Via Portal Submission

October 31, 2023

MGEX Submission No. 23-59

Mr. Christopher Kirkpatrick

Secretary of the Commission

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Three Lafayette Centre

1155 21st Street NW

Washington, DC 20581

RE: Certification Submission Pursuant to Regulation 40.6(a); Suspension of SPIKES Volatility 

Index Futures

Dear Mr. Kirkpatrick:

Pursuant to Commodity Exchange Act (“CEAct”) Section 5c and Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

(“CFTC” or “Commission”) Regulation 40.6(a), the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, LLC (“MGEX” or 

“Exchange”) hereby certifies that the amendments to the listing schedule of the SPIKES Volatility Index 

Futures contract (the “Contract”) as listed in the below table (“the Proposed Amendments”) comply with the 

CEAct and the Commission regulations promulgated thereunder. MGEX further certifies that the 

submission and the Proposed Amendments have been posted on the Exchange website at the following 

links: http://www.mgex.com/regulation.html - https://www.miaxglobal.com/markets/us-futures/mgex.

Overview of Amendments

The Exchange will suspend trading and clearing of certain previously listed contract months indicated in 

the below table (the “Impacted Contract Months”) until further notice. As of the date of this submission, 

there is no open interest in the Impacted Contract Months.

The Exchange is implementing the suspension in light of the the United States Court of Appeals for the 

District of Columbia vacating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s exemptive order related to the 

Contract. Absent a revised order from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Court order will go 

into effect at the beginning of 2024. 

Contract Title Commodity Code Rulebook Chapter Impacted Contract Months

SPIKES Volatility Index Futures SPK 83 January 2024 and beyond

DCM Core Principles

MGEX has reviewed the Core Principles for designated contract markets (“DCM Core Principles”) and 

identified that the Proposed Amendments may impact the following DCM Core Principles:

• DCM Core Principle 4, Prevention of Market Disruption: Following suspension, subsequent trading 

in the Contract would continue to be subject to the rules of the Exchange, which include prohibitions 

on manipulation, price distortion, and disruption to the cash settlement process. 
MINNEAPOLIS GRAIN EXCHANGE, LLC

400 South 4th Street | 130 Grain Exchange Building | Minneapolis, MN 55415

612-321-7101

mgex.com - miaxglobal.com/markets/us-futures/mgex

• DCM Core Principle 7 – Availability of General Information: The Proposed Amendments have been 

disseminated on the MGEX website.

• DCM Core Principle 8, Daily Publication of Trading Information: MGEX will continue to comply with 

this Core Principle by making public daily information on settlement prices, volume, open interest, 

and opening and closing ranges for the Contract. MGEX will publish this information daily on the 

Exchange’s website. 

The Proposed Amendments are made pursuant to MGEX Bylaw 3.3. There were no substantive opposing 

views expressed with respect to this filing. The Proposed Amendments are to be effective upon certification 

of this submission, which is at least 10 business days following the date of this submission.

If there are any questions regarding this submission, please contact me at (612) 321-7128 or 

psparby@mgex.com. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Peter D. Sparby

Vice President, Counsel