16504 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Notices 

11 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67090 

(May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33531 (June 6, 2012) (SR– 

BATS–2011–038; SR–BYX–2011–025; SR–BX– 

2011–068; SR–CBOE–2011–087; SR–C2–2011–024; 

SR–CHX–2011–30; SR–EDGA–2011–31; SR–EDGX– 

2011–30; SR–FINRA–2011–054; SR–ISE–2011–61; 

SR–NASDAQ–2011–131; SR–NSX–2011–11; SR– 

NYSE–2011–48; SRNYSEAmex–2011–73; SR– 

NYSEArca–2011–68; SR–Phlx–2011–129) (‘‘Pilot 

Rules Approval Order’’). 

6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 

(May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33498 (June 6, 2012). The 

LULD Plan provides a mechanism to address 

extraordinary market volatility in individual 

securities. 

7 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 68769 

(January 30, 2013), 78 FR 8213 (February 5, 2013) 

(SR–C2–2013–006) (amending Rule 6.32.03, which 

was later renumbered to Rule 5.20.01, to delay the 

operative date of the pilot to coincide with the 

initial date of operations of the Plan); and 85624 

(April 11, 2019), 84 FR 16130 (April 17, 2019) (SR– 

C2–2019–008) (proposal to extend the pilot for 

certain options pilots, including Rule 5.20.01). 

8 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85623 

(April 11, 2019), 84 FR 16086 (April 17, 2019) 

(Order Approving Amendment No. 18). 

9 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85624 

(April 11, 2019), 84 FR 16130 (April 17, 2019) (SR– 

C2–2019–008) (proposal to extend the pilot for 

certain options pilots, including Rule 5.20.01). 

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–NASDAQ–2022–023 

and should be submitted on or before 

April 13, 2022. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.11

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06088 Filed 3–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94455; File No. SR–C2– 

2022–008] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

C2 Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Extend the Pilot 

Period Related to the Market-Wide 

Circuit Breaker in Rule 5.20.01 to April 

18, 2022 

March 17, 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 17, 

2022, Cboe C2 Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘C2’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the Exchange. The Exchange filed the 

proposal as a ‘‘non-controversial’’ 

proposed rule change pursuant to 

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

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.4 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 C2 Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘C2’’) proposes to extend 

the pilot period related to the marketwide circuit breaker in Rule 5.20.01 to 

April 18, 2022. The text of the proposed 

rule change is provided in Exhibit 5. 

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/ 

options/regulation/rule_filings/ctwo/), 

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 extend the 

pilot related to the market-wide circuit 

breaker in Rule 5.20.01 to the close of 

business on April 18, 2022. 

Background 

The Market-Wide Circuit Breaker 

(‘‘MWCB’’) rules, including the 

Exchange’s Rule 5.20.01, provide an 

important, automatic mechanism that is 

invoked to promote stability and 

investor confidence during periods of 

significant stress when cash equities 

securities experience extreme marketwide declines. The MWCB rules are 

designed to slow the effects of extreme 

price declines through coordinated 

trading halts across both cash equity 

and equity options securities markets. 

The cash equities rules governing 

MWCBs were first adopted in 1988 and, 

in 2012, all U.S. cash equity exchanges 

and FINRA amended their cash equities 

uniform rules on a pilot basis (the ‘‘Pilot 

Rules’’, including Exchange Rule 

5.20.01).5 The Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) 

approved the Pilot Rules, the term of 

which was to coincide with the pilot 

period for the Plan to Address 

Extraordinary Market Volatility 

Pursuant to Rule 608 of Regulation NMS 

(the ‘‘LULD Plan’’),6 including any 

extensions to the pilot period for the 

LULD Plan. Though the LULD Plan was 

primarily designed for equity markets, 

the Exchange believed it would, 

indirectly, potentially impact the 

options markets as well. Thus, the 

Exchange has previously adopted and 

amended Rule 5.20.01 (as well as other 

options pilot rules) to ensure the option 

markets were not harmed as a result of 

the Plan’s implementation and 

implemented such rule on a pilot basis 

that has coincided with the pilot period 

for the Plan.7 In April 2019, the 

Commission approved an amendment to 

the LULD Plan for it to operate on a 

permanent, rather than pilot, basis.8 In 

light of the proposal to make the LULD 

Plan permanent, the Exchange amended 

Rule 5.20.01 to untie the pilot’s 

effectiveness from that of the LULD Plan 

and to extend the pilot’s effectiveness to 

the close of business on October 18, 

2019.9 The Exchange subsequently 

amended Rule 5.20.01 to extend the 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Notices 16505 

10 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 87342 

(October 18, 2019), 84 FR 57102 (October 24, 2019) 

(SR–C2–2019–022). 

11 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90158 

(October 13, 2020), 85 FR 66388 (October 19, 2020) 

(SR–C2–2020–015). 

12 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93374 

(October 18, 2021), 86 FR 58706 (October 22, 2021) 

(SR–C2–2021–015). 

13 See https://www.cmegroup.com/content/dam/ 

cmegroup/marketregulation/rulefilings/2020/9/20- 

392_1.pdf; https://www.cmegroup.com/content/ 

dam/cmegroup/marketregulation/rulefilings/2020/ 

9/20-392_2.pdf. 

14 See Report of the Market-Wide Circuit Breaker 

(‘‘MWCB’’) Working Group Regarding the March 

2020 MWCB Events, submitted March 31, 2021 (the 

‘‘Study’’), available at https://www.nyse.com/ 

publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse/Report_of_the_

MarketWide_Circuit_Breaker_Working_Group.pdf. 

15 See id. at 46. 

16 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 92428 

(July 16, 2021), 86 FR 38776 (July 22, 2021) (SR– 

NYSE–2021–40) (the ‘‘NYSE Proposal’’). 

17 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

92785A (August 27, 2021), 86 FR 50202 (September 

7, 2021) (SR–NYSE–2021–40). 

18 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93212 

(September 30, 2021), 86 FR 55066 (October 5, 

2021) (SR–NYSE–2021–40). 

19 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93933 

(January 7, 2022), 87 FR 2189 (January 13, 2022) 

(SR–NYSE–2021–40). 

pilot to the close of business on October 

18, 2020,10 October 18, 2021,11 and 

March 18, 2022.12 The Exchange now 

proposes to amend Rule 5.20.01 to 

extend the pilot to the close of business 

on April 18, 2022. This filing does not 

propose any substantive or additional 

changes to Rule 5.20.01. 

As stated above, because all U.S. 

equity exchanges and FINRA adopted 

uniform Pilot Rules relating to marketwide circuit breakers in 2012, the 

Exchange, too, adopted a MWCB 

mechanism on a pilot basis pursuant to 

Rule 5.20.01. Pursuant to Rule 5.20.01, 

a market-wide trading halt will be 

triggered if the S&P 500 Index declines 

in price by specified percentages from 

the prior day’s closing price of that 

index. Currently, the triggers are set at 

three circuit breaker thresholds: 7% 

(Level 1), 13% (Level 2), and 20% 

(Level 3). A market decline that triggers 

a Level 1 or Level 2 halt after 9:30 a.m. 

ET and before 3:25 p.m. ET would halt 

market-wide trading for 15 minutes, 

while a similar market decline at or after 

3:25 p.m. ET would not halt marketwide trading. A market decline that 

triggers a Level 3 halt, at any time 

during the trading day, would halt 

market-wide trading for the remainder 

of the trading day. 

The MWCB Task Force and the March 

2020 MWCB Events 

In late 2019, Commission staff 

requested the formation of a MWCB 

Task Force (‘‘Task Force’’) to evaluate 

the operation and design of the MWCB 

mechanism. The Task Force included 

representatives from the SROs, the 

Commission, CME, the Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission (‘‘CFTC’’), 

and the securities industry and 

conducted several organizational 

meetings in December 2019 and January 

2020. In Spring 2020, the MWCB 

mechanism proved itself to be an 

effective tool for protecting markets 

through turbulent times. In March 2020, 

at the outset of the worldwide COVID– 

19 pandemic, U.S. equities markets 

experienced four MWCB Level 1 halts, 

on March 9, 12, 16, and 18, 2020. In 

each instance, the markets halted as 

intended upon a 7% drop in the S&P 

500 Index, and resumed as intended 15 

minutes later. 

In response to these events, in the 

Spring and Summer of 2020, the Task 

Force held ten meetings that were 

attended by Commission staff, with the 

goal of performing an expedited review 

of the March 2020 halts and identifying 

any areas where the MWCB mechanism 

had not worked properly. Given the risk 

of unintended consequences, the Task 

Force did not recommend changes that 

were not rooted in a noted deficiency. 

The Task Force recommended creating 

a process for a backup reference price in 

the event that SPX were to become 

unavailable, and enhancing functional 

MWCB testing. The Task Force also 

asked CME to consider modifying its 

rules to enter into a limit-down state in 

the futures pre-market after a 7% 

decline instead of 5%. CME made the 

requested change, which became 

effective on October 12, 2020.13

The MWCB Working Group’s Study 

On September 17, 2020, the Director 

of the Commission’s Division of Trading 

and Markets asked the SROs to conduct 

a more complete study of the design and 

operation of the Pilot Rules and the 

LULD Plan during the period of 

volatility in the Spring of 2020. In 

response to the request, the SROs 

created a MWCB ‘‘Working Group’’ 

composed of SRO representatives and 

industry advisers that included 

members of the advisory committees to 

both the LULD Plan and the NMS Plans 

governing the collection, consolidation, 

and dissemination of last-sale 

transaction reports and quotations in 

NMS Stocks. The Working Group met 

regularly from September 2020 through 

March 2021 to consider the 

Commission’s request, review data, and 

compile its study. The Working Group’s 

efforts in this respect incorporated and 

built on the work of an MWCB Task 

Force. The Working Group submitted its 

study to the Commission on March 31, 

2021 (the ‘‘Study’’).14 In addition to a 

timeline of the MWCB events in March 

2020, the Study includes a summary of 

the analysis and recommendations of 

the MWCB Task Force; an evaluation of 

the operation of the Pilot Rules during 

the March 2020 events; an evaluation of 

the design of the current MWCB system; 

and the Working Group’s conclusions 

and recommendations. 

In the Study, the Working Group 

concluded: (1) The MWCB mechanism 

set out in the Pilot Rules worked as 

intended during the March 2020 events; 

(2) the MWCB halts triggered in March 

2020 appear to have had the intended 

effect of calming volatility in the 

market, without causing harm; (3) the 

design of the MWCB mechanism with 

respect to reference value (SPX), trigger 

levels (7%/13%/20%), and halt times 

(15 minutes) is appropriate; (4) the 

change implemented in Amendment 10 

to the Plan to Address Extraordinary 

Market Volatility (the ‘‘Limit Up/Limit 

Down Plan’’ or ‘‘LULD Plan’’) did not 

likely have any negative impact on 

MWCB functionality; and (5) no changes 

should be made to the mechanism to 

prevent the market from halting shortly 

after the opening of regular trading 

hours at 9:30 a.m. In light of the 

foregoing conclusions, the Working 

Group also made several 

recommendations, including that the 

Pilot Rules should be permanent 

without any changes.15

Proposal To Extend the Operation of the 

Pilot Rules Pending the Commission’s 

Consideration of the New York Stock 

Exchange LLC’s Filing To Make the 

Pilot Rules Permanent 

On July 16, 2021, an SRO member of 

the Working Group, the New York Stock 

Exchange (‘‘NYSE’’), proposed a rule 

change to make the Pilot Rules 

permanent, consistent with the Working 

Group’s recommendations.16 On August 

27, 2021, the Commission extended its 

time to consider the proposed rule 

change to October 20, 2021.17 On 

September 30, 2021, the Commission 

initiated proceedings to determine 

whether to approve or disapprove the 

proposed rule change.18 On January 7, 

2022, the Commission extended its time 

to approve or disapprove the proposed 

rule change by an additional 60 days, to 

March 19, 2022.19 The Exchange 

understands that upon approval of this 

proposal, the other national securities 

exchanges and FINRA, including the 

Exchange, will also submit 

substantively identical proposals to the 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
16506 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Notices 

20 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

21 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

22 Id. 

23 See supra notes 16 and 17. 

24 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

25 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

26 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

27 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). 

28 For 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). 

Commission. The Exchange now 

proposes to extend the expiration date 

of its Pilot Rules to the end of business 

on April, 18, 2022. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to the Exchange 

and, in particular, the requirements of 

Section 6(b) of the Act.20 Specifically, 

the Exchange believes the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Section 

6(b)(5) 21 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) 22 requirement that 

the rules of an exchange not be designed 

to permit unfair discrimination between 

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. 

The MWCB mechanism under Rule 

5.20.01 is an important, automatic 

mechanism that is invoked to promote 

stability and investor confidence during 

a period of significant stress when 

securities markets experience extreme 

broad-based declines. Extending the 

market-wide circuit breaker pilot for an 

additional month would ensure the 

continued, uninterrupted operation of a 

consistent mechanism to halt trading 

across the U.S. markets while the 

Commission reviews the proposed rule 

change to make the Pilot Rules 

permanent.23

The Exchange also believes that the 

proposed rule change promotes just and 

equitable principles of trade in that it 

promotes transparency and uniformity 

across markets concerning when and 

how to halt trading in all stocks as a 

result of extraordinary market volatility. 

Based on the foregoing, the Exchange 

believes the benefits to market 

participants from the MWCB under Rule 

5.20.01 should continue on a pilot basis 

because the MWCB will promote fair 

and orderly markets and protect 

investors and the public interest. 

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 because the 

proposal would ensure the continued, 

uninterrupted operation of a consistent 

mechanism to halt trading across the 

U.S. markets while the Commission 

reviews the proposed rule change to 

make the Pilot Rules permanent. 

Further, the Exchange understands 

that FINRA and other national securities 

exchanges will file proposals to extend 

their rules regarding the market-wide 

circuit breaker pilot. Thus, the proposed 

rule change will help to ensure 

consistency across market centers 

without implicating any competitive 

issues. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

The Exchange neither solicited nor 

received comments on the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

Because the foregoing proposed rule 

change does not: 

A. Significantly affect the protection 

of investors or the public interest; 

B. impose any significant burden on 

competition; and 

C. 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) of the 

Act 24 and Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 25

thereunder. 

A proposed rule change filed under 

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 26 normally does not 

become operative prior to 30 days after 

the date of the filing. However, pursuant 

to Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii),27 the 

Commission may designate a shorter 

time if such action is consistent with the 

protection of investors and the public 

interest. The Exchange asked that the 

Commission waive the 30 day operative 

delay so that the proposal may become 

operative immediately upon filing. 

Extending the Pilot Rules’ effectiveness 

to the close of business on April 18, 

2022 will extend the protections 

provided by the Pilot Rules, which 

would otherwise expire in less than 30 

days. Waiver of the operative delay 

would therefore permit uninterrupted 

continuation of the MWCB pilot while 

the Commission reviews the NYSE’s 

proposed rule change to make the Pilot 

Rules permanent. Therefore, the 

Commission hereby waives the 30-day 

operative delay and designates the 

proposed rule change as operative upon 

filing.28

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of the proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission will institute proceedings 

to determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s internet 

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

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

C2–2022–008 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–C2–2022–008. 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 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 56 / Wednesday, March 23, 2022 / Notices 16507 

29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

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

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). 

5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67091 

(May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33498 (June 6, 2012). The 

LULD Plan provides a mechanism to address 

extraordinary market volatility in individual 

securities. 

6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85623 

(April 11, 2019), 84 FR 16086 (April 17, 2019). 

7 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85665 

(April 16, 2019), 84 FR 16749 (April 22, 2019) (SR– 

CboeBYX–2019–004). 

8 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 87343 

(October 18, 2019), 84 FR 57104 (October 24, 2019) 

(SR–CboeBYX–2019–017). 

9 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90121 

(October 8, 2020), 85 FR 65103 (October 14, 2020) 

(SR–CboeBYX–2020–028). 

10 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93364 

(October 15, 2021) 86 FR 58324 (October 21, 2021) 

(SR–CboeBYX–2021–026). 

11 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67090 

(May 31, 2012), 77 FR 33531 (June 6, 2012) (SR– 

BATS–2011–038; SR–BYX–2011–025; SR–BX– 

2011–068; SR–CBOE–2011–087; SR–C2–2011–024; 

SR–CHX–2011–30; SR–EDGA–2011–31; SR–EDGX– 

2011–30; SR–FINRA–2011–054; SR–ISE–2011–61; 

SR–NASDAQ–2011–131; SR–NSX–2011–11; SR– 

NYSE–2011–48; SR–NYSEAmex–2011–73; SR– 

NYSEArca–2011–68; SR–Phlx–2011–129) (‘‘MWCB 

Approval Order’’). 

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–C2–2022–008 and 

should be submitted on or before April 

13, 2022. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06103 Filed 3–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–94456; File No. SR– 

CboeBYX–2022–008] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BYX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change To Extend the 

Pilot Related to the Market-Wide 

Circuit Breaker in Rule 11.18 to April 

18, 2022 

March 17, 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 17, 

2022, Cboe BYX Exchange, Inc. (the 

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

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I and II 

below, which Items have been prepared 

by the Exchange. The Exchange filed the 

proposal as a ‘‘non-controversial’’ 

proposed rule change pursuant to 

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

Rule 19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.4 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 BYX Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BYX’’ or 

the ‘‘Exchange’’) is filing with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) a proposal to 

extend the pilot related to the marketwide circuit breaker in Rule 11.18 to 

April 18, 2022. 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/byx/), 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 

BYX Rules 11.18(a) through (d), (f) 

and (g) describe the methodology for 

determining when to halt trading in all 

stocks due to extraordinary market 

volatility, i.e., market-wide circuit 

breakers. The market-wide circuit 

breaker (‘‘MWCB’’) mechanism was 

approved by the Commission to operate 

on a pilot basis, the term of which was 

to coincide with the pilot period for the 

Plan to Address Extraordinary Market 

Volatility Pursuant to Rule 608 of 

Regulation NMS (the ‘‘LULD Plan’’),5

including any extensions to the pilot 

period for the LULD Plan. In April 2019, 

the Commission approved an 

amendment to the LULD Plan for it to 

operate on a permanent, rather than 

pilot, basis.6 In light of the proposal to 

make the LULD Plan permanent, the 

Exchange amended Rule 11.18 to untie 

the pilot’s effectiveness from that of the 

LULD Plan and to extend the pilot’s 

effectiveness to the close of business on 

October 18, 2019.7 The Exchange 

subsequently amended Rule 11.18 to 

extend the pilot’s effectiveness to 

October 18, 2020,8 October 18, 2021,9

and March 18, 2022.10 Now, the 

Exchange proposes to amend Rule 11.18 

to extend the pilot to the close of 

business on April 18, 2022. This filing 

does not propose any substantive or 

additional changes to Rule 11.18. 

The market-wide circuit breaker 

under Rule 11.18 provides an important, 

automatic mechanism that is invoked to 

promote stability and investor 

confidence during a period of 

significant stress when securities 

markets experience extreme broad-based 

declines. All U.S. equity exchanges and 

FINRA adopted uniform rules on a pilot 

basis relating to market-wide circuit 

breakers in 2012 (‘‘MWCB Rules’’), 

which are designed to slow the effects 

of extreme price movement through 

coordinated trading halts across 

securities markets when severe price 

declines reach levels that may exhaust 

market liquidity.11 Market-wide circuit 

breakers provide for trading halts in all 

equities and options markets during a 

severe market decline as measured by a 

single-day decline in the S&P 500 Index. 

Pursuant to Rule 11.18, a market-wide 

trading halt will be triggered if the S&P 

500 Index declines in price by specified 

percentages from the prior day’s closing 

price of that index. Currently, the 

triggers are set at three circuit breaker 

thresholds: 7% (Level 1), 13% (Level 2), 

and 20% (Level 3). A market decline 

that triggers a Level 1 or Level 2 halt 

after 9:30 a.m. ET and before 3:25 p.m. 

ET would halt market-wide trading for 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1