the 

Exchange to improve its overall 

competitiveness and strengthen its 

market quality for all market 

participants in MIAX’s Proprietary 

Products, including options on SPIKES. 

The Exchange believe the proposed 

extension of the fee waivers is fair and 

equitable and not unreasonably 

discriminatory because it applies to all 

market participants not currently 

registered as Market Makers at the 

Exchange. Any market participant may 

choose to satisfy the additional 

requirements and obligations of being a 

Market Maker and trade solely in 

Proprietary Products in order to qualify 

for the fee waivers. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed extension of the fee waivers is 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory for Market Makers as 

compared to EEMs because Market 

Makers, unlike other market 

participants, take on a number of 

obligations, including quoting 

obligations that other market 

participants do not have. Further, 

Market Makers have added market 

making and regulatory requirements, 

which normally do not apply to other 

market participants. For example, 

Market Makers have obligations to 

maintain continuous markets, engage in 

a course of dealings reasonably 

calculated to contribute to the 

maintenance of a fair and orderly 

market, and to not make bids or offers 

or enter into transactions that are 

inconsistent with a course of dealing. 

The Exchange believes it is reasonable 

and equitable to continue to waive the 

one-time Membership Application Fee, 

monthly Trading Permit Fee, API 

Testing and Certification Fee, and 

monthly MEI Port Fee for Market 

Makers that trade solely in Proprietary 

Products (including options on SPIKES) 

until June 30, 2022, since the waiver of 

such fees provides incentives to 

interested market participants to trade 

in Proprietary Products. This should 

result in increasing potential order flow 

and liquidity in MIAX Proprietary 

Products, including options on SPIKES. 

The Exchange believes it is reasonable 

and equitable to continue to waive the 

API Testing and Certification fee 

assessable to Market Makers that trade 

solely in Proprietary Products 

(including options on SPIKES) until 

June 30, 2022, since the waiver of such 

fees provides incentives to interested 

Members to develop and test their APIs 

sooner. Determining system operability 

with the Exchange’s system will in turn 

provide MIAX with potential order flow 

and liquidity providers in Proprietary 

Products. 

The Exchange believes it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory that Market Makers who 

trade in Proprietary Products along with 


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522 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 

multi-listed classes will continue to not 

have Proprietary Products counted 

toward those Market Makers’ class 

assignment count or percentage of total 

national average daily volume for 

monthly Trading Permit Fees and 

monthly MEI Port Fees in order to 

incentivize existing Market Makers who 

currently trade in multi-listed classes to 

also trade in Proprietary Products, 

without incurring certain additional 

fees. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed extension of the fee waivers 

constitutes an equitable allocation of 

reasonable fees and other charges among 

its members and issuers and other 

persons using its facilities. The 

proposed extension of the fee waivers 

means that all prospective market 

makers that wish to become Market 

Maker Members of the Exchange and 

quote solely in Proprietary Products 

may do so and have the abovementioned fees waived until June 30, 

2022. The proposed extension of the fee 

waivers will continue to not apply to 

potential EEMs because the Exchange is 

seeking to enhance the quality of its 

markets in Proprietary Products through 

introducing more competition among 

Market Makers in Proprietary Products. 

In order to increase the competition, the 

Exchange believes that it must continue 

to waive entry type fees for such Market 

Makers. EEMs do not provide the 

benefit of enhanced liquidity which is 

provided by Market Makers, therefore 

the Exchange believes it is reasonable 

and not unfairly discriminatory to 

continue to only offer the proposed fee 

waivers to Market Makers (and not 

EEMs). Further, the Exchange believes it 

is reasonable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to continue to exclude 

Proprietary Products from an existing 

Market Maker’s permit fees and port 

fees, in order to incentive such Market 

Makers to quote in Proprietary Products. 

The amount of a Market Maker’s permit 

and port fee is determined by the 

number of classes quoted and volume of 

the Market Maker. By excluding 

Proprietary Products from such fees, the 

Exchange is able to incentivize Market 

Makers to quote in Proprietary Products. 

EEMs do not pay permit and port fees 

based on the classes traded or volume, 

so the Exchange believes it is 

reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly 

discriminatory to only offer the 

exclusion to Market Makers (and not 

EEMs). 

The Exchange believes that it is 

reasonable, equitable, and not unfairly 

discriminatory to extend the Incentive 

Program for Market Makers in SPIKES 

options. The Incentive Program is 

reasonably designed because it will 

continue to incentivize Market Makers 

to provide quotes and increased 

liquidity in select SPIKES options 

contracts. The Incentive Program is 

reasonable, equitably allocated and not 

unfairly discriminatory because all 

Market Makers in SPIKES options may 

continue to qualify for Incentive 1 and 

Incentive 2, dependent upon each 

Market Maker’s quoting in SPIKES 

options in a particular month. 

Additionally, if a SPIKES Market Maker 

does not satisfy the requirements of 

Incentive Pool 1 or 2, then it simply will 

not receive the rebate offered by the 

Incentive Program for that month. 

The Exchange believes that it is 

reasonable, equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to continue to offer this 

financial incentive to SPIKES Market 

Makers because it will continue to 

benefit all market participants trading in 

SPIKES. SPIKES Options is a 

Proprietary Product on the Exchange 

and the continuation of the Incentive 

Program encourages SPIKES Market 

Makers to satisfy a heightened quoting 

standard, average quote size, and time 

in market. A continued increase in 

quoting activity and tighter quotes may 

yield a corresponding increase in order 

flow from other market participants, 

which benefits all investors by 

deepening the Exchange’s liquidity 

pool, potentially providing greater 

execution incentives and opportunities, 

while promoting market transparency 

and improving investor protection. 

The Exchange believes that the 

Incentive Program is equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory because it will 

continue to promote an increase in 

SPIKES options liquidity, which may 

facilitate tighter spreads and an increase 

in trading opportunities to the benefit of 

all market participants. The Exchange 

believes it is reasonable to operate the 

Incentive Program for a continued 

limited period of time to strengthen 

market quality for all market 

participants. The resulting increased 

volume and liquidity will benefit those 

Members who are eligible to participate 

in the Incentive Program and will also 

continue to benefit those Members who 

are not eligible to participate in the 

Incentive Program by providing more 

trading opportunities and tighter 

spreads. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. 

Intra-Market Competition 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposal to extend certain of the nontransaction fee waivers until June 30, 

2022 for Market Makers that trade solely 

in Proprietary Products would increase 

intra-market competition by 

incentivizing new potential Market 

Makers to quote in Proprietary Products, 

which will enhance the quality of 

quoting and increase the volume of 

contracts in Proprietary Products traded 

on MIAX, including options on SPIKES. 

To the extent that this purpose is 

achieved, all the Exchange’s market 

participants should benefit from the 

improved market liquidity for the 

Exchange’s Proprietary Products. 

Enhanced market quality and increased 

transaction volume in Proprietary 

Products that results from the 

anticipated increase in Market Maker 

activity on the Exchange will benefit all 

market participants and improve 

competition on the Exchange. 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on intra-market competition 

that is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act 

because the proposed changes for each 

separate type of market participant (new 

Market Makers and existing Market 

Makers) will be assessed equally to all 

such market participants. While 

different fees are assessed to different 

market participants in some 

circumstances, these different market 

participants have different obligations 

and different circumstances as 

discussed above. For example, Market 

Makers have quoting obligations that 

other market participants (such as 

EEMs) do not have. 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed extension of the Incentive 

Program would continue to increase 

intra-market competition by 

incentivizing Market Makers to quote 

SPIKES options, which will continue to 

enhance the quality of quoting and 

increase the volume of contracts 

available to trade in SPIKES options. To 

the extent that this purpose is achieved, 

all the Exchange’s market participants 

should benefit from the improved 

market liquidity for SPIKES options. 

Enhanced market quality and increased 

transaction volume in SPIKES options 

that results from the anticipated 

increase in Market Maker activity on the 

Exchange will benefit all market 

participants and improve competition 

on the Exchange. 

Inter-Market Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule changes will impose 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2022 / Notices 523 

29 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

30 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 31 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93557 

(November 10, 2021), 86 FR 64268 (November 17, 

2021). 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(C). 

5TOPS is an uncompressed data feed that offers 

aggregated top of book quotations for all displayed 

orders resting on the IEX Order Book and last sale 

information for executions on the Exchange. See 

Notice, supra note 3, at 64269. According to the 

Exchange, the data available through TOPS is also 

available through the securities information 

processor feed. See id. 

6 DEEP is an uncompressed data feed that 

provides aggregated depth of book quotations for all 

displayed orders resting on the IEX Order Book at 

each price level and last sale information for 

executions on the Exchange. See Notice, supra note 

3, at 64269. 

7See Notice, supra note 3, at 64269. 

8See id. 

9The Exchange proposes to define the term ‘‘Data 

Subscriber’’ as ‘‘any natural person or entity that 

receives Real-Time IEX market data either directly 

from the Exchange or from another Data 

Subscriber.’’ See Notice, supra note 3, at 64274. IEX 

will require Data Subscribers to enter into a Data 

Subscriber Agreement with IEX in order to receive 

Real-Time IEX Data. See id. at 64270, n.23. 

10See Notice, supra note 3, at 64269. 

11See Notice, supra note 3, at 64270, n.22. 

any burden on inter-market competition 

that is not necessary or appropriate in 

furtherance of the purposes of the Act 

because the proposed extension of the 

fee waivers and the extension of the 

Incentive Program apply only to the 

Exchange’s Proprietary Products 

(including options on SPIKES), which 

are traded exclusively on the Exchange. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act,29 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 30 thereunder. At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

summarily may temporarily suspend 

such rule change if it appears to the 

Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors, 

or otherwise in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. If the Commission 

takes such action, the Commission shall 

institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule should be 

approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

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

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

MIAX–2021–63 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–MIAX–2021–63. 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 

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

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change. 

Persons submitting comments are 

cautioned that we do not redact or edit 

personal identifying information from 

comment submissions. You should 

submit only information that you wish 

to make available publicly. All 

submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MIAX–2021–63, and 

should be submitted on or before 

January 26, 2022. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.31

Eduardo A. Aleman, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–28576 Filed 1–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–93883; File No. SR–IEX– 

2021–14] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Investors Exchange LLC; Suspension 

of and Order Instituting Proceedings 

To Determine Whether To Approve or 

Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change 

To Amend Its Fee Schedule for Market 

Data Fees 

December 30, 2021. 

I. Introduction 

On November 1, 2021, Investors 

Exchange LLC (‘‘IEX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’ or 

‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

modify its Fee Schedule to establish 

fees, as of January 3, 2022, for the 

receipt and distribution of proprietary 

market data feeds. The proposed rule 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on November 17, 

2021.3 Pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(C) of 

the Act,4 the Commission is hereby 

temporarily suspending File No. SR– 

IEX–2021–14 and instituting 

proceedings to determine whether to 

approve or disapprove File No. SR–IEX– 

2021–14. 

II. Description of the Proposed Rule 

Change 

IEX offers two real-time proprietary 

market data feeds, ‘‘TOPS’’ 5 and 

‘‘DEEP’’ 6 (collectively, ‘‘IEX Data’’ or 

the ‘‘market data feeds’’).7 DEEP 

includes all resting displayed liquidity 

on the Exchange aggregated by price 

level and it therefore includes the top of 

book quotes contained in TOPS, as well 

as less aggressively priced displayed 

quotes. IEX has not previously imposed 

fees to access or redistribute its market 

data feeds.8

The Exchange proposes to modify its 

Fee Schedule to assess fees on Data 

Subscribers 9 that access IEX Data in 

real-time.10 As discussed below, IEX 

would not itself provide or impose a fee 

for time-delayed IEX Data.11 The 

Exchange proposes to implement these 

fees on January 3, 2022. 

Specifically, IEX proposes to assess 

Data Subscribers $2,500 per month for 

its ‘‘Real-Time’’ DEEP feed and $500 per 


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