Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices 94801 

60 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1See Standards for Covered Clearing Agencies for 

U.S. Treasury Securities and Application of the 

Broker-Dealer Customer Protection Rule With 

Respect to U.S. Treasury Securities, Exchange Act 

Release No. 99149 (Dec. 13, 2023), 89 FR 2714 (Jan. 

16, 2024) (‘‘Treasury Clearing Release’’). 

2See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2760– 

68. See also 17 CFR 240.15c3–3a (the formula for 

computing reserve requirements under the 

customer protection rule) (‘‘Rule 15c3–3a’’); 17 CFR 

240.15c3–3 (the customer protection rule) (‘‘Rule 

15c3–3’’). Rule 15c3–3 requires a broker-dealer to 

compute the net amount of cash owed to customers 

and PAB account holders under a formula in Rule 

15c3–3a (‘‘customer and PAB reserve 

computations’’). Generally, broker-dealers must 

perform their customer and PAB reserve 

computations and make any required deposits in a 

special reserve account at a bank weekly. See 

paragraph (e)(3) to Rule 15c3–3. 

3See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2760– 

68. 

4See id. The amendments also modified Note B 

to Item 2 of the customer and PAB reserve 

computations to provide that this item in the 

reserve computations must include as a credit the 

market value of customers’ and PAB account 

holders’ securities on deposit at a U.S. Treasury 

CCA. See id. at 2761. 

5See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2760– 

68. 

6See Rule 15c3–3a, Note H(a) and (b)(1). 

7See Rule 15c3–3a, Note H(b)(2). 

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– 

NYSEARCA–2024–100 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–NYSEARCA–2024–100. 

This file number should be included on 

the subject line if email is used. To help 

the Commission process and review 

your comments more efficiently, please 

use only one method. The Commission 

will post all comments on the 

Commission’s internet website (https:// 

www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of 

the submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for website viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549, on official 

business days between the hours of 10 

a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also 

will be available for inspection and 

copying at the principal office of the 

Exchange. Do not include personal 

identifiable information in submissions; 

you should submit only information 

that you wish to make available 

publicly. We may redact in part or 

withhold entirely from publication 

submitted material that is obscene or 

subject to copyright protection. All 

submissions should refer to file number 

SR–NYSEARCA–2024–100 and should 

be submitted on or before December 20, 

2024. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.60

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27995 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101729] 

Notice Pursuant to Rule 15c3–3a, Note 

H(b)(3) Regarding Application of the 

Customer Protection Rule Reserve 

Computations With Respect to U.S. 

Treasury Securities 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) is 

publishing notice that broker-dealers 

may include a debit in the customer 

protection rule reserve computations 

when depositing cash, U.S. Treasury 

securities, and/or qualified customer 

securities to meet a margin requirement 

of the Fixed Income Clearing 

Corporation (‘‘FICC’’) resulting from 

positions in U.S. Treasury securities of 

the customers of the broker-dealer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Randall W. Roy, Deputy Associate 

Director; Raymond Lombardo, Assistant 

Director; or Sheila Dombal Swartz, 

Senior Special Counsel, at (202) 551– 

5500, Office of Broker-Dealer Finances, 

Division of Trading and Markets; 

Securities and Exchange Commission, 

100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 

20549–7010. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On December 13, 2023, the 

Commission adopted rules under the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘Exchange Act’’) to amend the 

standards applicable to covered clearing 

agencies for U.S. Treasury securities 

(‘‘U.S. Treasury securities CCAs’’) to 

enhance risk management practices for 

central counterparties in the U.S. 

Treasury market and facilitate 

additional clearing of U.S. Treasury 

securities transactions.1 The 

Commission also amended the formula 

for computing reserve account 

requirements under the broker-dealer 

customer protection rule.2 The 

amendments to the formula—which are 

set forth in Rule 15c3–3a—permit 

margin required and on deposit with a 

U.S. Treasury securities CCA to be 

included as a debit when computing 

reserve requirements with respect to 

customers and proprietary accounts of 

broker-dealers (‘‘PAB’’), subject to 

certain conditions.3 In particular, the 

amendments added Item 15 to the 

customer and PAB reserve computations 

on which to record the value of the 

debit and prescribed conditions—set 

forth in Note H to Item 15—for 

including the debit in the formulas.4

Each of the conditions in Note H needs 

to be met for a broker-dealer to include 

a debit equal to the amount of customer 

or PAB account holder margin required 

and on deposit at the U.S. Treasury 

securities CCA.5

Certain of the conditions in Note H 

require the broker-dealer to take a 

number of steps with respect to the 

customer and PAB account holder 

margin in its custody.6 Other conditions 

provide that the U.S. Treasury securities 

CCA that will receive the customer or 

PAB account holder margin from the 

broker-dealer must have adopted rules— 

approved by the Commission—that 

require it to take certain steps with 

respect to calculating margin 

requirements and handling customer 

and PAB account holder margin 

received from the broker-dealer.7 The 

requirements of Note H are designed to 

permit the inclusion of the debit in the 

customer and PAB reserve computations 


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94802 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices 

8See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2760. 

9See Rule 15c3–3a, Note H(b)(3). 

10See Treasury Clearing Release, 89 FR at 2768. 

11See Exchange Act Release No. 101695 (Nov. 21, 

2024). FICC also filed this proposed rule change as 

an Advance Notice (File No. SR–FICC–2024–802) 

with the Commission pursuant to Section 806(e)(1) 

of Title VIII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

and Consumer Protection Act entitled the Payment, 

Clearing, and Settlement Supervision Act of 2010, 

12 U.S.C. 5465(e)(1), and Rule 19b–4(n)(1)(i) under 

the Exchange Act, 17 CFR 240.19b–4(n)(1)(i). On 

Nov. 21, 2024, the Commission issued a Notice of 

No Objection to Advance Notice SR–FICC–2024– 

802. 

12See File No. SR–FICC–2024–007. 

13See supra note 5 and accompanying text 

(discussing Note H conditions). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 99306 

(January 10, 2024), 89 FR 3008, 3009 (January 17, 

2024) (SR–NYSEArca–2021–90; SR–NYSEArca– 

2023–44; SR–NYSEArca–2023–58; SR–NASDAQ– 

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

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

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

2023–044; and SR–CboeBZX–2023–072) (Order 

Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule 

Changes, as Modified by Amendments Thereto, to 

List and Trade Bitcoin-Based Commodity-Based 

Trust Shares and Trust Units) (‘‘Bitcoin ETP 

Approval Order’’). 

4See Rule 19.3(i) which permits options trading 

on Fund Shares that (1) represent interests in 

registered investment companies (or series thereof) 

organized as open-end management investment 

companies, unit investment trusts or similar 

entities, and that hold portfolios of securities 

comprising or otherwise based on or representing 

under conditions that ‘‘provide 

maximum protection’’ to the brokerdealer’s customers and PAB account 

holders and that do not diminish the 

customer protection objectives of Rules 

15c3–3 and 15c3–3a.8

Paragraph (b)(3) to Note H sets forth 

the final condition: that the Commission 

has approved rules of the U.S. Treasury 

securities CCA that meet the conditions 

of Note H and has published (and not 

subsequently withdrawn) a notice that 

broker-dealers may include a debit in 

the customer and/or PAB reserve 

computations when depositing cash, 

U.S. Treasury securities, and/or 

qualified customer securities to meet a 

margin requirement of the U.S. Treasury 

securities CCA resulting from positions 

in U.S. Treasury securities of the 

customers or PAB account holders of 

the broker-dealer.9 The Commission 

stated that its staff would analyze the 

U.S. Treasury securities CCA’s approved 

rules and practices regarding the 

treatment of customer position margin 

and make a recommendation as to 

whether they adequately implement the 

customer protection objectives of the 

conditions set forth in Note H.10 If 

satisfied with the staff’s 

recommendation, the Commission 

stated it will publish a positive notice. 

II. Notice 

On November 21, 2024, the Division 

of Trading and Markets, pursuant to 

delegated authority, approved proposed 

rule change SR–FICC–2024–007 (‘‘FICC 

rule change’’).11 The FICC rule change, 

among other things, modifies FICC’s 

Government Securities Division 

Rulebook to address the conditions of 

Note H of the customer and PAB reserve 

computations set forth in Rule 15c3–3a. 

FICC expects to implement the FICC 

rule change by no later than March 31, 

2025, and will announce the effective 

date of the FICC rule change by an 

Important Notice posted to FICC’s 

website.12 The staff has analyzed the 

FICC rule change and made a 

recommendation to the Commission 

that it adequately implements the 

customer protection objectives of the 

conditions set forth in Note H. 

Accordingly, the Commission is 

publishing this notice to advise brokerdealers that they may include a debit in 

their customer and/or PAB reserve 

computations when depositing cash, 

U.S. Treasury securities, and/or 

qualified customer securities to meet a 

margin requirement of FICC resulting 

from positions in U.S. Treasury 

securities of the customers of the brokerdealer.13 Any changes to the relevant 

FICC rules and practices that would 

undermine these customer protection 

objectives could result in the 

Commission withdrawing this notice, at 

which point a broker-dealer could no 

longer include the debit in the customer 

and/or PAB reserve computations. 

By the Commission. 

Dated: November 25, 2024. 

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28058 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–101715; File No. SR– 

CboeEDGX–2024–077] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change To List Options 

on Certain Bitcoin ETFs 

November 22, 2024 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

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

notice is hereby given that on November 

21, 2024, Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. 

(‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX Options’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I and II below, which Items have 

been prepared by the Exchange. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX Options’’) 

proposes to amend Rule 19.3. 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/edgx/), 

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 amend 

Rule 19.3 regarding the criteria for 

underlying securities. Specifically, the 

Exchange proposes to amend Rule 

19.3(i)(4) to allow the Exchange to list 

and trade options on shares or other 

securities (‘‘Fund Shares’’) that are 

principally traded on a national 

securities exchange and are defined as 

an ‘‘NMS stock’’ under Rule 600 of 

Regulation NMS and that represent 

interests in the Fidelity Wise Origin 

Bitcoin Fund (the ‘‘Fidelity Fund’’) and 

the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (the 

‘‘ARK 21 Fund’’ and, with the Fidelity 

Fund, the ‘‘Bitcoin Funds’’).3 Current 

Rule 19.3(i) provides that, subject to 

certain other criteria set forth in that 

Rule, securities deemed appropriate for 

options trading include Fund Shares 

that represent certain types of interests,4


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