40294 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 6, 2022 / Notices 

www.cmegroup.com/confluence/display/ 

EPICSANDBOX/Bitcoin. 

161The commenter also has not explained how 

the assertions that ‘‘[t]he spot and futures markets 

are so interconnected that actions on one instantly 

affect the other,’’ and that ‘‘manipulations in the 

spot market instantly affect the futures prices and 

vice versa,’’ would be compatible with the claims 

of the Exchange in this filing that CME bitcoin 

futures prices lead spot bitcoin prices. 

162See Angel Letter at 2–4. 

163See, e.g., Angel Letter at 9–40. 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 93888 

(December 30, 2021), 87 FR 532. 

4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 94238, 

87 FR 9399 (February 18, 2022). The Commission 

designated April 5, 2022, as the date by which the 

Commission shall approve or disapprove, or 

institute proceedings to determine whether to 

disapprove, the proposed rule change. 

6On March 31, 2022, the Exchange submitted 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change, and 

on April 1, 2022, the Exchange withdrew 

Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change. 

Amendment No. 2 is available on the Commission’s 

website at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/srcboebzx-2021-086/srcboebzx2021086-20122189- 

278229.pdf. 

7 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 

8See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 94601, 

87 FR 20895 (April 8, 2022). 

9 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

10See supra note 3 and accompanying text. 

11 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(57). 

claimed to be used for any intra-day 

trading of the contract. And even if the 

BRR is a potential link between prices 

on certain spot bitcoin platforms and 

CME bitcoin futures prices, it does not— 

absent supporting data—necessarily 

follow that manipulation that impacts 

spot bitcoin also similarly impacts CME 

bitcoin futures contracts.161

Moreover, the Commission’s 

determination in the Teucrium Order 

and the Valkyrie XBTO Order to 

approve the listing and trading of the 

relevant CME bitcoin futures ETPs was 

not based on the ETPs’ use—or lack of 

use—of the BRR (or any other similar 

pricing mechanism) for the calculation 

of NAV, or on the fact that the BRR is 

used for the final cash settlement of 

CME bitcoin futures contracts. Rather, 

the Commission approved the listing 

and trading of such CME bitcoin futures 

ETPs, not because of the BRR, but 

because the Commission found that the 

listing exchanges satisfy the 

requirement pertaining to a 

surveillance-sharing agreement with a 

regulated market of significant size 

related to the underlying bitcoin 

assets—which for such ETPs, are CME 

bitcoin futures contracts, not spot 

bitcoin. 

This commenter also addresses, 

among other things, the general nature 

and uses of bitcoin 162 and suggestions 

for improving regulation of bitcoin and 

other digital assets markets and related 

market participants.163 Ultimately, 

however, additional discussion of these 

topics is unnecessary, as they do not 

bear on the basis for the Commission’s 

decision to disapprove the proposal. 

IV. Conclusion 

For the reasons set forth above, the 

Commission does not find, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act, 

that the proposed rule change is 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Exchange Act and the rules and 

regulations thereunder applicable to a 

national securities exchange, and in 

particular, with Section 6(b)(5) of the 

Exchange Act. 

It is Therefore Ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act, 

that proposed rule change SR– 

NYSEArca-2021–89 be, and hereby is, 

disapproved. 

By the Commission. 

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14309 Filed 7–5–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–95175; File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2021–086] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of 

Designation of a Longer Period for 

Commission Action on Proceedings To 

Determine Whether To Approve or 

Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change, 

as Modified by Amendment No. 2, To 

Amend the Opening Auction Process 

Provided Under Rule 11.23(b)(2)(B) 

June 29, 2022. 

On December 21, 2021, Cboe BZX 

Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BZX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) 

filed with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant 

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

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule 

change to to amend the Opening 

Auction process under BZX Rule 

11.23(b)(2)(B). The proposed rule 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on January 5, 

2022.3 On February 14, 2022, pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,4 the 

Commission designated a longer period 

within which to approve the proposed 

rule change, disapprove the proposed 

rule change, or institute proceedings to 

determine whether to disapprove the 

proposed rule change.5 On April 1, 

2022, the Exchange filed Amendment 

No. 2 to the proposed rule change, 

which amended and superseded the 

proposed rule change as originally 

filed.6 On April 4, 2022, the 

Commission noticed the filing of 

Amendment No. 2 and instituted 

proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of 

the Act 7 to determine whether to 

approve or disapprove the proposed 

rule change.8

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 9 provides 

that, after initiating proceedings, the 

Commission shall issue an order 

approving or disapproving the proposed 

rule change not later than 180 days after 

the date of publication of notice of the 

filing of the proposed rule change. The 

Commission may extend the period for 

issuing an order approving or 

disapproving the proposed rule change, 

however, by not more than 60 days if 

the Commission determines that a 

longer period is appropriate and 

publishes the reasons for such 

determination. The proposed rule 

change was published for comment in 

the Federal Register on January 5, 

2022.10 The 180th day after publication 

of the proposed rule change is July 4, 

2022. The Commission is extending the 

time period for approving or 

disapproving the proposal for an 

additional 60 days. 

The Commission finds that it is 

appropriate to designate a longer period 

within which to issue an order 

approving or disapproving the proposed 

rule change so that it has sufficient time 

to consider the proposed rule change, as 

modified by Amendment No. 2. 

Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant 

to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,11

designates September 2, 2022, as the 

date by which the Commission should 

either approve or disapprove the 

proposed rule change (File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2021–086), as modified by 

Amendment No. 2. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

Jill M. Peterson, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14288 Filed 7–5–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 


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