Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Notices 29849 

51 15 U.S.C. 78k–1. 

52 17 CFR 242.608. 

53 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(c)(1)(B). 

54 15 U.S.C. 78k–1. 

55 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2). 

1See Letter from Robert Books, Chair, CTA/CQ 

Operating Committee, to Vanessa Countryman, 

Secretary, Commission (Feb. 3, 2021). The 

Amendments were posted to the Plans’ website on 

February 12, 2021. See Email from James P. 

Dombach, Counsel to the Plans, to Michael E. Coe, 

Assistant Director, Commission (Feb. 12, 2021). 

2These participants are: Cboe BYX Exchange, 

Inc., Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGA 

Exchange, Inc., Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc., Cboe 

Exchange, Inc., Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc., The Investors’ Exchange LLC, LongTerm Stock Exchange, Inc., MEMX LLC, MIAX 

PEARL, LLC, Nasdaq BX, Inc., Nasdaq ISE, LLC, 

Nasdaq PHLX, Inc., The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, 

New York Stock Exchange LLC, NYSE American 

LLC, NYSE Arca, Inc., NYSE Chicago, Inc., and 

NYSE National, Inc. (each a ‘‘Participant,’’ and 

collectively the ‘‘Participants’’). 

3 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(a)(3). 

4 17 CFR 242.608. 

5The CTA Plan, pursuant to which markets 

collect and disseminate last-sale price information 

for non-Nasdaq-listed securities, is a ‘‘transaction 

reporting plan’’ under Rule 601 of Regulation NMS, 

17 CFR 242.601, and a ‘‘national market system 

plan’’ under Rule 608 of Regulation NMS, 17 CFR 

242.608. The CQ Plan, pursuant to which markets 

collect and disseminate bid/ask quotation 

information for non-Nasdaq-listed securities, is a 

‘‘national market system plan’’ under Rule 608 

under the Act, 17 CFR 242.608. See Securities 

Exchange Act Release Nos. 10787 (May 10, 1974), 

39 FR at 17799 (May 20, 1974) (declaring the CTA 

Plan effective); 15009 (July 28, 1978), 43 FR at 

34851 (Aug. 7, 1978) (temporarily authorizing the 

CQ Plan); and 16518 (Jan. 22, 1980), 45 FR at 6521 

(Jan. 28, 1980) (permanently authorizing the CQ 

Plan). The most recent restatement of both Plans 

was in 1995. 

6See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 91189 

(Feb. 23, 2021), 86 FR 12038 (Mar. 1, 2021) 

(‘‘Notice’’). 

7Comments received in response to the Notice 

are available at https://www.sec.gov/comments/srctacq-2021-01/srctacq202101.htm. 

8The Amendments would define ‘‘Regulatory 

Halt’’ as ‘‘a halt declared by the Primary Listing 

Market in trading in one or more securities on all 

Trading Centers for regulatory purposes, including 

for the dissemination of material news, news 

pending, suspensions, or where otherwise 

necessary to maintain a fair and orderly market. A 

Regulatory Halt includes a trading pause triggered 

by Limit Up Limit Down, a halt based on 

Extraordinary Market Activity, a trading halt 

triggered by a Market-Wide Circuit Breaker, and a 

SIP Halt.’’ See Section XI(a)(i)(J) of the CTA Plan, 

as amended. 

9The Amendments would define ‘‘Operational 

Halt’’ as ‘‘a halt in trading in one or more securities 

only on a Market declared by such Participant and 

is not a Regulatory Halt.’’ See Section XI(a)(i)(G) of 

the CTA Plan, as amended. 

10See Notice, supra note 6, 86 FR at 12039. 

11The Amendments would define ‘‘Primary 

Listing Market’’ as ‘‘the national securities exchange 

on which an Eligible Security is listed. If an Eligible 

Security is listed on more than one national 

securities exchange, Primary Listing Market means 

the exchange on which the security has been listed 

the longest.’’ See Section XI(a)(i)(H) of the CTA 

Plan, as amended. 

12See Section XI(a)(iii)(A)(1) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

13See Section XI(a)(iii)(A)(2) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

14The Amendments would define ‘‘SIP Outage’’ 

as ‘‘a situation in which the Processor has ceased, 

or anticipates being unable, to provide updated 

and/or accurate quotation or last sale price 

information in one or more securities for a material 

period that exceeds the time thresholds for an 

orderly failover to backup facilities established by 

mutual agreement among the Processor, the Primary 

Listing Market for the affected securities, and the 

Operating Committee unless the Primary Listing 

Market, in consultation with the Processor and the 

Operating Committee, determines that resumption 

of accurate data is expected in the near future.’’ See 

Section XI(a)(i)(M) of the CTA Plan, as amended. 

15The Amendments would define ‘‘Material SIP 

Latency’’ as ‘‘a delay of quotation or last sale price 

information in one or more securities between the 

time data is received by the Processor and the time 

the Processor disseminates the data over the high 

speed line or over the ‘‘high speed line’’ under the 

CQ Plan, which delay the Primary Listing Market 

determines, in consultation with, and in accordance 

with, publicly disclosed guidelines established by 

the Operating Committee, to be (a) material and (b) 

unlikely to be resolved in the near future.’’ See 

Section XI(a)(i)(E) of the CTA Plan, as amended. 

16The Amendments would define ‘‘Extraordinary 

Market Activity’’ as ‘‘a disruption or malfunction of 

any electronic quotation, communication, reporting, 

or execution system operated by, or linked to, the 

Processor or a Trading Center or a member of such 

Trading Center that has a severe and continuing 

negative impact, on a market-wide basis, on 

quoting, order, or trading activity or on the 

availability of market information necessary to 

maintain a fair and orderly market. For purposes of 

this definition, a severe and continuing negative 

impact on quoting, order, or trading activity 

Continued 

particular, Section 11A of the Act 51 and 

Rule 608 52 thereunder in that the 

Amendment, as modified by 

Amendment Nos. 1 and 2, is necessary 

or appropriate in the public interest, for 

the protection of investors and the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets, 

to remove impediments to, and perfect 

the mechanisms of, a national market 

system. Section 11A of the Act 53 sets 

forth Congress’ finding that it is in the 

public interest and appropriate for the 

protection of investors and the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets 

to ensure the prompt, accurate, reliable 

and fair collection, processing, 

distribution, and publication of 

information with respect to quotations 

for and transactions in such securities 

and the fairness and usefulness of the 

form and content of such information. 

The Commission believes that the 

Amendment, as modified by 

Amendment Nos. 1 and 2, furthers these 

goals set forth by Congress. 

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 11A of the Act,54 and Rule 

608(b)(2) thereunder,55 that the Fiftieth 

Amendment to the Nasdaq/UTP Plan, as 

modified by Amendment Nos. 1 and 2, 

(File No. S7–24–89) is approved. 

By the Commission. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11687 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–92070; File No. SR–CTA/ 

CQ–2021–01] 

Consolidated Tape Association; Order 

Approving the Thirty-Sixth Substantive 

Amendment to the Second 

Restatement of the CTA Plan and the 

Twenty-Seventh Substantive 

Amendment to the Restated CQ Plan 

May 28, 2021. 

I. Introduction 

On February 3, 2021,1 the 

Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’) 

Plan participants 2 filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to 

Section 11A of the Securities Exchange 

Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 3 and Rule 608 of 

Regulation National Market System 

(‘‘NMS’’) thereunder,4 a proposal to 

amend the Second Restatement of the 

CTA Plan and the Restated Consolidated 

Quotation (‘‘CQ’’) Plan (collectively 

‘‘CTA/CQ Plans’’ or ‘‘Plans’’).5 These 

amendments represent the Thirty-Sixth 

Substantive Amendment to the Second 

Restatement of the CTA Plan and the 

Twenty-Seventh Substantive 

Amendment to the Restated CQ Plan 

(‘‘Amendments’’). 

The Amendments were published for 

comment in the Federal Register on 

March 1, 2021.6 One comment letter 

was received.7 This order approves the 

Amendments to the Plans. 

II. Description of the Proposal 

The Amendments propose revisions 

to the Plans’ provisions governing 

Regulatory Halts 8 and Operational 

Halts.9 The Participants state that ‘‘[t]he 

purpose of the amendments is to 

incorporate into the Plans the same 

processes for Regulatory Halts that are 

proposed by the equity exchanges.’’ 10

A. Regulatory Halts 

1. Declaration of a Regulatory Halt 

With respect to declaration of a 

Regulatory Halt, the Amendments 

would provide that the Primary Listing 

Market 11 may declare a Regulatory Halt 

in trading for any security for which it 

is the Primary Listing Market (1) as 

provided for in the rules of the Primary 

Listing Market; 12 (2) if it determines 13

there is a SIP Outage,14 Material SIP 

Latency,15 or Extraordinary Market 

Activity; 16 or (3) in the event of 


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29850 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Notices 

includes (i) a series of quotes, orders, or 

transactions at prices substantially unrelated to the 

current market for the security or securities; (ii) 

duplicative or erroneous quoting, order, trade 

reporting, or other related message traffic between 

one or more Trading Centers or their members; or 

(iii) the unavailability of quoting, order, transaction 

information, or regulatory messages for a sustained 

period.’’ See Section XI(a)(i)(A) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

17See Section XI(a)(iii)(A)(3) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

18See Section XI(a)(iii)(B) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

19See id. The Amendments would further 

provide that once a Regulatory Halt has been 

declared, the Primary Listing Market will continue 

to evaluate the circumstances to determine when 

trading may resume in accordance with the rules of 

the Primary Listing Market. See id. 

20See Section XI(a)(iv)(A) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

21See Section XI(a)(iv)(B) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. The Amendments would further provide 

that, except in exigent circumstances, the Primary 

Listing Market will not declare a Regulatory Halt 

retroactive to a time earlier than the notice of such 

halt. See Section XI(a)(iv)(C) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

22See Section XI(a)(vii) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

23The Amendments would define ‘‘SIP Halt’’ as 

‘‘a Regulatory Halt to trading in one or more 

securities that a Primary Listing Market declares in 

the event of a SIP Outage or Material SIP Latency.’’ 

See Section XI(a)(i)(K) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

24See Section XI(a)(v)(A) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

25See Section XI(a)(v)(B) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

26See Section XI(a)(vi)(A) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. The Amendments would define ‘‘SIP Halt 

Resume Time’’ as ‘‘the time that the Primary Listing 

Market determines as the end of a SIP Halt.’’ See 

Section XI(a)(i)(L) of the CTA Plan, as amended. 

27See id. 

28See id. 

29See Section XI(a)(vi)(B) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

30See id. The Amendments would further 

provide that, during regular Trading Hours, the last 

SIP Halt Resume Time before the end of Regular 

Trading Hours shall be an amount of time as 

specified by the rules of the Primary Listing Market. 

See id. 

31See id. 

32See Section XI(a)(vi)(C) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

33See id. 

national, regional, or localized 

disruption that necessitates a Regulatory 

Halt to maintain a fair and orderly 

market.17

The Amendments would further 

provide that, in determining whether to 

declare a Regulatory Halt, the Primary 

Listing Market will consider the totality 

of information available concerning the 

severity of the issue, its likely duration, 

and potential impact on Member Firms 

and other market participants, and will 

make a good-faith determination that 

the criteria to declare a Regulatory Halt 

have been satisfied and that a 

Regulatory Halt is appropriate.18 The 

Amendments would also provide that, 

the Primary Listing Market will consult, 

if feasible, with the affected Trading 

Center(s), other Participants, or the 

Processor, as applicable, regarding the 

scope of the issue and what steps are 

being taken to address the issue, and 

that the Primary Listing Market will 

continue to evaluate the circumstances 

to determine when trading may resume 

in accordance with the rules of the 

Primary Listing Market.19

2. Initiating a Regulatory Halt 

The Amendments would specify 

procedures for initiating a Regulatory 

Halt. Specifically, when initiating a 

Regulatory Halt, the start time of a 

Regulatory Halt would be when the 

Primary Listing Market declares the 

halt, regardless of whether an issue with 

communications impacts the 

dissemination of the notice.20 The 

Amendments would further provide 

that if the Processor is unable to 

disseminate notice of a Regulatory Halt 

or the Primary Listing Market is not 

open for trading, the Primary Listing 

Market will take reasonable steps to 

provide notice of a Regulatory Halt, 

which shall include both the type and 

start time of the Regulatory Halt, by 

dissemination through: (1) Proprietary 

data feeds containing quotation and last 

sale price information that the Primary 

Listing Market also sends to the 

Processor; (2) posting on a publiclyavailable Participant website; or (3) 

system status messages.21 The 

Amendments would further specify that 

a Participant will halt trading for any 

security traded on its Market if the 

Primary Listing Market declares a 

Regulatory Halt for the security.22

3. Resumption of Trading After a 

Regulatory Halt 

The Amendments would specify 

certain procedures for the resumption of 

trading following (1) Regulatory Halts 

other than a SIP Halts and (2) SIP 

Halts.23

a. Resumption of Trading After a 

Regulatory Halt Other Than a SIP Halt 

With respect to the resumption of 

trading after a Regulatory Halt other 

than a SIP Halt, the Amendments would 

provide that the Primary Listing Market 

will declare a resumption of trading 

when it makes a good-faith 

determination that trading may resume 

in a fair and orderly manner and in 

accordance with its rules.24 The 

Amendments would further provide 

that for a Regulatory Halt that is 

initiated by another Participant that is a 

Primary Listing Market, a Participant 

may resume trading after the Participant 

receives notification from the Primary 

Listing Market that the Regulatory Halt 

has been terminated.25

b. Resumption of Trading After a SIP 

Halt 

With respect to the resumption of 

trading after a SIP Halt, the 

Amendments would provide that the 

Primary Listing Market will determine 

the SIP Halt Resume Time.26 The 

Amendments would further provide 

that, in making such determination, the 

Primary Listing Market will make a 

good-faith determination and consider 

the totality of information to determine 

whether resuming trading would 

promote a fair and orderly market, 

including input from the Processor, the 

Operating Committee, or the operator of 

the system in question (as well as any 

Trading Center(s) to which such system 

is linked), regarding operational 

readiness to resume trading.27 The 

Amendments would also provide that 

the Primary Listing Market retains 

discretion to delay the SIP Halt Resume 

Time if it believes trading will not 

resume in a fair and orderly manner.28

Also, with respect to termination of the 

SIP Halt, the Amendments would 

provide that the Primary Listing Market 

will terminate a SIP Halt with a 

notification that specifies a SIP Halt 

Resume Time.29 The Amendments 

would further provide that the Primary 

Listing Market shall provide a minimum 

notice of a SIP Halt Resume Time, as 

specified by the rules of the Primary 

Listing Market, during which period 

market participants may enter quotes 

and orders in the affected securities.30

Under the Amendments, the Primary 

Listing Market would be permitted to 

stagger the SIP Halt Resume Times for 

multiple symbols in order to reopen in 

a fair and orderly manner.31

Finally, the Amendments would 

provide that during Regular Trading 

Hours, if the Primary Listing Market 

does not open a security within the 

amount of time as specified by the rules 

of the Primary Listing Market after the 

SIP Halt Resume Time, a Participant 

may resume trading in that security.32

Under the Amendments, a Participant 

may, outside Regular Trading Hours, 

resume trading immediately after the 

SIP Halt Resume Time.33

B. Communications 

The Amendments address 

communications regarding trading halts. 

Specifically, the Amendments would 

provide that, whenever in the exercise 

of its regulatory functions the Primary 

Listing Market for an Eligible Security 

determines it is appropriate to initiate a 

Regulatory Halt, the Primary Listing 


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34See Section XI(a)(viii) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 35See id. The Amendments would further 

provide that the failure of a Participant to 

continuously monitor such communication 

protocols as established by the Operating 

Committee and the Processor during market hours 

will not prevent the Primary Listing Market from 

initiating a Regulatory Halt in accordance with the 

procedures specified in these Amendments. See id. 

36See supra note 9 and accompanying text. 

37See Section XI(a)(ii) of the CTA Plan, as 

amended. 

38See 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(a)(3)(B). 

39 17 CFR 242.600–612; see also Regulation NMS, 

Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9, 

2005), 70 FR 37495, 37560 (June 29, 2005). 

40 17 CFR 242.603(b). 

41See 17 CFR 242.608. 

42See 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2). 

43See Letter from Elizabeth K. King, Chief 

Regulatory Officer, ICE and General Counsel and 

Corporate Secretary, NYSE Group, Inc., to Vanessa 

Countryman, Secretary, Commission, at 2 (Mar. 18, 

2021) (‘‘NYSE Letter’’). 

44See id. 

45See id. 

46See 17 CFR 242.608. 

47See, e.g., Sections XI(a)(iii)(B); XI(a)(v)(A); and 

XI(a)(vi)(A) of the CTA Plan, as amended. 

Market will notify all other Participants 

and the Processor of such Regulatory 

Halt and will provide notice that a 

Regulatory Halt has been lifted using 

such protocols and other emergency 

procedures as may be mutually agreed 

to between the Operating Committee 

and the Primary Listing Market.34 The 

Amendments would further provide 

that the Processor shall disseminate to 

Participants notice of the Regulatory 

Halt (as well as notice of the lifting of 

a Regulatory Halt) through the high 

speed line or through the ‘‘high speed 

line’’ under the CQ Plan, and (ii) any 

other means the Processor, in its sole 

discretion, considers appropriate. Under 

the Amendments, each Participant 

would be required to continuously 

monitor these communication protocols 

established by the Operating Committee 

and the Processor during market 

hours.35

C. Operational Halts 

With respect to Operational Halts,36

the Amendments would provide that a 

Participant must notify the Processor if 

it has concerns about its ability to 

collect and transmit quotes, orders or 

last sale prices, or where it has declared 

an Operational Halt or suspension of 

trading in one or more Eligible 

Securities, pursuant to the procedures 

adopted by the Operating Committee.37

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

After careful review, the Commission 

is approving the Amendments, for the 

reasons discussed below. Section 11A of 

the Act authorizes the Commission, by 

rule or order, to authorize or require the 

self-regulatory organizations to act 

jointly with respect to matters as to 

which they share authority under the 

Act in planning, developing, operating, 

or regulating a facility of the national 

market system.38 Pursuant to this 

authority, the Commission adopted 

Regulation NMS.39 Rule 603 of 

Regulation NMS requires the SROs to 

act jointly pursuant to NMS plans to 

‘‘disseminate consolidated information, 

including a national best bid and 

national best offer, on quotations for and 

transactions in NMS stocks.’’ 40 And 

Rule 608 of Regulation NMS authorizes 

two or more SROs, acting jointly, to file 

with the Commission a national market 

system plan (‘‘NMS plan’’) or a 

proposed amendment to an effective 

NMS plan.41 Rule 608 further provides 

that the Commission shall approve an 

amendment to an NMS plan if it finds 

that the amendment is necessary or 

appropriate in the public interest, for 

the protection of investors and the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets, 

to remove impediments to, and perfect 

the mechanisms of, a national market 

system, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act.42

As stated above, the Commission 

received one comment letter regarding 

the proposed Amendments. The 

commenter states that the Amendments 

should be approved as filed.43

According to the commenter, the 

purpose of the Amendments is to 

incorporate into the Plans the same 

processes for Regulatory and 

Operational Halts that are proposed by 

the equity exchanges, including that the 

Primary Listing Market be vested with 

the authority to determine when to 

initiate and end a Regulatory Halt, 

consistent with its rules.44 The 

commenter states that the Primary 

Listing Market would be enabled to 

declare a Regulatory Halt as provided 

for in the Primary Listing Market’s rules, 

if it determines that there is a SIP 

Outage, Material SIP Latency, 

Extraordinary Market Activity, or in the 

event of national, regional, or localized 

disruption that necessitates a Regulatory 

Halt to maintain a fair and orderly 

market. The commenter states that the 

Commission should thus approve the 

Amendments because they are 

consistent with the Act and Rule 608 

thereunder.45

The Commission agrees that the 

Amendments are consistent with the 

Act and Rule 608 of Regulation NMS.46

The Commission believes that the 

Amendments further the goals of 

Section 11A of the Act and of Rules 603 

and 608 of Regulation NMS by 

establishing a clear and uniform 

approach with respect to trading halts 

under various defined circumstances. 

The Plans’ provisions currently lack 

clarity with respect to whether a 

Primary Listing Market may declare a 

Regulatory Halt due to underlying 

problems at the SIP, as well as the 

standard and process for calling a halt 

and resuming trading thereafter. The 

Amendments—and in particular the 

revisions that address Regulatory Halts 

in connection with SIP Outages, 

Material SIP Latency, Extraordinary 

Market Activity, and national, regional, 

or localized disruptions that necessitate 

a Regulatory Halt to maintain a fair and 

orderly market—address this 

shortcoming by providing for uniform 

rules governing how Participants will 

address, among other things, the 

initiation, implementation, and 

communication of trading halts, as well 

as the resumption of trading after a 

trading halt or SIP Halt, thereby 

clarifying the procedures to be followed 

and the standards to be applied, 

improving coordination and certainty 

among the Participants and other market 

participants, and enhancing the 

resiliency and integrity of market 

systems. Accordingly, the Commission 

believes that the Amendments are in the 

public interest, support the protection of 

investors, and help the maintenance of 

fair and orderly markets because the 

Amendments are reasonably designed to 

assist market participants in 

understanding the processes to be 

followed during circumstances 

potentially warranting a regulatory halt, 

such as events involving the loss, 

timeliness, or accuracy of information 

that is processed or disseminated by the 

SIPs. Additionally, the Commission 

believes that the Amendments are 

reasonably designed to enhance the 

resiliency of the national market system 

by clearly memorializing the 

coordinated actions to be taken by the 

Participants during such events so that 

trading may resume in a fair and orderly 

manner. 

The Commission further believes that 

the proposed requirement for Primary 

Listing Markets to make good-faith 

determinations 47 in consultation with 

other market participants, as may be 

applicable concerning the 

appropriateness of declaring a 

regulatory halt and resuming trading 

thereafter, should promote fairness and 

orderliness in decision-making by the 

Primary Listing Markets. In particular, 

the good-faith determination standard 

promotes fair and orderly markets and 

the protection of investors because it 

addresses potential concerns that 


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48This commenter also urges the Commission to 

publish and provide notice of any material changes 

that the Commission is considering with respect to 

the Amendments. See NYSE Letter, supra note 43, 

at 2. The Commission has determined to approve 

the Amendments without modification. 

49 15 U.S.C. 78k–1. 

50 17 CFR 242.608. 

51 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(c)(1)(B). 

52 15 U.S.C. 78k–1. 

53 17 CFR 242.608(b)(2). 

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

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 In separate rule filings, the Exchange intends to 

similarly align the rule numbers of the Exchange’s 

other affiliated options exchanges, Cboe BZX 

Exchange, Inc. and Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. with 

the rule numbers of Cboe Options and the 

Exchange. 

4The Exchange notes that certain rules are 

applicable to it and not Cboe Options, and vice 

versa. 

Primary Listing Markets may be subject 

to commercial pressures in making 

decisions to call a Regulatory Halt and 

resuming trading thereafter. 

Accordingly, the Commission believes 

that the good-faith-determination 

standard encourages Primary Listing 

Markets to consider the broader 

interests of the national market system 

with respect to declaring trading halts 

and resuming trading thereafter, thereby 

promoting the maintenance of fair and 

orderly markets and enhancing the 

protection of investors.48

For the reasons discussed, the 

Commission finds that the Amendments 

to the Plans, are consistent with the 

requirements of the Act and the rules 

and regulations thereunder, and in 

particular, Section 11A of the Act 49 and 

Rule 608 50 thereunder in that the 

Amendments are necessary or 

appropriate in the public interest, for 

the protection of investors and the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets, 

to remove impediments to, and perfect 

the mechanisms of, a national market 

system. Section 11A of the Act 51 sets 

forth Congress’ finding that it is in the 

public interest and appropriate for the 

protection of investors and the 

maintenance of fair and orderly markets 

to ensure the prompt, accurate, reliable 

and fair collection, processing, 

distribution, and publication of 

information with respect to quotations 

for and transactions in such securities 

and the fairness and usefulness of the 

form and content of such information. 

The Commission believes that the 

Amendments further these goals set 

forth by Congress. 

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 11A of the Act,52 and Rule 

608(b)(2) thereunder,53 that the 

Amendments to the CTA and CQ Plans 

(File No. SR–CTA/CQ–2021–01) are 

approved. 

By the Commission. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11686 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–92051; File No. SR–C2– 

2021–009] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

C2 Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and 

Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed 

Rule Change To Align the Exchange’s 

Rulebook With the Rulebook of Its 

Affiliated Exchange, Cboe Options, Inc. 

(‘‘Cboe Options’’) and Make Other 

Formatting Changes 

May 27, 2021. 

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 May 19, 

2021, 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, 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 C2 Exchange, Inc. (the 

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

the Exchange’s rulebook with the 

rulebook of its affiliated Exchange, Cboe 

Options, Inc. (‘‘Cboe Options’’) and 

make other formatting changes. 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 align the 

numbers of its rules in the Exchange’s 

Rulebook with the numbers of the same 

(or substantially similar) rules within 

the rulebook of its affiliated exchange, 

Cboe Options.3 The Exchange believes 

aligning the numbers of its rules with 

those of the same (or substantially 

similar) rules of Cboe Options to the 

extent practicable 4 will reduce potential 

confusion for market participants. The 

below table sets forth the rules in the 

Exchange’s Rulebook, their current rule 

numbers, and the proposed rule 

numbers. As noted in the table below, 

the proposed rule change deletes certain 

reserved rule numbers and adds certain 

reserved rule numbers to maintain 

number alignment with Cboe Options 

rule numbers. 

Rule name Current rule No. Proposed new rule No. 

Definitions ................................................................................................ 1.1 .................................................. No change. 

Exchange Determinations ....................................................................... 1.2 .................................................. 1.5. 

Time ......................................................................................................... 1.3 .................................................. 1.6. 

Trading Permit Holder Fees .................................................................... 2.1 .................................................. No change. 

Exchange’s Costs of Defending Legal Proceedings ............................... 2.2 .................................................. 2.5. 

Regulatory Revenues .............................................................................. 2.3 .................................................. 2.2. 

Reserved ................................................................................................. N/A ................................................. 2.4. 

Trading Permits ....................................................................................... 3.1 5 ................................................ No change. 


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