15460 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

For information about filing a petition 

and about participation by a person not 

a party under 10 CFR 2.315, see ADAMS 

Accession No. ML20340A053 and on 

the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/ 

about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/ 

hearing.html#participate. 

V. Electronic Submissions (E-Filing) 

All documents filed in NRC 

adjudicatory proceedings including 

documents filed by an interested State, 

local governmental body, Federally 

recognized Indian Tribe, or designated 

agency thereof that requests to 

participate under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must 

be filed in accordance with 10 CFR 

2.302. The E-Filing process requires 

participants to submit and serve all 

adjudicatory documents over the 

internet, or in some cases, to mail copies 

on electronic storage media, unless an 

exemption permitting an alternative 

filing method, as further discussed, is 

granted. Detailed guidance on electronic 

submissions is located in the Guidance 

for Electronic Submissions to the NRC 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML13031A056) 

and on the NRC website at https://

www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.

html. 

To comply with the procedural 

requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 

days prior to the filing deadline, the 

participant should contact the Office of 

the Secretary by email at 

Hearing.Docket@nrc.gov, or by 

telephone at 301–415–1677, to (1) 

request a digital identification (ID) 

certificate, which allows the participant 

(or its counsel or representative) to 

digitally sign submissions and access 

the E-Filing system for any proceeding 

in which it is participating; and (2) 

advise the Secretary that the participant 

will be submitting a petition or other 

adjudicatory document (even in 

instances in which the participant, or its 

counsel or representative, already holds 

an NRC-issued digital ID certificate). 

Based upon this information, the 

Secretary will establish an electronic 

docket for the proceeding if the 

Secretary has not already established an 

electronic docket. 

Information about applying for a 

digital ID certificate is available on the 

NRC’s public website at https://

www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/ 

getting-started.html. After a digital ID 

certificate is obtained and a docket 

created, the participant must submit 

adjudicatory documents in Portable 

Document Format. Guidance on 

submissions is available on the NRC’s 

public website at https://www.nrc.gov/ 

site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A 

filing is considered complete at the time 

the document is submitted through the 

NRC’s E-Filing system. To be timely, an 

electronic filing must be submitted to 

the E-Filing system no later than 11:59 

p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. 

Upon receipt of a transmission, the EFiling system time-stamps the document 

and sends the submitter an email 

confirming receipt of the document. The 

E-Filing system also distributes an email 

that provides access to the document to 

the NRC’s Office of the General Counsel 

and any others who have advised the 

Office of the Secretary that they wish to 

participate in the proceeding, so that the 

filer need not serve the document on 

those participants separately. Therefore, 

applicants and other participants (or 

their counsel or representative) must 

apply for and receive a digital ID 

certificate before adjudicatory 

documents are filed to obtain access to 

the documents via the E-Filing system. 

A person filing electronically using 

the NRC’s adjudicatory E-Filing system 

may seek assistance by contacting the 

NRC’s Electronic Filing Help Desk 

through the ‘‘Contact Us’’ link located 

on the NRC’s public website at https:// 

www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.

html, by email to MSHD.Resource@

nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1–866– 

672–7640. The NRC Electronic Filing 

Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 

and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, excluding government 

holidays. 

Participants who believe that they 

have good cause for not submitting 

documents electronically must file an 

exemption request, in accordance with 

10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper 

filing stating why there is good cause for 

not filing electronically and requesting 

authorization to continue to submit 

documents in paper format. Such filings 

must be submitted in accordance with 

10 CFR 2.302(b)–(d). Participants filing 

adjudicatory documents in this manner 

are responsible for serving their 

documents on all other participants. 

Participants granted an exemption 

under 10 CFR 2.302(g)(2) must still meet 

the electronic formatting requirement in 

10 CFR 2.302(g)(1), unless the 

participant also seeks and is granted an 

exemption from 10 CFR 2.302(g)(1). 

Documents submitted in adjudicatory 

proceedings will appear in the NRC’s 

electronic hearing docket, which is 

publicly available at https://

adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded 

pursuant to an order of the presiding 

officer. If you do not have an NRCissued digital ID certificate as 

previously described, click ‘‘cancel’’ 

when the link requests certificates and 

you will be automatically directed to the 

NRC’s electronic hearing dockets where 

you will be able to access any publicly 

available documents in a particular 

hearing docket. Participants are 

requested not to include personal 

privacy information such as social 

security numbers, home addresses, or 

personal phone numbers in their filings 

unless an NRC regulation or other law 

requires submission of such 

information. With respect to 

copyrighted works, except for limited 

excerpts that serve the purpose of the 

adjudicatory filings and would 

constitute a Fair Use application, 

participants should not include 

copyrighted materials in their 

submission. 

For further details with respect to this 

action, see the application for license 

amendment dated March 11, 2021 

(ADAMS Accession No. ML21070A412), 

as supplemented by letters dated May 5, 

2021, December 15, 2021, and February 

14, 2022 (ADAMS Accession Nos. 

ML21125A215, ML21349B364, and 

ML22045A480, respectively). 

Attorney for licensee: Tamra Domeyer, 

Associate General Counsel, 

Constellation Energy Generation, LLC, 

4300 Winfield Road, Warrenville, IL 

60555. 

NRC Branch Chief: James Danna. 

Dated: March 15, 2022. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Venkataiah Sreenivas, 

Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch I, 

Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, 

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05733 Filed 3–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94406; File No. SR– 

EMERALD–2022–10] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX 

EMERALD, LLC; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend Its Fee 

Schedule 

March 14, 2022. 

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 15461 

3 ‘‘Priority Customer’’ means a person or entity 

that (i) is not a broker or dealer in securities, and 

(ii) does not place more than 390 orders in listed 

options per day on average during a calendar month 

for its own beneficial account(s). See Exchange Rule 

100, including Interpretation and Policy .01. 

4 ‘‘Affiliate’’ means (i) an affiliate of a Member of 

at least 75% common ownership between the firms 

as reflected on each firm’s Form BD, Schedule A, 

or (ii) the Appointed Market Maker of an Appointed 

EEM (or, conversely, the Appointed EEM of an 

Appointed Market Maker). An ‘‘Appointed Market 

Maker’’ is a MIAX Emerald Market Maker (who 

does not otherwise have a corporate affiliation 

based upon common ownership with an EEM) that 

has been appointed by an EEM and an ‘‘Appointed 

EEM’’ is an EEM (who does not otherwise have a 

corporate affiliation based upon common 

ownership with a MIAX Emerald Market Maker) 

that has been appointed by a MIAX Emerald Market 

Maker, pursuant to the following process. A MIAX 

Emerald Market Maker appoints an EEM and an 

EEM appoints a MIAX Emerald Market Maker, for 

the purposes of the Fee Schedule, by each 

completing and sending an executed Volume 

Aggregation Request Form by email to 

membership@miaxoptions.com no later than 2 

business days prior to the first business day of the 

month in which the designation is to become 

effective. Transmittal of a validly completed and 

executed form to the Exchange along with the 

Exchange’s acknowledgement of the effective 

designation to each of the Market Maker and EEM 

will be viewed as acceptance of the appointment. 

The Exchange will only recognize one designation 

per Member. A Member may make a designation 

not more than once every 12 months (from the date 

of its most recent designation), which designation 

shall remain in effect unless or until the Exchange 

receives written notice submitted 2 business days 

prior to the first business day of the month from 

either Member indicating that the appointment has 

been terminated. Designations will become 

operative on the first business day of the effective 

month and may not be terminated prior to the end 

of the month. Execution data and reports will be 

provided to both parties. See the Definitions 

Section of the Fee Schedule. 

5 ‘‘Market Maker’’ refers to ‘‘Lead Market Maker’’ 

(‘‘LMM’’), ‘‘Primary Lead Market Maker’’ (‘‘PLMM’’) 

and ‘‘Registered Market Maker’’ (‘‘RMM’’), 

collectively. See the Definitions Section of the Fee 

Schedule and Exchange Rule 100. 

6 ‘‘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 the 

Definitions Section of the Fee Schedule and 

Exchange Rule 100. 

7 ‘‘Excluded Contracts’’ means any contracts 

routed to an away market for execution. See the 

Definitions Section of the Fee Schedule. 

8The term ‘‘Exchange System Disruption’’ means 

an outage of a Matching Engine or collective 

Matching Engines for a period of two consecutive 

hour or more, during trading hours. See the 

Definitions Section of the Fee Schedule. 

9A ‘‘Matching Engine’’ is a part of the MIAX 

Emerald electronic system that processes options 

orders and trades on a symbol-by-symbol basis. See 

the Definitions Section of the Fee Schedule. 

10For a Priority Customer complex order taking 

liquidity in both a Penny class and non-Penny class 

against Origins other than Priority Customer, the 

Priority Customer order will receive a rebate based 

on the Tier achieved. 

11See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 88993 

(June 2, 2020), 85 FR 35145 (June 8, 2020) (SR– 

EMERALD–2020–05) (Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change 

To Amend Exchange Rule 510, Minimum Price 

Variations and Minimum Trading Increments, To 

Conform the Rule to Section 3.1 of the Plan for the 

Purpose of Developing and Implementing 

Procedures Designed To Facilitate the Listing and 

Trading of Standardized Options) (the ‘‘Penny 

Program’’). 

notice is hereby given that on February 

28, 2022, MIAX Emerald, LLC (‘‘MIAX 

Emerald’’ 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 Emerald Fee Schedule 

(the ‘‘Fee Schedule’’). 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the Exchange’s website at 

http://www.miaxoptions.com/rulefilings/emerald, 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 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

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

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Section 1)a)i) of the Fee Schedule to 

amend the Simple Maker (defined 

below) rebates in Tier 4 for options 

transactions in Penny Classes and nonPenny Classes (defined below) for 

executed Priority Customer 3 orders 

when the contra is an Affiliated 4 Market 

Maker.5

Background 

The Exchange currently assesses 

transaction rebates and fees to all 

market participants, which are based 

upon a threshold tier structure (‘‘Tier’’). 

Tiers are determined on a monthly basis 

and are based on three alternative 

calculation methods, as defined in 

Section 1)a)ii) of the Fee Schedule. The 

calculation method that results in the 

highest Tier achieved by the Member 6

shall apply to all Origin types by the 

Member, except the Priority Customer 

Origin type. For the Priority Customer 

Origin calculation, the Tier applied for 

a Member and its Affiliates’ is solely 

determined by calculation Method 3, as 

defined in Section 1)a)ii) of the Fee 

Schedule, titled ‘‘Total Priority 

Customer, Maker sides volume, based 

on % of CTCV (‘Method 3’).’’ The 

monthly volume thresholds for each of 

the methods, associated with each Tier, 

are calculated as the total monthly 

volume executed by the Member in all 

options classes on MIAX Emerald in the 

relevant Origins and/or applicable 

liquidity, not including Excluded 

Contracts,7 (as the numerator) expressed 

as a percentage of (divided by) Customer 

Total Consolidated Volume (‘‘CTCV’’) 

(as the denominator). CTCV is 

calculated as the total national volume 

cleared at The Options Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in the Customer 

range in those classes listed on MIAX 

Emerald for the month for which fees 

apply, excluding volume cleared at the 

OCC in the Customer range executed 

during the period of time in which the 

Exchange experiences an ‘‘Exchange 

System Disruption’’ 8 (solely in the 

option classes of the affected Matching 

Engine).9 In addition, the per contract 

transaction rebates and fees shall be 

applied retroactively to all eligible 

volume once the Tier has been reached 

by the Member. Members that place 

resting liquidity, i.e., orders on the 

MIAX Emerald System, will be assessed 

the specified ‘‘maker’’ rebate or fee 

(each a ‘‘Maker’’) and Members that 

execute against resting liquidity will be 

assessed the specified ‘‘taker’’ fee or 

rebate (each a ‘‘Taker’’).10 Members are 

also assessed lower transaction fees and 

smaller rebates for order executions in 

standard option classes in the Penny 

Interval Program 11 (‘‘Penny Classes’’) 

than for order executions in standard 

option classes which are not in the 

Penny Program (‘‘non-Penny Classes’’), 

for which Members will be assessed a 

higher transaction fees and larger 

rebates. 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
15462 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 

12See Fee Schedule, Section 1)a)i), notes ‘‘D’’ and 

‘‘D’’. See also Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

89927 (September 21, 2020), 85 FR 60498 

(September 25, 2020) (SR–EMERALD–2020–07) 

(establishing lower Priority Customer Tier 4 Simple 

Maker rebates in Penny and non-Penny Classes 

when the contra is an Affiliated Market Maker). 

13See id. 

14See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85393 

(March 21, 2019), 84 FR 11599 (March 27, 2019) 

(SR–EMERALD–2019–15). 

15See Cboe BZX Options Exchange Fee Schedule, 

under ‘‘Transaction Fees’’ (providing Customer 

rebates for Penny Program Securities ranging from 

$0.25 to $0.53 and Non-Penny Program Securities 

ranging from $0.90 to $1.05); see also Nasdaq Stock 

Market, Options 7, Pricing Schedule, Section 2 

Nasdaq Options Market—Fees and Rebates, note 2 

(providing lower rates when the Participant is both 

the buyer and seller). 

16 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

17 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4). 

18 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(1) and (b)(5). 

19See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 

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

20See ‘‘The Market at a Glance,’’ (last visited 

February 25, 2022), available at https://

www.miaxoptions.com/. 

21See id. 

22See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85304 

(March 13, 2019), 84 FR 10144 (March 19, 2019) 

(SR–PEARL–2019–07). 

Proposal 

The Exchange proposes to amend 

Section 1)a)i) of the Fee Schedule to 

amend the Simple Maker rebates in Tier 

4 for options transactions in Penny 

Classes and non-Penny Classes for 

executed Priority Customer orders when 

the contra is an Affiliated Market Maker. 

Currently, the Exchange provides 

Simple Maker rebates of ($0.53) and 

($1.05) for executed Priority Customer 

orders in Tier 4 in options in Penny 

Classes and non-Penny Classes, 

respectively, if the contra is not an 

Affiliated Market Maker. If the contra is 

an Affiliated Market Maker, the 

Exchange provides lower Simple Maker 

rebates of ($0.49) and ($0.95) for 

executed Priority Customer orders in 

Tier 4 in options in Penny Classes and 

non-Penny Classes, respectively.12 The 

lower Simple Maker rebate for an 

Affiliated Market Maker transaction for 

executed Priority Customer orders in 

Tier 4 in options in Penny Classes is 

denoted by the symbol ‘‘D’’ following the 

table of fees and rebates in Section 1)a)i) 

of the Fee Schedule. The lower Simple 

Maker rebate for an Affiliated Market 

Maker transaction for executed Priority 

Customer orders in Tier 4 in options in 

non-Penny Classes is denoted by the 

symbol ‘‘D’’ following the table of fees 

and rebates in Section 1)a)i) of the Fee 

Schedule.13

The Exchange now proposes to lower 

the Simple Maker rebates in Tier 4 for 

options transactions in Penny Classes 

and non-Penny Classes for executed 

Priority Customer orders when the 

contra is an Affiliated Market Maker. 

Specifically, the Exchange proposes to 

lower the Simple Maker rebate for 

executed Priority Customer orders in 

options in Penny Classes in Tier 4 from 

($0.49) to ($0.43) when the contra is an 

Affiliated Market Maker. The Exchange 

also proposes to lower the Simple 

Maker rebate for executed Priority 

Customer orders in options in nonPenny Classes in Tier 4 from ($0.95) to 

($0.85) when the contra is an Affiliated 

Market Maker. The proposed changes 

would be reflected in current footnotes 

‘‘D’’ and ‘‘D’’ for Penny and non-Penny 

Classes, respectively. Accordingly, the 

Exchange proposes to update footnote 

‘‘D’’ to now read: ‘‘This Maker rebate is 

for executed Priority Customer Simple 

Orders when the contra is not an 

Affiliated Market Maker. When the 

contra is an Affiliated Market Maker, 

this Maker rebate for executed Priority 

Customer Simple Orders will be 

($0.43).’’ The Exchange also proposes to 

update footnote ‘‘D’’ to now read: ‘‘This 

Maker rebate is for executed Priority 

Customer Simple Orders when the 

contra is not an Affiliated Market 

Maker. When the contra is an Affiliated 

Market Maker, this Maker rebate for 

executed Priority Customer Simple 

Orders will be ($0.85).’’ 

The purpose of adjusting the specified 

Simple Maker rebates is for business 

and competitive reasons. In order to 

attract order flow, the Exchange initially 

set its Maker rebates and Taker fees so 

that they were meaningfully higher/ 

lower than other options exchanges that 

operate comparable maker/taker pricing 

models.14 The Exchange now believes 

that it is appropriate to further adjust 

these specified Maker rebates so that 

they are more in line with other 

exchanges, but will still remain highly 

competitive such that they should 

enable the Exchange to continue to 

attract order flow and maintain market 

share.15

Implementation 

The proposed changes are effective 

beginning March 1, 2022. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that its 

proposal to amend its Fee Schedule is 

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act 16

in general, and furthers the objectives of 

Section 6(b)(4) of the Act,17 in that it is 

an equitable allocation of reasonable 

dues, fees and other charges among 

Exchange members and issuers and 

other persons using its facilities, and 

6(b)(5) of the Act,18 in that it is designed 

to prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, foster 

cooperation and coordination with 

persons engaged in facilitating 

transactions in securities, remove 

impediments to and perfect the 

mechanisms of a free and open market 

and a national market system and, in 

general, protect investors and the public 

interest. 

The Commission has repeatedly 

expressed its preference for competition 

over regulatory intervention in 

determining prices, products, and 

services in the securities markets. In 

Regulation NMS, the Commission 

highlighted the importance of market 

forces in determining prices and SRO 

revenues and, also, recognized that 

current regulation of the market system 

‘‘has been remarkably successful in 

promoting market competition in its 

broader forms that are most important to 

investors and listed companies.’’ 19

There are currently 16 registered 

options exchanges competing for order 

flow. Based on publicly-available 

information, and excluding index-based 

options, no single exchange has a 

market share of more than 

approximately 13–14% of the equity 

options market.20 Therefore, no 

exchange possesses significant pricing 

power. More specifically, as of February 

25, 2022, the Exchange had a market 

share of approximately 3.68% of 

executed volume of multiply-listed 

equity and exchange traded fund 

(‘‘ETF’’) options for the month of 

February 2022.21

The Exchange believes that the evershifting market share among the 

exchanges from month to month 

demonstrates that market participants 

can discontinue or reduce use of certain 

categories of products and services, 

terminate an existing membership or 

determine to not become a new member, 

and/or shift order flow, in response to 

transaction fee changes. For example, on 

February 28, 2019, the Exchange’s 

affiliate, MIAX PEARL, LLC (‘‘MIAX 

Pearl’’), filed with the Commission a 

proposal to increase Taker fees in 

certain Tiers for options transactions in 

certain Penny classes for Priority 

Customers and decrease Maker rebates 

in certain Tiers for options transactions 

in Penny classes for Priority Customers 

(which fee was to be effective March 1, 

2019).22 MIAX Pearl experienced a 

decrease in total market share for the 

month of March 2019, after the proposal 

went into effect. Accordingly, the 

Exchange believes that the MIAX Pearl 

March 1, 2019 fee change, to increase 

certain transaction fees and decrease 

certain transaction rebates, may have 


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23See supra note 15. 

24See id. 

25See supra note 20. 

26See id. 

27 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

28 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

contributed to the decrease in MIAX 

Pearl’s market share and, as such, the 

Exchange believes competitive forces 

constrain the Exchange’s, and other 

options exchanges, ability to set 

transaction fees and market participants 

can shift order flow based on fee 

changes instituted by the exchanges. 

The Exchange believes its proposal to 

decrease the Simple Maker rebates in 

Tier 4 for options transactions in Penny 

and non-Penny Classes for Priority 

Customers is reasonable, equitable and 

not unfairly discriminatory because all 

similarly situated market participants in 

the same Origin type are subject to the 

same tiered Maker rebates and Taker 

fees and access to the Exchange is 

offered on terms that are not unfairly 

discriminatory. The Exchange believes 

it is equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory to reduce the Simple 

Maker rebates to Priority Customer 

orders in Penny and non-Penny Classes 

for competitive and business reasons 

because the Exchange initially set its 

Simple Maker rebates for such orders 

higher than certain other options 

exchanges that operate comparable 

maker/taker pricing models.23 The 

Exchange now believes that it is 

appropriate to further decrease the 

specified Simple Maker rebates so that 

they are more in line with other 

exchanges, and will still remain highly 

competitive such that they should 

enable the Exchange to continue to 

attract order flow and maintain market 

share. 

Furthermore, the proposed decrease 

to the Simple Maker rebates for Priority 

Customers promotes just and equitable 

principles of trade, fosters cooperation 

and coordination with persons engaged 

in facilitating transactions in securities, 

and protects investors and the public 

interest, because even with the decrease, 

the Exchange’s proposed Simple Maker 

rebates for such orders still remain 

highly competitive with certain other 

options exchanges offering comparable 

pricing models, and should enable the 

Exchange to continue to attract order 

flow and maintain market share.24 The 

Exchange believes that the amount of 

such fees, as proposed to be decreased, 

will continue to encourage those market 

participants to send orders to the 

Exchange. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule changes 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 

proposed changes to the specified 

Simple Maker rebates for the applicable 

market participants should continue to 

encourage the provision of liquidity that 

enhances the quality of the Exchange’s 

market and increases the number of 

trading opportunities on the Exchange 

for all participants who will be able to 

compete for such opportunities. The 

proposed rule change should enable the 

Exchange to continue to attract and 

compete for order flow with other 

exchanges. However, this competition 

does not create an undue burden on 

competition but rather offers all market 

participants the opportunity to receive 

the benefit of competitive pricing. 

Inter-Market Competition 

The Exchange operates in a highly 

competitive market in which market 

participants can readily favor competing 

venues if they deem fee levels at a 

particular venue to be excessive. There 

are currently 16 registered options 

exchanges competing for order flow. 

Based on publicly-available 

information, and excluding index-based 

options, no single exchange has a 

market share of more than 

approximately 13–14% of the equity 

options market.25 Therefore, no 

exchange possesses significant pricing 

power. More specifically, as of February 

25, 2022, the Exchange had a market 

share of approximately 3.68% of 

executed volume of multiply-listed 

equity and ETF options for the month of 

February 2022.26 Therefore, no 

exchange possesses significant pricing 

power in the execution of multiplylisted equity and ETF options order 

flow. In such an environment, the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

transaction and non-transaction fees to 

remain competitive with other 

exchanges and to attract order flow. The 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

rule changes reflect this competitive 

environment because it modifies the 

Exchange’s rebates in a manner that will 

allow the Exchange to remain 

competitive. 

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,27 and Rule 

19b–4(f)(2) 28 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 (http://www.sec.gov/ 

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

EMERALD–2022–10 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–EMERALD–2022–10. 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 (http://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 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
15464 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 53 / Friday, March 18, 2022 / Notices 

29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3The Exchange initially filed the proposed fee 

changes on March 1, 2022 (SR–BZX–2022–010). On 

March 10, 2022, the Exchange withdrew that filing 

and submitted this proposal. 

4A ‘‘White Label Service’’ is a type of hosted 

display solution in which a Distributor hosts or 

maintains a website or platform on behalf of a thirdparty entity. The service allows Distributors to 

make Derived Data available on a platform that is 

branded with a third-party brand, or co-branded 

with a third party and a Distributor. The Distributor 

maintains control of the application’s data, 

entitlements and display. 

5An ‘‘API Service’’ is a type of data feed 

distribution in which a Distributor delivers an API 

or similar distribution mechanism to a third-party 

entity for use within one or more platforms. The 

service allows Distributors to provide Derived Data 

to a third-party entity for use within one or more 

downstream platforms that are operated and 

maintained by the third-party entity. The 

Distributor maintains control of the entitlements, 

but does not maintain technical control of the usage 

or the display. 

6A ‘‘Platform Service’’ is a type of hosted display 

solution in which a Distributor provides derivative 

products to Platform Service Data Users within 

their infrastructure. The service allows Distributors 

to make Derived Data available as part of a platform, 

providing users remote access to derivative 

products based in whole or in part on Exchange 

Data. 

7See Exchange Rule 13.8(c). 

8See Exchange Rule 13.8(b). The Cboe One 

Summary external distribution fee is equal to the 

aggregate EDGX Top, BZX, Top, BYX Top, and 

EDGA Top fees external distribution fees. 

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–EMERALD–2022–10, and 

should be submitted on or before April 

8, 2022. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05699 Filed 3–17–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94408; File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2022–019] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change To Modify the 

External Subscriber Fees Applicable to 

Cboe One Summary Derived Data API 

Service 

March 14, 2022. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

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

notice is hereby given that on March 10, 

2022, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I, II, and 

III below, which Items have been 

prepared by the Exchange. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BZX’’ or 

the ‘‘Exchange’’) is filing with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) a proposed rule 

change to modify the External 

Subscriber fees applicable to Cboe One 

Summary Derived Data API Service. The 

text of the proposed rule change is 

provided in Exhibit 5. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is also available on the Exchange’s 

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

equities/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/), at 

the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary, 

and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

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

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

The Exchange proposes to modify fees 

charged to External Distributors that 

distribute Cboe One Summary Derived 

Data through an Application 

Programming Interface (‘‘API’’)—i.e., the 

Derived Data API Service, effective 

March 1, 2022.3

Background 

By way of background, the Exchange 

offers a Financial Product Distribution 

Program (‘‘Program’’), under which a 

Distributor may subscribe to one of 

three Derived Data Service options, 

White Label Service,4 API Service 5 or 

Platform Service,6 each of which offers 

either BZX Top Data, which is an 

uncompressed data feed that offers top 

of book quotations and execution 

information based on equity orders 

entered into the System 7 or Cboe One 

Summary Data, which is a proprietary 

data product that provides the top of 

book quotations and execution 

information for all listed equity 

securities traded across the Exchange 

and its affiliated U.S. equities exchanges 

(the ‘‘Cboe equity exchanges’’).8 Under 

the Program, regardless of the Service 

option selected by a Distributor, the 

Distributors receive the same real-time 

Exchange data (i.e., BZX Top or Cboe 

One Summary) as all other subscribers 

of such Exchange data. From the 

Exchange data, a Distributor may create 

‘‘Derived Data’’, which is pricing data or 

other data that (i) is created in whole or 

in part from Exchange data, (ii) is not an 

index or financial product, and (iii) 

cannot be readily reverse-engineered to 

recreate Exchange data or used to create 

other data that is a reasonable facsimile 

or substitute for Exchange data. Derived 

Data may be created by Distributors for 

a number of different purposes, as 

determined by the Distributor. The 

specific use of Exchange data is 

determined by the Distributor, as 

applicable fees do not depend on the 

purpose for placing the Derived Data 

under the Program. 

Cboe One Summary Derived Data API 

Service External Subscriber Fees 

The Derived Data API Service 

program offers discounted fees for 

Distributors that make Derived Data 

available through an API, thereby 

allowing Distributors to benefit from 

reduced fees when distributing Derived 

Data to subscribers that establish their 

own platforms (rather than relying on a 

hosted display solution). Instead of the 

regular flat fee for External Distribution 

of Exchange data, Distributors of 

Derived Data under the API Service are 

charged a tiered External Subscriber Fee 

based on the number of API Service 

Platforms (i.e., ‘‘External Subscribers’’) 

that receive Derived Data from the 

Distributor through a Derived Data API 

Service and may benefit from 


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