Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Listing and Trading of the Direxion Daily Bitcoin Bear 1X Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.25X Bull Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares and Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bear Shares Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E, 3380-3387 [2018-01209]
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3380
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices
calculated daily (on each business day
the New York Stock Exchange is open
for trading) and provided to Nasdaq via
the Mutual Fund Quotation Service
(‘‘MFQS’’) by the fund accounting agent.
As soon as the NAV is entered into the
MFQS, Nasdaq will disseminate the
NAV to market participants and market
data vendors via the Mutual Fund
Dissemination Service so all firms will
receive the NAV per Share at the same
time.
The Exchange further represents that
it may consider all relevant factors in
exercising its discretion to halt or
suspend trading in the Shares. The
Exchange will halt trading in the Shares
under the conditions specified in
Nasdaq Rule 4120 and in Nasdaq Rule
5745(d)(2)(D). Additionally, the
Exchange may cease trading the Shares
if other unusual conditions or
circumstances exist that, in the opinion
of the Exchange, make further dealings
on the Exchange detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly
market. To manage the risk of a nonregulatory Share trading halt, Nasdaq
has in place back-up processes and
procedures to ensure orderly trading.
Prior to the commencement of market
trading in the Shares, the Fund will be
required to establish and maintain a free
public website through which its
current prospectus may be
downloaded.29 The website will include
additional information concerning the
Fund updated on a daily basis,
including the prior business day’s NAV,
and the following trading information
for the business day expressed as
premiums/discounts to NAV: (a)
Intraday high, low, average and closing
prices of the Shares in Exchange
trading; (b) the midpoint of the highest
bid and lowest offer prices as of the
close of Exchange trading, expressed as
a premium/discount to NAV (‘‘Closing
Bid/Ask Midpoint’’); and (c) the spread
between highest bid and lowest offer
prices as of the close of Exchange
trading (‘‘Closing Bid/Ask Spread’’). The
website will also contain charts showing
the frequency distribution and range of
values of trading prices, Closing Bid/
Ask Midpoints and Closing Bid/Ask
Spreads over time.
The Exchange represents that all
statements and representations made in
this filing regarding: (a) The description
of the portfolio or reference assets, (b)
limitations on portfolio holdings or
reference assets, (c) dissemination and
availability of the reference asset or IIV,
or (d) the applicability of Exchange
29 The
Exchange represents that the website
containing this information will be
www.brandesfunds.com.
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
listing rules shall constitute continued
listing requirements for listing the
Shares on the Exchange. The issuer has
represented to the Exchange that it will
advise the Exchange of any failure by
the Fund to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to
its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of
the Act, the Exchange will monitor for
compliance with the continued listing
requirements.30 If the Fund is not in
compliance with the applicable listing
requirements, the Exchange will
commence delisting procedures under
the Nasdaq 5800 Series.
The approval order is based on all of
the Exchange’s representations,
including those set forth above and in
Amendments No. 1 and 2. In particular,
the Commission notes that, although the
Shares will be available for purchase
and sale on an intraday basis, the Shares
will be purchased and sold at prices
directly linked to the Fund’s nextdetermined NAV. Further, the
Commission notes that the Fund and the
Shares must comply with the
requirements of Nasdaq Rule 5745 and
the conditions set forth in this proposed
rule change to be listed and traded on
the Exchange on an initial and
continuing basis.
For the foregoing reasons, the
Commission finds that the proposed
rule change, as modified by
Amendments No. 1 and 2, is consistent
with Section 6(b)(5) 31 and Section
11A(a)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act,32 and the
rules and regulations thereunder
applicable to a national securities
exchange.
IV. Conclusion
It is therefore ordered, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,33 that the
proposed rule change (SR–NASDAQ–
2017–124), as modified by Amendments
No. 1 and 2, be, and hereby is,
approved.
30 The Commission notes that certain other
proposals for the listing and trading of Managed
Fund Shares include a representation that the
exchange will ‘‘surveil’’ for compliance with the
continued listing requirements. See, e.g., Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 78005 (Jun. 7, 2016), 81
FR 38247 (Jun. 13, 2016) (SR–BATS–2015–100). In
the context of this representation, it is the
Commission’s view that ‘‘monitor’’ and ‘‘surveil’’
both mean ongoing oversight of a fund’s compliance
with the continued listing requirements. Therefore,
the Commission does not view ‘‘monitor’’ as a more
or less stringent obligation than ‘‘surveil’’ with
respect to the continued listing requirements.
31 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
32 15 U.S.C. 78k–1(a)(1)(C)(iii).
33 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
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For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.34
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–01207 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–82532; File No. SR–
NYSEArca–2018–02]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed
Rule Change Relating to Listing and
Trading of the Direxion Daily Bitcoin
Bear 1X Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin
1.25X Bull Shares, Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares, Direxion
Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares and
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bear Shares
Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E
January 18, 2018.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3
notice is hereby given that, on January
4, 2018, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) 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 self-regulatory
organization. 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
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade the shares of the following under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E, Commentary
.02 (‘‘Trust Issued Receipts’’): Direxion
Daily Bitcoin Bear 1X Shares, Direxion
Daily Bitcoin 1.25X Bull Shares,
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares,
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares
and Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bear
Shares. The proposed change is
available on the Exchange’s website at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of
the Exchange, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
34 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices
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
self-regulatory organization 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 those 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 parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
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1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares (‘‘Shares’’) of the following
under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E,
Commentary .02, which governs the
listing and trading of Trust Issued
Receipts: The Direxion Daily Bitcoin
Bear 1X Shares (the ‘‘1X Bear Fund’’),
the Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.25X Bull
Shares (the ‘‘1.25X Bull Fund’’), the
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares
(the ‘‘1.5X Bull Fund’’), the Direxion
Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares (the ‘‘2X
Bull Fund’’) and the Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 2X Bear Shares (the ‘‘2X Bear
Shares’’) (each a ‘‘Fund’’ and,
collectively, the ‘‘Funds’’).4
Each Fund is a series of the Direxion
Shares ETF Trust II (the ‘‘Trust’’), a
Delaware statutory trust.5 The Trust and
4 Commentary .02 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E
applies to Trust Issued Receipts that invest in
‘‘Financial Instruments.’’ The term ‘‘Financial
Instruments,’’ as defined in Commentary .02(b)(4) to
NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E, means any combination
of investments, including cash; securities; options
on securities and indices; futures contracts; options
on futures contracts; forward contracts; equity caps,
collars, and floors; and swap agreements.
5 The Trust is registered under the Securities Act
of 1933. On December 15, 2017, the Trust submitted
to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) its draft registration statement on
Form S–1 (the ‘‘Registration Statement’’) under the
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) (‘‘Securities
Act’’). The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act,
enacted on April 5, 2012, added Section 6(e) to the
Securities Act. Section 6(e) of the Securities Act
provides that an ‘‘emerging growth company’’ may
confidentially submit to the Commission a draft
registration statement for confidential, non-public
review by the Commission staff prior to public
filing, provided that the initial confidential
submission and all amendments thereto shall be
publicly filed not later than 21 days before the date
on which the issuer conducts a road show, as such
term is defined in Securities Act Rule 433(h)(4). An
emerging growth company is defined in Section
2(a)(19) of the Securities Act as an issuer with less
than $1,000,000,000 total annual gross revenues
during its most recently completed fiscal year. The
Trust meets the definition of an emerging growth
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
the Funds are managed and controlled
by Direxion Asset Management, LLC
(the ‘‘Sponsor’’). The Sponsor is
registered as a commodity pool operator
(‘‘CPO’’) with the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (‘‘CFTC’’) and is a
member of the National Futures
Association (‘‘NFA’’).
In its capacity as the Custodian for the
Funds, Bank of New York Mellon
(‘‘BNYM’’ or the ‘‘Custodian’’) may hold
the Funds’ investment assets and cash
and cash equivalents pursuant to a
custodian agreement. The Custodian is
also the transfer agent for the Funds. In
addition, in its capacity as
Administrator for the Funds, U.S.
Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (the
‘‘Administrator’’) prepares and files
certain regulatory filings on behalf of
the Funds.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as
the distributor of the Shares (the
‘‘Distributor’’).
Investment Objectives of the Funds
According to the Registration
Statement, the Funds will offer
investors the opportunity to obtain daily
short, leveraged long or leveraged short
exposure to the lead month bitcoin
futures contract traded on the Chicago
Mercantile Exchange (‘‘CME’’) or on
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (‘‘CBOE’’) or
on any other U.S. exchange that
subsequently trades bitcoin futures
contracts (the ‘‘Bitcoin Futures
Contract’’), the target benchmark before
fees and expenses.6 The target
benchmark’s value will be calculated as
the last sale price published by the CME
or the CBOE,7 or any other U.S.
company and consequently has submitted its Form
S–1 Registration Statement on a confidential basis
with the Commission. The description of the
operation of the Trust and the Funds herein is
based, in part, on the Registration Statement.
6 A futures contract is a standardized contract
traded on, and subject to the rules of, an exchange
that calls for the future delivery of a specified
quantity and type of a commodity at a specified
time and place. Bitcoin Futures Contracts will be
cash-settled. The ‘‘lead month’’ contract is the
monthly contract with the earliest expiration date.
7 The CME and CBOE are registered with the
CFTC and seek to provide a neutral, regulated
marketplace for the trading of derivatives contracts
for commodities, such as futures, options and
certain swaps. Both the CME and CBOE are
members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group
(‘‘ISG’’). See ftnt. 19, infra. The CME announced
that its bitcoin futures contracts were scheduled to
begin trading on December 18, 2017, and began
trading on that date. See ‘‘CME Group Self-Certifies
Bitcoin Futures to Launch Dec. 18,’’ December 1,
2017, available at https://www.cmegroup.com/
media-room/press-releases/2017/12/01/cme_group_
self-certifiesbitcoinfuturestolaunchdec18.html.
CBOE announced that the bitcoin futures contracts
on its subsidiary Cboe Futures Exchange are
scheduled to begin trading on December 10, 2017,
and began trading on that date. See ‘‘Cboe Plans
December 10 Launch of Bitcoin Futures Trading,’’
December 4, 2017, available at https://ir.cboe.com/
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3381
exchange that subsequently trades
bitcoin futures contracts on or before
11:00 a.m. E.T. (the ‘‘Daily Last Sale
Value’’) for the Bitcoin Futures Contract
and may reflect trades occurring and
published by the CME and/or CBOE or
another U.S. exchange that subsequently
trades bitcoin futures contracts outside
the normal trading session for the
Bitcoin Futures Contract.8
Each Fund will seek daily correlation
to the target benchmark and should not
be expected to track the performance of
the target benchmark for any period
longer than one business day.
Additionally, while each Fund will seek
daily correlation to the target
benchmark, it should not be expected to
track dollar for dollar the spot price of
bitcoin because the Fund will invest in
Bitcoin Futures Contracts rather than
directly in bitcoin, and the spot price
movements of bitcoin may not
correspond directly to price movements
of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts. In this
regard, the Funds expect the notional
value of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts
held by a Fund to equal the target
exposure for such Fund (i.e., 125%,
150%, etc.).
Each Fund will seek to engage in
daily rebalancing to position its
portfolio so that its exposure to the
target benchmark is consistent with its
daily investment objective. The impact
of the target benchmark’s movements
during the day will affect whether a
Fund’s portfolio needs to be
repositioned.9
As described below, under normal
market conditions, each Fund intends to
obtain exposure to its target benchmark
by investing in the Bitcoin Futures
Contract traded in the U.S., swaps on
the Bitcoin Futures Contract or listed
options on bitcoin or Bitcoin Futures
Contracts (together,’’Bitcoin Financial
Instruments’’).10 The Funds’
press-releases/2017/12-04-2017. See also ‘‘CFTC
Statement on Self-Certification of Bitcoin Products
by CME, CFE and Cantor Exchange,’’ dated
December 1, 2017 (‘‘CFTC Release’’), available at
https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/
pr7654-17.
8 Though this time may vary due to differences in
when daylight savings time is effective between
London and New York, 11:00 a.m. E.T. will govern.
9 Daily rebalancing and the compounding of each
day’s return over time means that the return of each
Fund for a period longer than a single trading day
will be the result of each day’s returns compounded
over the period, which will very likely differ from
either the multiple, inverse multiple or inverse, as
applicable, of the return of the target benchmark for
the Funds for the same period.
10 The term ‘‘normal market conditions’’ includes,
but is not limited to, the absence of trading halts
in the applicable financial markets generally;
operational issues (e.g., systems failure) causing
dissemination of inaccurate market information; or
force majeure type events such as natural or
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices
investments in Bitcoin Financial
Instruments are used to produce
economically ‘‘leveraged’’ or ‘‘inverse
leveraged’’ investment results for the
Funds. Any remaining assets will be
invested in cash or cash equivalents.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Investment Objectives of the Leveraged
Bull Funds
According to the Registration
Statement, the 1.25X Bull Fund, 1.5X
Bull Fund and 2X Bull Fund (each a
‘‘Bull Fund’’ and collectively, the ‘‘Bull
Funds’’) seeks daily leveraged
investment results (before fees and
expenses) that correlate positively to
either 125%, 150% or 200% the daily
return of the target benchmark. The Bull
Funds do not seek to achieve their
investment objective over a period
greater than a single trading day.11 If a
Bull Fund is successful in meeting its
objective, its value on a given day
(before fees and expenses) should gain
approximately 1.25 times, 1.5 times or
2 times, as applicable, as much on a
percentage basis as the level of its target
benchmark when the target benchmark
rises. Conversely, its value on a given
day (before fees and expenses) should
lose approximately 1.25 times, 1.5 times
or 2 times, as applicable, as much on a
percentage basis as the level of the target
benchmark when the benchmark
declines. Each Bull Fund acquires long
exposure through any one of, or
combinations of, Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, including Bitcoin
Financial Instruments with respect to
the target benchmark, such that each
Bull Fund has exposure intended to
approximate either 125%, 150% or
200%, as applicable, of the target
benchmark at the time of its NAV
calculation.
Investment Objective of the 2X Bear
Fund
The 2X Bear Fund seeks daily
leveraged inverse investment results
(before fees and expenses) that correlate
to two times the inverse (¥200%) of the
daily return of the target benchmark.
The 2X Bear Fund does not seek to
achieve its investment objective over a
period greater than a single trading day.
If the 2X Bear Fund is successful in
meeting its investment objective, its
value on a given day (before fees and
expenses) should gain approximately
two times as much on a percentage basis
as the level of the target benchmark
manmade disaster, act of God, armed conflict, act
of terrorism, riot or labor disruption or any similar
intervening circumstance.
11 A ‘‘single trading day’’ is measured from the
time a Fund calculates its Net Asset Value (‘‘NAV’’)
to the time of a Fund’s next NAV calculation. See
also, Net Asset Value, infra.
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
when the target benchmark declines.
Conversely, its value on a given day
(before fees and expenses) should lose
approximately two times as much on a
percentage basis as the level of the target
benchmark when the target benchmark
rises. The 2X Bear Fund acquires short
exposure through any one, or
combinations of, Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, including Bitcoin
Financial Instruments with respect to
the target benchmark, such that the 2X
Bull Fund has exposure intended to
approximate two times the inverse
(¥200%) of its target benchmark at the
time of its NAV calculation.
Investment Objective of the 1X Bear
Fund
The 1X Bear Fund seeks daily
investment results (before fees and
expenses) that correlate to the inverse
(¥100%) of the daily return of the target
benchmark. The 1X Bear Fund does not
seek to achieve its investment objective
over a period greater than a single
trading day. If the 1X Bear Fund is
successful in meeting its investment
objective, its value on a given day
(before fees and expenses) should gain
approximately as much on a percentage
basis as the level of the target
benchmark when the target benchmark
declines. Conversely, its value on a
given day (before fees and expenses)
should lose approximately as much on
a percentage basis as the level of its
target benchmark when the target
benchmark rises. The 1X Bear Fund
acquires short exposure through any one
of, or combinations of, Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, including Bitcoin
Financial Instruments with respect to
the target benchmark, such that the 1X
Bull Fund has exposure intended to
approximately equal the inverse
(¥100%) of its target benchmark at the
time of its NAV calculation.
Principal Investment Strategies
According to the Registration
Statement, in seeking to achieve each
Fund’s daily investment objective, the
Sponsor will use statistical and
quantitative analysis to determine the
investments each Fund makes and the
techniques it employs. Using this
approach, the Sponsor determines the
type, quantity and mix of investment
positions that the Sponsor believes in
combination should produce daily
returns consistent with a Fund’s
investment objective. The Sponsor relies
upon a pre-determined model to
generate orders that result in
repositioning each Fund’s investments
in accordance with its daily investment
objective. As a consequence, if a Fund
is performing as designed, the return of
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Frm 00088
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the target benchmark will dictate the
return for that Fund. Each Fund pursues
its investment objective regardless of the
market conditions and does not take
defensive positions.
Each Fund, under normal market
conditions, will seek to achieve its daily
investment objective by investing in
Bitcoin Financial Instruments. A Fund
may invest in listed options on bitcoin
and Bitcoin Futures Contracts and
swaps on Bitcoin Futures Contracts in a
manner consistent with its investment
objective in situations where the
Sponsor believes that investing in such
financial instruments is in the best
interests of a Fund. In addition, a Fund
may invest in swap contracts
referencing Bitcoin Futures Contracts if
the market for a specific bitcoin futures
contract experiences emergencies or if
position price or accountability limits (if
any) are reached with respect to any
Bitcoin Futures Contracts. At the close
of the U.S. equity markets each trading
day, each Fund will position its
portfolio to ensure that the Fund’s
exposure to the target benchmark is
consistent with the Fund’s investment
objective. The impact of market
movements during the day will
determine whether a portfolio needs to
be repositioned.
According to the Registration
Statement, with futures contracts, there
is minimal but some counterparty risk
to the Funds since futures contracts are
exchange traded and the exchange’s
clearinghouse, as counterparty to all
exchange-traded futures contracts,
effectively guarantees futures contracts
against default. Many futures exchanges
and boards of trade limit the amount of
fluctuation permitted in futures contract
prices during a single trading day. Once
the daily limit has been reached in a
particular contract, no trades may be
made that day at a price beyond that
limit or trading may be suspended for
specified times during the trading day.
According to the Registration
Statement, with respect to the Bitcoin
Futures Contracts, as the futures
contracts held by the Funds near
expiration, the Funds do not intend to
hold futures contracts through
expiration, but instead to ‘‘roll’’ their
respective positions. When the market
for these contracts is such that the
prices are higher in the more distant
delivery months than in the nearer
delivery months, the sale during the
course of the ‘‘rolling process’’ of the
more nearby contract would take place
at a price that is lower than the price of
the more distant contract. This pattern
of higher futures prices for longer
expiration futures contracts is often
referred to as ‘‘contango.’’ Alternatively,
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daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
when the market for these contracts is
such that the prices are higher in the
nearer months than in the more distant
months, the sale during the course of
the ‘‘rolling process’’ of the more nearby
contract would take place at a price that
is higher than the price of the more
distant contract. This pattern of higher
futures prices for shorter expiration
futures contracts is referred to as
‘‘backwardation.’’ The presence of
contango in certain futures contracts at
the time of rolling would be expected to
adversely affect the Funds with long
positions, and positively affect the
Funds with short positions. Similarly,
the presence of backwardation in certain
futures contracts at the time of rolling
such contracts would be expected to
adversely affect the Funds with short
positions and positively affect the
Funds with long positions.
To reduce the credit risk that arises in
connection with swaps, a Fund will
generally enter into an agreement with
each counterparty based on the Master
Agreement published by the
International Swaps and Derivatives
Association, Inc.12
Assets of each Fund not invested in
the Bitcoin Financial Instruments will
be held in cash or invested in cash
equivalents such as U.S. Treasury
Securities or other high credit quality
short- term fixed-income or similar
securities (including shares of money
market funds, bank deposits, bank
money market accounts, certain variable
rate-demand notes and repurchase
agreements collateralized by
government securities) (collectively
’’Money Market Investments’’) that serve
as collateral for, or pending investments
in, the Funds’ investments.
In the future, the Funds will disclose
certain information relating to margin
levels held at the FCM based on how
each Fund will be managed. While the
portfolio composition may vary over
time, it is not expected that any Fund
will ever have futures exposure greater
than 300% of Fund assets. Thus the
maximum margin held at an FCM
12 The Sponsor on behalf of the corresponding
Fund intends to enter into OTC swaps only with
counterparties who are, or are affiliates of, (a) banks
regulated by a federal bank regulator, (b) brokerdealers regulated by the Commission, (c) insurance
companies domiciled in the U.S., and (d)
producers, users or traders of an underlying
commodity or currency, whether or not regulated
by the CFTC. Any entity acting as a counterparty
must also be regulated in either the U.S. or the U.K.
unless otherwise approved by the Sponsor. A Fund
will also require that the counterparty be highly
rated and/or provide collateral or other credit
support. The Sponsor also assesses or reviews, as
appropriate, the creditworthiness of each potential
or existing counterparty pursuant to established
guidelines.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
would not exceed three times the
margin requirement.
Overview of Bitcoin
According to the Registration
Statement, Bitcoin is a digital asset that
is not issued by any government, bank
or organization. Bitcoin is a digital asset
based on the decentralized, open source
protocol of the peer-to-peer bitcoin
computer network (the ‘‘Bitcoin
Network’’). No single entity owns or
operates the Bitcoin Network; the
infrastructure is collectively maintained
by a decentralized user base. The
Bitcoin Network is accessed through
software, and software governs bitcoin’s
creation, movement, and ownership.
The value of bitcoin is determined by
the supply and demand for bitcoin on
websites that facilitate the transfer of
bitcoin in exchange for governmentissued currencies (‘‘Bitcoin
Exchanges’’), and in private end-user-toend-user transactions.
Bitcoin transactions and ownership
records are reflected on the
‘‘Blockchain’’, which is a digital public
record or ledger. Copies of this ledger
are stored in a decentralized manner on
the computers of each Bitcoin Network
user. Transaction date is permanently
recorded in files called ‘‘blocks,’’ which
reflect transactions that have been
recorded and authenticated by Bitcoin
Network participants. The Bitcoin
Network software source codes includes
protocols that govern the creation of
bitcoin and the cryptographic system
that secures and verifies Bitcoin
transactions.
Overview of Bitcoin Futures Contracts
According to the Registration
Statement, unlike the futures markets
for traditional physical commodities,
the market for exchange-traded bitcoin
futures contract has limited trading
history and operational experience and
may be riskier, less liquid, more volatile
and more vulnerable to economic,
market and industry changes than more
established futures markets. The
liquidity of the market will depend on,
among other things, the adoption of
bitcoin and the commercial and
speculative interest in the market for the
ability to hedge against the price of
bitcoin with exchange-traded bitcoin
futures contracts.
The CFTC has noted that the U.S.
futures exchanges that will trade bitcoin
futures have agreed to significant
enhancements to protect customers and
maintain orderly markets, and
announced its expectation that futures
exchanges that list and trade bitcoin
futures contracts will, through
information sharing agreements,
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3383
monitor the trading activity on the
relevant cash platforms for potential
impacts on the price discovery process
for bitcoin futures contracts, including
potential market manipulation and
market dislocations due to flash rallies
and crashes and trading outages.13
Net Asset Value
According to the Registration
Statement, the NAV per Share of each
Fund is computed by dividing the value
of the net assets of such Fund (i.e., the
value of its total assets less total
liabilities) by its total number of Shares
outstanding. Expenses and fees are
accrued daily and taken into account for
purposes of determining NAV. Each
Fund’s NAV is calculated on each
business day that the New York Stock
Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE’’) is open. The
Funds compute their NAVs as of 11:00
a.m. E.T., or such earlier time that the
NYSE may close.
In calculating the NAV of a Fund, the
settlement value of a Fund’s nonexchange traded Bitcoin Financial
Instruments is determined by applying
the then-current prices for the target
benchmark to the terms of such Fund’s
non-exchange traded Bitcoin Financial
Instruments. However, in the event that
an underlying Bitcoin Futures Contract
is not trading due to the operation of
daily limits or otherwise, the Sponsor
may in its sole discretion choose to fair
value the Reference Asset in order to
value a Fund’s non-exchange traded
Bitcoin Financial Instruments for
purposes of the NAV calculation.14
Such fair value prices would generally
be determined based on available inputs
about the current value of the
underlying Reference Assets and would
be based on principles that the Sponsor
deems fair and equitable so long as such
principles are consistent with normal
industry standards.
All open futures contracts traded on
an exchange are calculated at their then
current market value, which is based
upon the settlement or the last traded
price before the NAV calculation time,
for that particular futures contract
traded on the applicable exchange on
the date with respect to which NAV is
being determined; provided, that if a
futures contract traded on an exchange
could not be liquidated on such day,
due to the operation of daily limits or
other rules of the exchange upon which
that position is traded or otherwise, the
Sponsor may in its sole discretion
choose to determine a fair value price as
13 See
CFTC Release, supra, ftnt. 7.
value of a futures contract is derived from
the value of an underlying asset, rate or benchmark
(such asset, rate or benchmark, a ‘‘Reference
Asset’’).
14 The
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the basis for determining the market
value of such position for such day.
Money Market Investments will be
valued on the basis of broker quotes,
valuations provided by a third party
pricing service or at amortized cost.
Indicative Fund Value
In order to provide updated
information relating to the Funds for use
by investors and market professionals,
the Exchange will calculate an updated
‘‘Indicative Fund Value’’ (‘‘IFV’’). The
IFV will be calculated by using the prior
day’s closing net assets of a Fund as a
base and updating throughout the
Exchange’s Core Trading Session of 9:30
a.m. E.T. to 4:00 p.m. E.T. changes in
the value of the Bitcoin Financial
Instruments held by a Fund based on
the most recently available prices for the
Fund’s investments.
The IFV will be disseminated on a per
Share basis every 15 seconds during the
Exchange’s Core Trading Session and be
widely disseminated by one or more
major market data vendors during the
NYSE Arca Core Trading Session.15 In
addition, circumstances may arise in
which the NYSE Arca Core Trading
Session is in progress, but trading in the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts is not
occurring. Such circumstances may
result from reasons including, but not
limited to, a futures exchange having a
separate holiday schedule than the
NYSE Arca, a futures exchange closing
prior to the close of the NYSE Arca,
price fluctuation limits being reached in
a Bitcoin Futures Contract, or a futures
exchange, imposing any other
suspension or limitation on trading in a
Bitcoin Futures Contract. In such
instances, for IFV calculation purposes,
the price of the applicable Bitcoin
Futures Contracts, as well as Bitcoin
Financial Instruments whose price is
derived from the Bitcoin Futures
Contracts, would be static or priced by
a Fund at the applicable early cut-off
time of the exchange trading the
applicable Bitcoin Futures Contract.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Creation and Redemption of Shares
According to the Registration
Statement, each Fund will create and
redeem Shares in one or more Creation
Units. A Creation Unit is a block of
50,000 Shares of a Fund.
A creation transaction, which is
subject to acceptance by the Distributor,
generally takes place when an
Authorized Participant deposits a
specified amount of cash in exchange
for a specified number of Creation
15 Several major market data vendors display and/
or make widely available IFVs taken from the CTA
or other data feeds.
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Jkt 244001
Units. Similarly, Shares can be
redeemed only in Creation Units,
generally for cash.
Only ‘‘Authorized Participants’’ may
purchase and redeem Shares from a
Fund and then only in Creation Units.
An Authorized Participant is an entity
that has entered into an ‘‘Authorized
Participant Agreement’’ with the Trust
and the Sponsor.
Creation Procedures
On any Business Day, an Authorized
Participant may place an order with the
Distributor to create one or more
Creation Units. For purposes of
processing both purchase and
redemption orders, a ‘‘Business Day’’
means any day on which the NAV of a
Fund is calculated. Purchase orders
must be placed by 11 a.m. E.T. or earlier
if the NYSE Arca closes before the cutoff time.
Redemption Procedures
According to the Registration
Statement, the procedures by which an
Authorized Participant can redeem one
or more Creation Units mirror the
procedures for the creation of Creation
Units. On any Business Day, an
Authorized Participant may place an
order with the Distributor to redeem one
or more Creation Units.
By placing a redemption order, an
Authorized Participant agrees to deliver
the Creation Units to be redeemed
through DTC’s book-entry system to the
applicable Fund not later than noon
(Eastern Time), on the first Business Day
immediately following the redemption
order date (T+1). The Sponsor reserves
the right to extend the deadline for the
Fund to receive the Creation Units
required for settlement up to the second
Business Day following the redemption
order date (T+2).
Availability of Information
The NAV for the Funds’ Shares will
be disseminated daily to all market
participants at the same time. The
intraday, closing prices, and settlement
prices of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts
will be readily available from the
applicable futures exchange websites,
automated quotation systems, published
or other public sources, or major market
data vendors. The value of the Bitcoin
Futures Contract will be disseminated
by one or more major market data
vendors on at least a 15-second delayed
basis during the NYSE Arca Core
Trading Session of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. E.T.
Complete real-time data for the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts and Options
on Bitcoin Futures will be available by
subscription through on-line
PO 00000
Frm 00090
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
information services. CME and CBOE
will provide delayed futures and
options on futures (once available)
information on current and past trading
sessions and market news free of charge
on their respective websites. The
specific contract specifications for
Bitcoin Futures Contracts would also be
available on such websites, as well as
other financial informational sources.
Quotation and last-sale information
regarding the Shares will be
disseminated through the facilities of
the Consolidated Tape Association
(‘‘CTA’’). Quotation information for
Money Market Investments and OTC
swaps agreements may be obtained from
brokers and dealers who make markets
in such instruments. Quotation
information for exchange-traded swaps
will be available from the applicable
exchange and major market vendors.
The IFV will be available through online information services.
In addition, the Funds’ website,
www.direxioninvestments.com, will
display the applicable end of day
closing NAV. The daily holdings of each
Fund will be available on the Funds’
website before 9:30 a.m. E.T. Each
Fund’s total portfolio composition will
be disclosed each Business Day that
NYSE Arca is open for trading, on the
Funds’ website. The Funds’ website will
also include a form of the prospectus for
the Funds that may be downloaded. The
website will include the Shares’ ticker
and CUSIP information, along with
additional quantitative information
updated on a daily basis for each Fund.
The Funds’ website will include (1) the
prior business day’s reported NAV and
closing price, and a calculation of the
premium and discount of the closing
price or mid-point of the bid/ask spread
at the time of NAV calculation (‘‘Bid/
Ask Price’’) against the NAV; and (2)
data in chart format displaying the
frequency distribution of discounts and
premiums of the daily closing price or
Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within
appropriate ranges, for at least each of
the four previous calendar quarters. The
website disclosure of portfolio holdings
will be made daily and will include, as
applicable, (i) the name, quantity, value,
expiration and strike price of Bitcoin
Futures Contracts and Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, (ii) the value of Bitcoin
Financial Instruments, and (iii) the
aggregate net value of the Money Market
Investments held in each Fund’s
portfolio, if applicable. The Funds’
website will be publicly available prior
to the public offering of Shares and
accessible at no charge.
The spot price of bitcoin also is
available on a 24-hour basis from major
market data vendors.
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Trading Halts
With respect to trading halts, the
Exchange may consider all relevant
factors in exercising its discretion to
halt or suspend trading in the Shares of
a Fund.16 Trading in Shares of a Fund
will be halted if the circuit breaker
parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E
have been reached. Trading also may be
halted because of market conditions or
for reasons that, in the view of the
Exchange, make trading in the Shares
inadvisable.
The Exchange may halt trading during
the day in which an interruption to the
dissemination of the IFV or the value of
the Bitcoin Futures Contract occurs. If
the interruption to the dissemination of
the IFV or the value of the Bitcoin
Futures Contract persists past the
trading day in which it occurred, the
Exchange will halt trading no later than
the beginning of the trading day
following the interruption. In addition,
if the Exchange becomes aware that the
NAV with respect to the Shares is not
disseminated to all market participants
at the same time, it will halt trading in
the Shares until such time as the NAV
is available to all market participants.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be
equity securities, thus rendering trading
in the Shares subject to the Exchange’s
existing rules governing the trading of
equity securities. Shares will trade on
the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m.
to 8 p.m. E.T. in accordance with NYSE
Arca Rule 7.34–E (Early, Core, and Late
Trading Sessions). The Exchange has
appropriate rules to facilitate
transactions in the Shares during all
trading sessions. As provided in NYSE
Arca Rule 7.6–E, the minimum price
variation (‘‘MPV’’) for quoting and entry
of orders in equity securities traded on
the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01,
with the exception of securities that are
priced less than $1.00 for which the
MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
The Shares will conform to the initial
and continued listing criteria under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.200–E. The trading of
the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca
Rule 8.200–E, Commentary .02(e),
which sets forth certain restrictions on
Equity Trading Permit (‘‘ETP’’) Holders
acting as registered Market Makers in
Trust Issued Receipts to facilitate
surveillance. The Exchange represents
that, for initial and continued listing,
each Fund will be in compliance with
Rule 10A–3 17 under the Act, as
provided by NYSE Arca Rule 5.3–E. A
minimum of 100,000 Shares of each
16 See
17 17
NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E.
CFR 240.10A–3.
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
Fund will be outstanding at the
commencement of trading on the
Exchange.
Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading
in the Shares of each Fund will be
subject to the existing trading
surveillances administered by the
Exchange, as well as cross-market
surveillances administered by Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.
(‘‘FINRA’’) on behalf of the Exchange,
which are designed to detect violations
of Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws.18 The Exchange
represents that these procedures are
adequate to properly monitor Exchange
trading of the Shares in all trading
sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules and federal
securities laws applicable to trading on
the Exchange.
The surveillances referred to above
generally focus on detecting securities
trading outside their normal patterns,
which could be indicative of
manipulative or other violative activity.
When such situations are detected,
surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where
appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant
trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares and certain Bitcoin
Futures Contracts with other markets
and other entities that are members of
the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, or both, may
obtain trading information regarding
trading in the Shares and certain Bitcoin
Futures Contracts from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares and
certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts from
markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement
(‘‘CSSA’’).19 The Exchange is also able
to obtain information regarding trading
in the Shares, futures, the commodity
underlying futures or options on futures
through ETP Holders, in connection
with such ETP Holders’ proprietary or
customer trades which they effect
18 FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on
behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory
services agreement. The Exchange is responsible for
FINRA’s performance under this regulatory services
agreement.
19 For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all
components of a Fund may trade on markets that
are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has
in place a CSSA.
PO 00000
Frm 00091
Fmt 4703
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3385
through ETP Holders on any relevant
market. The Exchange can obtain market
surveillance information, including
customer identity information, with
respect to transactions (including
transactions in cash-settled Options)
occurring on US futures exchanges,
which are members of the ISG.
In addition, the Exchange also has a
general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public
information by its employees.
All statements and representations
made in this filing regarding (a) the
description of the portfolios of the
Funds or the target benchmark, (b)
limitations on portfolio holdings,
reference assets or the target benchmark,
or (c) the applicability of Exchange
listing rules specified in this rule filing
shall constitute continued listing
requirements for listing the Shares on
the Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the
Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Funds to
comply with the continued listing
requirements, and, pursuant to its
obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the
Act, the Exchange will monitor for
compliance with the continued listing
requirements. If a Fund is not in
compliance with the applicable listing
requirements, the Exchange will
commence delisting procedures under
NYSE Arca Rule 5.5–E(m).
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of
trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin
of the special characteristics and risks
associated with trading the Shares.
Specifically, the Information Bulletin
will discuss the following: (1) The risks
involved in trading the Shares during
the Early and Late Trading Sessions
when an updated IFV will not be
calculated or publicly disseminated; (2)
the procedures for purchases and
redemptions of Shares in Creation Units
(and that Shares are not individually
redeemable); (3) NYSE Arca Rule 9.2–
E(a), which imposes a duty of due
diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the
essential facts relating to every customer
prior to trading the Shares; (4) how
information regarding the IFV is
disseminated; (5) how information
regarding portfolio holdings is
disseminated; (6) that a static IFV will
be disseminated, between the close of
trading on the CME and CBOE and the
close of the NYSE Arca Core Trading
Session; (7) the requirement that ETP
Holders deliver a prospectus to
investors purchasing newly issued
Shares prior to or concurrently with the
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 16 / Wednesday, January 24, 2018 / Notices
confirmation of a transaction; and (8)
trading information.
Prior to the commencement of
trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders of the suitability
requirements of NYSE Arca Rule 9.2–
E(a) in an Information Bulletin.
Specifically, ETP Holders will be
reminded in the Information Bulletin
that, in recommending transactions in
the Shares, they must have a reasonable
basis to believe that (1) the
recommendation is suitable for a
customer given reasonable inquiry
concerning the customer’s investment
objectives, financial situation, needs,
and any other information known by
such ETP Holder, and (2) the customer
can evaluate the special characteristics,
and is able to bear the financial risks, of
an investment in the Shares. In
connection with the suitability
obligation, the Information Bulletin will
also provide that ETP Holders must
make reasonable efforts to obtain the
following information: (1) The
customer’s financial status; (2) the
customer’s tax status; (3) the customer’s
investment objectives; and (4) such
other information used or considered to
be reasonable by such ETP Holder or
registered representative in making
recommendations to the customer.
Further, the Exchange states that
FINRA has implemented increased sales
practice and customer margin
requirements for FINRA members
applicable to inverse, leveraged and
inverse leveraged securities (which
include the Shares) and options on such
securities, as described in FINRA
Regulatory Notices 09–31 (June 2009),
09–53 (August 2009), and 09–65
(November 2009) (collectively, ‘‘FINRA
Regulatory Notices’’). ETP Holders that
carry customer accounts will be
required to follow the FINRA guidance
set forth in these notices. As noted
above, the Funds will seek investment
results that daily short, leverage long or
leverage short the performance of the
target benchmark. Over a period of time
in excess of one day, the cumulative
percentage increase or decrease in the
NAV of the Shares of a Fund may
diverge significantly from a multiple or
inverse multiple of the cumulative
percentage decrease or increase in the
relevant benchmark due to a
compounding effect.
In addition, the Information Bulletin
will advise ETP Holders, prior to the
commencement of trading, of the
prospectus delivery requirements
applicable to a Fund. The Information
Bulletin will also discuss any
exemptive, no-action, and interpretive
relief granted by the Commission from
any rules under the Act. In addition, the
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
Information Bulletin will reference that
a Fund is subject to various fees and
expenses described in the Registration
Statement. The Information Bulletin
will also reference that the CFTC has
regulatory jurisdiction over the trading
of Bitcoin Futures Contracts traded on
U.S. markets.
The Information Bulletin will also
disclose the trading hours of the Shares
that the NAV for the Shares will be
calculated after 11:00 a.m. E.T. each
trading day. The Information Bulletin
will disclose that information about the
Shares will be publicly available on the
Funds’ website.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this
proposed rule change is the requirement
under Section 6(b)(5) 20 that an
exchange have rules that are designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices, to promote just and
equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to, and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and, in general, to protect investors and
the public interest.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices and to protect
investors and the public interest in that
the Shares will be listed and traded on
the Exchange pursuant to the initial and
continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca
Rule 8.200–E.
The Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures that are
adequate to properly monitor trading in
the Shares in all trading sessions and to
deter and detect violations of Exchange
rules and applicable federal securities
laws. The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf
of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares, and certain
Bitcoin Futures Contracts with other
markets and other entities that are
members of the ISG, and the Exchange
or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or
both, may obtain trading information
regarding trading in the Shares and
certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts from
such markets and other entities. In
addition, the Exchange may obtain
information regarding trading in the
Shares and certain Bitcoin Futures
Contracts from markets and other
entities that are members of ISG or with
which the Exchange has in place a
CSSA. The Exchange is also able to
obtain information regarding trading in
the Shares, the commodity underlying
futures or options on futures through
ETP Holders, in connection with such
20 15
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Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
ETP Holders’ proprietary or customer
trades which they effect through ETP
Holders on any relevant market.
The Exchange can obtain market
surveillance information, including
customer identity information, with
respect to transactions (including
transactions in cash-settled Options)
occurring on U.S. futures exchanges,
which are members of the ISG. The
intraday, closing prices, and settlement
prices of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts
will be readily available from the
applicable futures exchange websites,
automated quotation systems, published
or other public sources, or major market
data vendors website or on-line
information services.
Complete real-time data for the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts and Options
on Bitcoin Futures will be available by
subscription from on-line information
services. CME and CBOE will provide
delayed futures information on current
and past trading sessions and market
news free of charge on their websites.
The specific contract specifications for
Bitcoin Futures Contracts would also be
available on such websites, as well as
other financial informational sources.
Information regarding options will be
available from the applicable exchanges
or major market data vendors. Quotation
and last-sale information regarding the
Shares will be disseminated through the
facilities of the CTA. The Funds’
website will also include a form of the
prospectus for the Funds that may be
downloaded. The website will include
the Shares’ ticker and CUSIP
information, along with additional
quantitative information updated on a
daily basis for each Fund. The Funds’
website will include (1) the prior
business day’s reported NAV and
closing price, and a calculation of the
premium and discount of the closing
price or mid-point of the Bid/Ask Price
against the NAV; and (2) data in chart
format displaying the frequency
distribution of discounts and premiums
of the daily closing price or Bid/Ask
Price against the NAV, within
appropriate ranges, for at least each of
the four previous calendar quarters. The
website disclosure of portfolio holdings
will be made daily and will include, as
applicable, (i) the name, quantity, value,
expiration and strike price of Bitcoin
Futures Contracts and Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, (ii) the value of Bitcoin
Financial Instruments, and (iii) the
aggregate net value of the Money Market
Investments held in each Fund’s
portfolio, if applicable. The Funds’
website will be publicly available prior
to the public offering of Shares and
accessible at no charge.
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In addition, the CFTC has noted that
the U.S. futures exchanges that will
trade bitcoin futures have agreed to
significant enhancements to protect
customers and maintain orderly
markets, and announced its expectation
that futures exchanges that list and trade
bitcoin futures contracts will, through
information sharing agreements,
monitor the trading activity on the
relevant cash platforms for potential
impacts on the price discovery process
for bitcoin futures contracts, including
potential market manipulation and
market dislocations due to flash rallies
and crashes and trading outages.
Moreover, prior to the commencement
of trading, the Exchange will inform its
Equity Trading Permit Holders in an
Information Bulletin of the special
characteristics and risks associated with
trading the Shares and of the suitability
requirements of NYSE Arca Rule 9.2–
E(a). The Information Bulletin will
advise ETP Holders, prior to the
commencement of trading, of the
prospectus delivery requirements
applicable to a Fund. The Information
Bulletin will also discuss any
exemptive, no-action, and interpretive
relief granted by the Commission from
any rules under the Act. In addition, the
Information Bulletin will reference that
a Fund is subject to various fees and
expenses described in the Registration
Statement. The Information Bulletin
will also reference that the CFTC has
regulatory jurisdiction over the trading
of Bitcoin Futures Contracts traded on
U.S. markets. The Information Bulletin
will also disclose the trading hours of
the Shares and that the NAV for the
Shares will be calculated after 11:00
a.m. E.T. each trading day. The
Information Bulletin will disclose that
information about the Shares will be
publicly available on the Funds’
website.
Trading in Shares of a Fund will be
halted if the circuit breaker parameters
in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E have been
reached or because of market conditions
or for reasons that, in the view of the
Exchange, make trading in the Shares
inadvisable.
The proposed rule change is designed
to perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest in that
it will facilitate the listing and trading
of a new type of Trust Issued Receipt
based on the price of Bitcoin Futures
Contracts that will enhance competition
among market participants, to the
benefit of investors and the marketplace.
As noted above, the Exchange has in
place surveillance procedures that are
adequate to properly monitor trading in
the Shares in all trading sessions and to
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20:25 Jan 23, 2018
Jkt 244001
deter and detect violations of Exchange
rules and applicable federal securities
laws.
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 that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purpose of the Act. The Exchange
notes that the proposed rule change will
facilitate the listing and trading of a new
type of Trust Issued Receipt based on
the price of Bitcoin Futures Contracts
and that will enhance competition
among market participants, to the
benefit of investors and the marketplace.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period
up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may
designate if it finds such longer period
to be appropriate and publishes its
reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which
the self-regulatory organization
consents, the Commission will:
A. By order approve or disapprove the
proposed rule change, or
B. institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
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–2018–02 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–2018–02. This
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing will also 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–NYSEArca–2018–02 and
should be submitted on or before
February 14, 2018.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.21
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–01209 Filed 1–23–18; 8:45 am]
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:
PO 00000
3387
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 10284]
E.O. 13224 Designation of Khalid
Batarfi, aka Khaled Batarfi, aka Khaled
Saeed Batarfi, aka Abu Miqdad, aka
Abu al-Miqdad al-Kindi, aka Khalid bin
Umar Batarfi, aka Khalid Saeed Batarfi,
as a Specially Designated Global
Terrorist
Acting under the authority of and in
accordance with section 1(b) of
Executive Order 13224 of September 23,
2001, as amended by Executive Order
13268 of July 2, 2002, and Executive
Order 13284 of January 23, 2003, I
hereby determine that the person known
21 17
E:\FR\FM\24JAN1.SGM
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
24JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3380-3387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01209]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-82532; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2018-02]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Listing and Trading of the Direxion
Daily Bitcoin Bear 1X Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.25X Bull Shares,
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull
Shares and Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bear Shares Under NYSE Arca Rule
8.200-E
January 18, 2018.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (the ``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby
given that, on January 4, 2018, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or
``NYSE Arca'') 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 self-regulatory
organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and trade the shares of the following
under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E, Commentary .02 (``Trust Issued
Receipts''): Direxion Daily Bitcoin Bear 1X Shares, Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 1.25X Bull Shares, Direxion Daily Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares,
Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares and Direxion Daily Bitcoin 2X
Bear Shares. The proposed change is available on the Exchange's website
at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
[[Page 3381]]
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 self-regulatory organization
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 those 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 parts of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares (``Shares'') of the
following under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E, Commentary .02, which governs
the listing and trading of Trust Issued Receipts: The Direxion Daily
Bitcoin Bear 1X Shares (the ``1X Bear Fund''), the Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 1.25X Bull Shares (the ``1.25X Bull Fund''), the Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 1.5X Bull Shares (the ``1.5X Bull Fund''), the Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 2X Bull Shares (the ``2X Bull Fund'') and the Direxion Daily
Bitcoin 2X Bear Shares (the ``2X Bear Shares'') (each a ``Fund'' and,
collectively, the ``Funds'').\4\
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\4\ Commentary .02 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E applies to Trust
Issued Receipts that invest in ``Financial Instruments.'' The term
``Financial Instruments,'' as defined in Commentary .02(b)(4) to
NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E, means any combination of investments,
including cash; securities; options on securities and indices;
futures contracts; options on futures contracts; forward contracts;
equity caps, collars, and floors; and swap agreements.
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Each Fund is a series of the Direxion Shares ETF Trust II (the
``Trust''), a Delaware statutory trust.\5\ The Trust and the Funds are
managed and controlled by Direxion Asset Management, LLC (the
``Sponsor''). The Sponsor is registered as a commodity pool operator
(``CPO'') with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'') and
is a member of the National Futures Association (``NFA'').
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\5\ The Trust is registered under the Securities Act of 1933. On
December 15, 2017, the Trust submitted to the Securities and
Exchange Commission (``Commission'') its draft registration
statement on Form S-1 (the ``Registration Statement'') under the
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) (``Securities Act''). The
Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, enacted on April 5, 2012, added
Section 6(e) to the Securities Act. Section 6(e) of the Securities
Act provides that an ``emerging growth company'' may confidentially
submit to the Commission a draft registration statement for
confidential, non-public review by the Commission staff prior to
public filing, provided that the initial confidential submission and
all amendments thereto shall be publicly filed not later than 21
days before the date on which the issuer conducts a road show, as
such term is defined in Securities Act Rule 433(h)(4). An emerging
growth company is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act
as an issuer with less than $1,000,000,000 total annual gross
revenues during its most recently completed fiscal year. The Trust
meets the definition of an emerging growth company and consequently
has submitted its Form S-1 Registration Statement on a confidential
basis with the Commission. The description of the operation of the
Trust and the Funds herein is based, in part, on the Registration
Statement.
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In its capacity as the Custodian for the Funds, Bank of New York
Mellon (``BNYM'' or the ``Custodian'') may hold the Funds' investment
assets and cash and cash equivalents pursuant to a custodian agreement.
The Custodian is also the transfer agent for the Funds. In addition, in
its capacity as Administrator for the Funds, U.S. Bancorp Fund
Services, LLC (the ``Administrator'') prepares and files certain
regulatory filings on behalf of the Funds.
Foreside Fund Services, LLC serves as the distributor of the Shares
(the ``Distributor'').
Investment Objectives of the Funds
According to the Registration Statement, the Funds will offer
investors the opportunity to obtain daily short, leveraged long or
leveraged short exposure to the lead month bitcoin futures contract
traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (``CME'') or on Cboe Global
Markets, Inc. (``CBOE'') or on any other U.S. exchange that
subsequently trades bitcoin futures contracts (the ``Bitcoin Futures
Contract''), the target benchmark before fees and expenses.\6\ The
target benchmark's value will be calculated as the last sale price
published by the CME or the CBOE,\7\ or any other U.S. exchange that
subsequently trades bitcoin futures contracts on or before 11:00 a.m.
E.T. (the ``Daily Last Sale Value'') for the Bitcoin Futures Contract
and may reflect trades occurring and published by the CME and/or CBOE
or another U.S. exchange that subsequently trades bitcoin futures
contracts outside the normal trading session for the Bitcoin Futures
Contract.\8\
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\6\ A futures contract is a standardized contract traded on, and
subject to the rules of, an exchange that calls for the future
delivery of a specified quantity and type of a commodity at a
specified time and place. Bitcoin Futures Contracts will be cash-
settled. The ``lead month'' contract is the monthly contract with
the earliest expiration date.
\7\ The CME and CBOE are registered with the CFTC and seek to
provide a neutral, regulated marketplace for the trading of
derivatives contracts for commodities, such as futures, options and
certain swaps. Both the CME and CBOE are members of the Intermarket
Surveillance Group (``ISG''). See ftnt. 19, infra. The CME announced
that its bitcoin futures contracts were scheduled to begin trading
on December 18, 2017, and began trading on that date. See ``CME
Group Self-Certifies Bitcoin Futures to Launch Dec. 18,'' December
1, 2017, available at https://www.cmegroup.com/media-room/press-releases/2017/12/01/cme_group_self-certifiesbitcoinfuturestolaunchdec18.html. CBOE announced that the
bitcoin futures contracts on its subsidiary Cboe Futures Exchange
are scheduled to begin trading on December 10, 2017, and began
trading on that date. See ``Cboe Plans December 10 Launch of Bitcoin
Futures Trading,'' December 4, 2017, available at https://ir.cboe.com/press-releases/2017/12-04-2017. See also ``CFTC
Statement on Self-Certification of Bitcoin Products by CME, CFE and
Cantor Exchange,'' dated December 1, 2017 (``CFTC Release''),
available at https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/pr7654-17.
\8\ Though this time may vary due to differences in when
daylight savings time is effective between London and New York,
11:00 a.m. E.T. will govern.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Fund will seek daily correlation to the target benchmark and
should not be expected to track the performance of the target benchmark
for any period longer than one business day. Additionally, while each
Fund will seek daily correlation to the target benchmark, it should not
be expected to track dollar for dollar the spot price of bitcoin
because the Fund will invest in Bitcoin Futures Contracts rather than
directly in bitcoin, and the spot price movements of bitcoin may not
correspond directly to price movements of the Bitcoin Futures
Contracts. In this regard, the Funds expect the notional value of the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts held by a Fund to equal the target exposure
for such Fund (i.e., 125%, 150%, etc.).
Each Fund will seek to engage in daily rebalancing to position its
portfolio so that its exposure to the target benchmark is consistent
with its daily investment objective. The impact of the target
benchmark's movements during the day will affect whether a Fund's
portfolio needs to be repositioned.\9\
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\9\ Daily rebalancing and the compounding of each day's return
over time means that the return of each Fund for a period longer
than a single trading day will be the result of each day's returns
compounded over the period, which will very likely differ from
either the multiple, inverse multiple or inverse, as applicable, of
the return of the target benchmark for the Funds for the same
period.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As described below, under normal market conditions, each Fund
intends to obtain exposure to its target benchmark by investing in the
Bitcoin Futures Contract traded in the U.S., swaps on the Bitcoin
Futures Contract or listed options on bitcoin or Bitcoin Futures
Contracts (together,''Bitcoin Financial Instruments'').\10\ The Funds'
[[Page 3382]]
investments in Bitcoin Financial Instruments are used to produce
economically ``leveraged'' or ``inverse leveraged'' investment results
for the Funds. Any remaining assets will be invested in cash or cash
equivalents.
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\10\ The term ``normal market conditions'' includes, but is not
limited to, the absence of trading halts in the applicable financial
markets generally; operational issues (e.g., systems failure)
causing dissemination of inaccurate market information; or force
majeure type events such as natural or manmade disaster, act of God,
armed conflict, act of terrorism, riot or labor disruption or any
similar intervening circumstance.
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Investment Objectives of the Leveraged Bull Funds
According to the Registration Statement, the 1.25X Bull Fund, 1.5X
Bull Fund and 2X Bull Fund (each a ``Bull Fund'' and collectively, the
``Bull Funds'') seeks daily leveraged investment results (before fees
and expenses) that correlate positively to either 125%, 150% or 200%
the daily return of the target benchmark. The Bull Funds do not seek to
achieve their investment objective over a period greater than a single
trading day.\11\ If a Bull Fund is successful in meeting its objective,
its value on a given day (before fees and expenses) should gain
approximately 1.25 times, 1.5 times or 2 times, as applicable, as much
on a percentage basis as the level of its target benchmark when the
target benchmark rises. Conversely, its value on a given day (before
fees and expenses) should lose approximately 1.25 times, 1.5 times or 2
times, as applicable, as much on a percentage basis as the level of the
target benchmark when the benchmark declines. Each Bull Fund acquires
long exposure through any one of, or combinations of, Bitcoin Financial
Instruments, including Bitcoin Financial Instruments with respect to
the target benchmark, such that each Bull Fund has exposure intended to
approximate either 125%, 150% or 200%, as applicable, of the target
benchmark at the time of its NAV calculation.
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\11\ A ``single trading day'' is measured from the time a Fund
calculates its Net Asset Value (``NAV'') to the time of a Fund's
next NAV calculation. See also, Net Asset Value, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Objective of the 2X Bear Fund
The 2X Bear Fund seeks daily leveraged inverse investment results
(before fees and expenses) that correlate to two times the inverse (-
200%) of the daily return of the target benchmark. The 2X Bear Fund
does not seek to achieve its investment objective over a period greater
than a single trading day. If the 2X Bear Fund is successful in meeting
its investment objective, its value on a given day (before fees and
expenses) should gain approximately two times as much on a percentage
basis as the level of the target benchmark when the target benchmark
declines. Conversely, its value on a given day (before fees and
expenses) should lose approximately two times as much on a percentage
basis as the level of the target benchmark when the target benchmark
rises. The 2X Bear Fund acquires short exposure through any one, or
combinations of, Bitcoin Financial Instruments, including Bitcoin
Financial Instruments with respect to the target benchmark, such that
the 2X Bull Fund has exposure intended to approximate two times the
inverse (-200%) of its target benchmark at the time of its NAV
calculation.
Investment Objective of the 1X Bear Fund
The 1X Bear Fund seeks daily investment results (before fees and
expenses) that correlate to the inverse (-100%) of the daily return of
the target benchmark. The 1X Bear Fund does not seek to achieve its
investment objective over a period greater than a single trading day.
If the 1X Bear Fund is successful in meeting its investment objective,
its value on a given day (before fees and expenses) should gain
approximately as much on a percentage basis as the level of the target
benchmark when the target benchmark declines. Conversely, its value on
a given day (before fees and expenses) should lose approximately as
much on a percentage basis as the level of its target benchmark when
the target benchmark rises. The 1X Bear Fund acquires short exposure
through any one of, or combinations of, Bitcoin Financial Instruments,
including Bitcoin Financial Instruments with respect to the target
benchmark, such that the 1X Bull Fund has exposure intended to
approximately equal the inverse (-100%) of its target benchmark at the
time of its NAV calculation.
Principal Investment Strategies
According to the Registration Statement, in seeking to achieve each
Fund's daily investment objective, the Sponsor will use statistical and
quantitative analysis to determine the investments each Fund makes and
the techniques it employs. Using this approach, the Sponsor determines
the type, quantity and mix of investment positions that the Sponsor
believes in combination should produce daily returns consistent with a
Fund's investment objective. The Sponsor relies upon a pre-determined
model to generate orders that result in repositioning each Fund's
investments in accordance with its daily investment objective. As a
consequence, if a Fund is performing as designed, the return of the
target benchmark will dictate the return for that Fund. Each Fund
pursues its investment objective regardless of the market conditions
and does not take defensive positions.
Each Fund, under normal market conditions, will seek to achieve its
daily investment objective by investing in Bitcoin Financial
Instruments. A Fund may invest in listed options on bitcoin and Bitcoin
Futures Contracts and swaps on Bitcoin Futures Contracts in a manner
consistent with its investment objective in situations where the
Sponsor believes that investing in such financial instruments is in the
best interests of a Fund. In addition, a Fund may invest in swap
contracts referencing Bitcoin Futures Contracts if the market for a
specific bitcoin futures contract experiences emergencies or if
position price or accountability limits (if any) are reached with
respect to any Bitcoin Futures Contracts. At the close of the U.S.
equity markets each trading day, each Fund will position its portfolio
to ensure that the Fund's exposure to the target benchmark is
consistent with the Fund's investment objective. The impact of market
movements during the day will determine whether a portfolio needs to be
repositioned.
According to the Registration Statement, with futures contracts,
there is minimal but some counterparty risk to the Funds since futures
contracts are exchange traded and the exchange's clearinghouse, as
counterparty to all exchange-traded futures contracts, effectively
guarantees futures contracts against default. Many futures exchanges
and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in
futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily
limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made
that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended for
specified times during the trading day.
According to the Registration Statement, with respect to the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts, as the futures contracts held by the Funds
near expiration, the Funds do not intend to hold futures contracts
through expiration, but instead to ``roll'' their respective positions.
When the market for these contracts is such that the prices are higher
in the more distant delivery months than in the nearer delivery months,
the sale during the course of the ``rolling process'' of the more
nearby contract would take place at a price that is lower than the
price of the more distant contract. This pattern of higher futures
prices for longer expiration futures contracts is often referred to as
``contango.'' Alternatively,
[[Page 3383]]
when the market for these contracts is such that the prices are higher
in the nearer months than in the more distant months, the sale during
the course of the ``rolling process'' of the more nearby contract would
take place at a price that is higher than the price of the more distant
contract. This pattern of higher futures prices for shorter expiration
futures contracts is referred to as ``backwardation.'' The presence of
contango in certain futures contracts at the time of rolling would be
expected to adversely affect the Funds with long positions, and
positively affect the Funds with short positions. Similarly, the
presence of backwardation in certain futures contracts at the time of
rolling such contracts would be expected to adversely affect the Funds
with short positions and positively affect the Funds with long
positions.
To reduce the credit risk that arises in connection with swaps, a
Fund will generally enter into an agreement with each counterparty
based on the Master Agreement published by the International Swaps and
Derivatives Association, Inc.\12\
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\12\ The Sponsor on behalf of the corresponding Fund intends to
enter into OTC swaps only with counterparties who are, or are
affiliates of, (a) banks regulated by a federal bank regulator, (b)
broker-dealers regulated by the Commission, (c) insurance companies
domiciled in the U.S., and (d) producers, users or traders of an
underlying commodity or currency, whether or not regulated by the
CFTC. Any entity acting as a counterparty must also be regulated in
either the U.S. or the U.K. unless otherwise approved by the
Sponsor. A Fund will also require that the counterparty be highly
rated and/or provide collateral or other credit support. The Sponsor
also assesses or reviews, as appropriate, the creditworthiness of
each potential or existing counterparty pursuant to established
guidelines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets of each Fund not invested in the Bitcoin Financial
Instruments will be held in cash or invested in cash equivalents such
as U.S. Treasury Securities or other high credit quality short- term
fixed-income or similar securities (including shares of money market
funds, bank deposits, bank money market accounts, certain variable
rate-demand notes and repurchase agreements collateralized by
government securities) (collectively ''Money Market Investments'') that
serve as collateral for, or pending investments in, the Funds'
investments.
In the future, the Funds will disclose certain information relating
to margin levels held at the FCM based on how each Fund will be
managed. While the portfolio composition may vary over time, it is not
expected that any Fund will ever have futures exposure greater than
300% of Fund assets. Thus the maximum margin held at an FCM would not
exceed three times the margin requirement.
Overview of Bitcoin
According to the Registration Statement, Bitcoin is a digital asset
that is not issued by any government, bank or organization. Bitcoin is
a digital asset based on the decentralized, open source protocol of the
peer-to-peer bitcoin computer network (the ``Bitcoin Network''). No
single entity owns or operates the Bitcoin Network; the infrastructure
is collectively maintained by a decentralized user base. The Bitcoin
Network is accessed through software, and software governs bitcoin's
creation, movement, and ownership. The value of bitcoin is determined
by the supply and demand for bitcoin on websites that facilitate the
transfer of bitcoin in exchange for government-issued currencies
(``Bitcoin Exchanges''), and in private end-user-to-end-user
transactions.
Bitcoin transactions and ownership records are reflected on the
``Blockchain'', which is a digital public record or ledger. Copies of
this ledger are stored in a decentralized manner on the computers of
each Bitcoin Network user. Transaction date is permanently recorded in
files called ``blocks,'' which reflect transactions that have been
recorded and authenticated by Bitcoin Network participants. The Bitcoin
Network software source codes includes protocols that govern the
creation of bitcoin and the cryptographic system that secures and
verifies Bitcoin transactions.
Overview of Bitcoin Futures Contracts
According to the Registration Statement, unlike the futures markets
for traditional physical commodities, the market for exchange-traded
bitcoin futures contract has limited trading history and operational
experience and may be riskier, less liquid, more volatile and more
vulnerable to economic, market and industry changes than more
established futures markets. The liquidity of the market will depend
on, among other things, the adoption of bitcoin and the commercial and
speculative interest in the market for the ability to hedge against the
price of bitcoin with exchange-traded bitcoin futures contracts.
The CFTC has noted that the U.S. futures exchanges that will trade
bitcoin futures have agreed to significant enhancements to protect
customers and maintain orderly markets, and announced its expectation
that futures exchanges that list and trade bitcoin futures contracts
will, through information sharing agreements, monitor the trading
activity on the relevant cash platforms for potential impacts on the
price discovery process for bitcoin futures contracts, including
potential market manipulation and market dislocations due to flash
rallies and crashes and trading outages.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See CFTC Release, supra, ftnt. 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Asset Value
According to the Registration Statement, the NAV per Share of each
Fund is computed by dividing the value of the net assets of such Fund
(i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by its
total number of Shares outstanding. Expenses and fees are accrued daily
and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. Each Fund's NAV
is calculated on each business day that the New York Stock Exchange LLC
(``NYSE'') is open. The Funds compute their NAVs as of 11:00 a.m. E.T.,
or such earlier time that the NYSE may close.
In calculating the NAV of a Fund, the settlement value of a Fund's
non-exchange traded Bitcoin Financial Instruments is determined by
applying the then-current prices for the target benchmark to the terms
of such Fund's non-exchange traded Bitcoin Financial Instruments.
However, in the event that an underlying Bitcoin Futures Contract is
not trading due to the operation of daily limits or otherwise, the
Sponsor may in its sole discretion choose to fair value the Reference
Asset in order to value a Fund's non-exchange traded Bitcoin Financial
Instruments for purposes of the NAV calculation.\14\ Such fair value
prices would generally be determined based on available inputs about
the current value of the underlying Reference Assets and would be based
on principles that the Sponsor deems fair and equitable so long as such
principles are consistent with normal industry standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ The value of a futures contract is derived from the value
of an underlying asset, rate or benchmark (such asset, rate or
benchmark, a ``Reference Asset'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All open futures contracts traded on an exchange are calculated at
their then current market value, which is based upon the settlement or
the last traded price before the NAV calculation time, for that
particular futures contract traded on the applicable exchange on the
date with respect to which NAV is being determined; provided, that if a
futures contract traded on an exchange could not be liquidated on such
day, due to the operation of daily limits or other rules of the
exchange upon which that position is traded or otherwise, the Sponsor
may in its sole discretion choose to determine a fair value price as
[[Page 3384]]
the basis for determining the market value of such position for such
day.
Money Market Investments will be valued on the basis of broker
quotes, valuations provided by a third party pricing service or at
amortized cost.
Indicative Fund Value
In order to provide updated information relating to the Funds for
use by investors and market professionals, the Exchange will calculate
an updated ``Indicative Fund Value'' (``IFV''). The IFV will be
calculated by using the prior day's closing net assets of a Fund as a
base and updating throughout the Exchange's Core Trading Session of
9:30 a.m. E.T. to 4:00 p.m. E.T. changes in the value of the Bitcoin
Financial Instruments held by a Fund based on the most recently
available prices for the Fund's investments.
The IFV will be disseminated on a per Share basis every 15 seconds
during the Exchange's Core Trading Session and be widely disseminated
by one or more major market data vendors during the NYSE Arca Core
Trading Session.\15\ In addition, circumstances may arise in which the
NYSE Arca Core Trading Session is in progress, but trading in the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts is not occurring. Such circumstances may
result from reasons including, but not limited to, a futures exchange
having a separate holiday schedule than the NYSE Arca, a futures
exchange closing prior to the close of the NYSE Arca, price fluctuation
limits being reached in a Bitcoin Futures Contract, or a futures
exchange, imposing any other suspension or limitation on trading in a
Bitcoin Futures Contract. In such instances, for IFV calculation
purposes, the price of the applicable Bitcoin Futures Contracts, as
well as Bitcoin Financial Instruments whose price is derived from the
Bitcoin Futures Contracts, would be static or priced by a Fund at the
applicable early cut-off time of the exchange trading the applicable
Bitcoin Futures Contract.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Several major market data vendors display and/or make
widely available IFVs taken from the CTA or other data feeds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Creation and Redemption of Shares
According to the Registration Statement, each Fund will create and
redeem Shares in one or more Creation Units. A Creation Unit is a block
of 50,000 Shares of a Fund.
A creation transaction, which is subject to acceptance by the
Distributor, generally takes place when an Authorized Participant
deposits a specified amount of cash in exchange for a specified number
of Creation Units. Similarly, Shares can be redeemed only in Creation
Units, generally for cash.
Only ``Authorized Participants'' may purchase and redeem Shares
from a Fund and then only in Creation Units. An Authorized Participant
is an entity that has entered into an ``Authorized Participant
Agreement'' with the Trust and the Sponsor.
Creation Procedures
On any Business Day, an Authorized Participant may place an order
with the Distributor to create one or more Creation Units. For purposes
of processing both purchase and redemption orders, a ``Business Day''
means any day on which the NAV of a Fund is calculated. Purchase orders
must be placed by 11 a.m. E.T. or earlier if the NYSE Arca closes
before the cut-off time.
Redemption Procedures
According to the Registration Statement, the procedures by which an
Authorized Participant can redeem one or more Creation Units mirror the
procedures for the creation of Creation Units. On any Business Day, an
Authorized Participant may place an order with the Distributor to
redeem one or more Creation Units.
By placing a redemption order, an Authorized Participant agrees to
deliver the Creation Units to be redeemed through DTC's book-entry
system to the applicable Fund not later than noon (Eastern Time), on
the first Business Day immediately following the redemption order date
(T+1). The Sponsor reserves the right to extend the deadline for the
Fund to receive the Creation Units required for settlement up to the
second Business Day following the redemption order date (T+2).
Availability of Information
The NAV for the Funds' Shares will be disseminated daily to all
market participants at the same time. The intraday, closing prices, and
settlement prices of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts will be readily
available from the applicable futures exchange websites, automated
quotation systems, published or other public sources, or major market
data vendors. The value of the Bitcoin Futures Contract will be
disseminated by one or more major market data vendors on at least a 15-
second delayed basis during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session of 9:30
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. E.T.
Complete real-time data for the Bitcoin Futures Contracts and
Options on Bitcoin Futures will be available by subscription through
on-line information services. CME and CBOE will provide delayed futures
and options on futures (once available) information on current and past
trading sessions and market news free of charge on their respective
websites. The specific contract specifications for Bitcoin Futures
Contracts would also be available on such websites, as well as other
financial informational sources. Quotation and last-sale information
regarding the Shares will be disseminated through the facilities of the
Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA''). Quotation information for
Money Market Investments and OTC swaps agreements may be obtained from
brokers and dealers who make markets in such instruments. Quotation
information for exchange-traded swaps will be available from the
applicable exchange and major market vendors. The IFV will be available
through on-line information services.
In addition, the Funds' website, www.direxioninvestments.com, will
display the applicable end of day closing NAV. The daily holdings of
each Fund will be available on the Funds' website before 9:30 a.m. E.T.
Each Fund's total portfolio composition will be disclosed each Business
Day that NYSE Arca is open for trading, on the Funds' website. The
Funds' website will also include a form of the prospectus for the Funds
that may be downloaded. The website will include the Shares' ticker and
CUSIP information, along with additional quantitative information
updated on a daily basis for each Fund. The Funds' website will include
(1) the prior business day's reported NAV and closing price, and a
calculation of the premium and discount of the closing price or mid-
point of the bid/ask spread at the time of NAV calculation (``Bid/Ask
Price'') against the NAV; and (2) data in chart format displaying the
frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily closing
price or Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for
at least each of the four previous calendar quarters. The website
disclosure of portfolio holdings will be made daily and will include,
as applicable, (i) the name, quantity, value, expiration and strike
price of Bitcoin Futures Contracts and Bitcoin Financial Instruments,
(ii) the value of Bitcoin Financial Instruments, and (iii) the
aggregate net value of the Money Market Investments held in each Fund's
portfolio, if applicable. The Funds' website will be publicly available
prior to the public offering of Shares and accessible at no charge.
The spot price of bitcoin also is available on a 24-hour basis from
major market data vendors.
[[Page 3385]]
Trading Halts
With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all
relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend
trading in the Shares of a Fund.\16\ Trading in Shares of a Fund will
be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E
have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the Shares inadvisable.
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\16\ See NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E.
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The Exchange may halt trading during the day in which an
interruption to the dissemination of the IFV or the value of the
Bitcoin Futures Contract occurs. If the interruption to the
dissemination of the IFV or the value of the Bitcoin Futures Contract
persists past the trading day in which it occurred, the Exchange will
halt trading no later than the beginning of the trading day following
the interruption. In addition, if the Exchange becomes aware that the
NAV with respect to the Shares is not disseminated to all market
participants at the same time, it will halt trading in the Shares until
such time as the NAV is available to all market participants.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus
rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing
rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on
the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. E.T. in accordance with
NYSE Arca Rule 7.34-E (Early, Core, and Late Trading Sessions). The
Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares
during all trading sessions. As provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6-E, the
minimum price variation (``MPV'') for quoting and entry of orders in
equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01, with
the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00 for which
the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing
criteria under NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E. The trading of the Shares will
be subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E, Commentary .02(e), which sets
forth certain restrictions on Equity Trading Permit (``ETP'') Holders
acting as registered Market Makers in Trust Issued Receipts to
facilitate surveillance. The Exchange represents that, for initial and
continued listing, each Fund will be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 \17\
under the Act, as provided by NYSE Arca Rule 5.3-E. A minimum of
100,000 Shares of each Fund will be outstanding at the commencement of
trading on the Exchange.
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\17\ 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
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Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares of each Fund
will be subject to the existing trading surveillances administered by
the Exchange, as well as cross-market surveillances administered by
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (``FINRA'') on behalf of
the Exchange, which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules
and applicable federal securities laws.\18\ The Exchange represents
that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading
of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules and federal securities laws applicable to
trading on the Exchange.
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\18\ FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on behalf of the
Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement. The Exchange
is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory
services agreement.
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The surveillances referred to above generally focus on detecting
securities trading outside their normal patterns, which could be
indicative of manipulative or other violative activity. When such
situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares and certain
Bitcoin Futures Contracts with other markets and other entities that
are members of the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading in
the Shares and certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts from such markets and
other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares and certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts
from markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which
the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement (``CSSA'').\19\ The Exchange is also able to obtain
information regarding trading in the Shares, futures, the commodity
underlying futures or options on futures through ETP Holders, in
connection with such ETP Holders' proprietary or customer trades which
they effect through ETP Holders on any relevant market. The Exchange
can obtain market surveillance information, including customer identity
information, with respect to transactions (including transactions in
cash-settled Options) occurring on US futures exchanges, which are
members of the ISG.
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\19\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of a
Fund may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a CSSA.
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In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.
All statements and representations made in this filing regarding
(a) the description of the portfolios of the Funds or the target
benchmark, (b) limitations on portfolio holdings, reference assets or
the target benchmark, or (c) the applicability of Exchange listing
rules specified in this rule filing shall constitute continued listing
requirements for listing the Shares on the Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Funds to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section
19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will monitor for compliance with the
continued listing requirements. If a Fund is not in compliance with the
applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting
procedures under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin of the special characteristics
and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the
Information Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The risks involved
in trading the Shares during the Early and Late Trading Sessions when
an updated IFV will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (2) the
procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Units
(and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (3) NYSE Arca Rule
9.2-E(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to
learn the essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading
the Shares; (4) how information regarding the IFV is disseminated; (5)
how information regarding portfolio holdings is disseminated; (6) that
a static IFV will be disseminated, between the close of trading on the
CME and CBOE and the close of the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session; (7)
the requirement that ETP Holders deliver a prospectus to investors
purchasing newly issued Shares prior to or concurrently with the
[[Page 3386]]
confirmation of a transaction; and (8) trading information.
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
ETP Holders of the suitability requirements of NYSE Arca Rule 9.2-E(a)
in an Information Bulletin. Specifically, ETP Holders will be reminded
in the Information Bulletin that, in recommending transactions in the
Shares, they must have a reasonable basis to believe that (1) the
recommendation is suitable for a customer given reasonable inquiry
concerning the customer's investment objectives, financial situation,
needs, and any other information known by such ETP Holder, and (2) the
customer can evaluate the special characteristics, and is able to bear
the financial risks, of an investment in the Shares. In connection with
the suitability obligation, the Information Bulletin will also provide
that ETP Holders must make reasonable efforts to obtain the following
information: (1) The customer's financial status; (2) the customer's
tax status; (3) the customer's investment objectives; and (4) such
other information used or considered to be reasonable by such ETP
Holder or registered representative in making recommendations to the
customer.
Further, the Exchange states that FINRA has implemented increased
sales practice and customer margin requirements for FINRA members
applicable to inverse, leveraged and inverse leveraged securities
(which include the Shares) and options on such securities, as described
in FINRA Regulatory Notices 09-31 (June 2009), 09-53 (August 2009), and
09-65 (November 2009) (collectively, ``FINRA Regulatory Notices''). ETP
Holders that carry customer accounts will be required to follow the
FINRA guidance set forth in these notices. As noted above, the Funds
will seek investment results that daily short, leverage long or
leverage short the performance of the target benchmark. Over a period
of time in excess of one day, the cumulative percentage increase or
decrease in the NAV of the Shares of a Fund may diverge significantly
from a multiple or inverse multiple of the cumulative percentage
decrease or increase in the relevant benchmark due to a compounding
effect.
In addition, the Information Bulletin will advise ETP Holders,
prior to the commencement of trading, of the prospectus delivery
requirements applicable to a Fund. The Information Bulletin will also
discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by
the Commission from any rules under the Act. In addition, the
Information Bulletin will reference that a Fund is subject to various
fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. The
Information Bulletin will also reference that the CFTC has regulatory
jurisdiction over the trading of Bitcoin Futures Contracts traded on
U.S. markets.
The Information Bulletin will also disclose the trading hours of
the Shares that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 11:00
a.m. E.T. each trading day. The Information Bulletin will disclose that
information about the Shares will be publicly available on the Funds'
website.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this proposed rule change is the
requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \20\ that an exchange have rules that
are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices,
to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market
and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
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\20\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect
investors and the public interest in that the Shares will be listed and
traded on the Exchange pursuant to the initial and continued listing
criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.200-E.
The Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate
to properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and
to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws. The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or
both, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares, and
certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts with other markets and other entities
that are members of the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading
in the Shares and certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares and certain Bitcoin Futures Contracts
from markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which
the Exchange has in place a CSSA. The Exchange is also able to obtain
information regarding trading in the Shares, the commodity underlying
futures or options on futures through ETP Holders, in connection with
such ETP Holders' proprietary or customer trades which they effect
through ETP Holders on any relevant market.
The Exchange can obtain market surveillance information, including
customer identity information, with respect to transactions (including
transactions in cash-settled Options) occurring on U.S. futures
exchanges, which are members of the ISG. The intraday, closing prices,
and settlement prices of the Bitcoin Futures Contracts will be readily
available from the applicable futures exchange websites, automated
quotation systems, published or other public sources, or major market
data vendors website or on-line information services.
Complete real-time data for the Bitcoin Futures Contracts and
Options on Bitcoin Futures will be available by subscription from on-
line information services. CME and CBOE will provide delayed futures
information on current and past trading sessions and market news free
of charge on their websites. The specific contract specifications for
Bitcoin Futures Contracts would also be available on such websites, as
well as other financial informational sources. Information regarding
options will be available from the applicable exchanges or major market
data vendors. Quotation and last-sale information regarding the Shares
will be disseminated through the facilities of the CTA. The Funds'
website will also include a form of the prospectus for the Funds that
may be downloaded. The website will include the Shares' ticker and
CUSIP information, along with additional quantitative information
updated on a daily basis for each Fund. The Funds' website will include
(1) the prior business day's reported NAV and closing price, and a
calculation of the premium and discount of the closing price or mid-
point of the Bid/Ask Price against the NAV; and (2) data in chart
format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums
of the daily closing price or Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within
appropriate ranges, for at least each of the four previous calendar
quarters. The website disclosure of portfolio holdings will be made
daily and will include, as applicable, (i) the name, quantity, value,
expiration and strike price of Bitcoin Futures Contracts and Bitcoin
Financial Instruments, (ii) the value of Bitcoin Financial Instruments,
and (iii) the aggregate net value of the Money Market Investments held
in each Fund's portfolio, if applicable. The Funds' website will be
publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares and
accessible at no charge.
[[Page 3387]]
In addition, the CFTC has noted that the U.S. futures exchanges
that will trade bitcoin futures have agreed to significant enhancements
to protect customers and maintain orderly markets, and announced its
expectation that futures exchanges that list and trade bitcoin futures
contracts will, through information sharing agreements, monitor the
trading activity on the relevant cash platforms for potential impacts
on the price discovery process for bitcoin futures contracts, including
potential market manipulation and market dislocations due to flash
rallies and crashes and trading outages.
Moreover, prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will
inform its Equity Trading Permit Holders in an Information Bulletin of
the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the
Shares and of the suitability requirements of NYSE Arca Rule 9.2-E(a).
The Information Bulletin will advise ETP Holders, prior to the
commencement of trading, of the prospectus delivery requirements
applicable to a Fund. The Information Bulletin will also discuss any
exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by the Commission
from any rules under the Act. In addition, the Information Bulletin
will reference that a Fund is subject to various fees and expenses
described in the Registration Statement. The Information Bulletin will
also reference that the CFTC has regulatory jurisdiction over the
trading of Bitcoin Futures Contracts traded on U.S. markets. The
Information Bulletin will also disclose the trading hours of the Shares
and that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 11:00 a.m.
E.T. each trading day. The Information Bulletin will disclose that
information about the Shares will be publicly available on the Funds'
website.
Trading in Shares of a Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker
parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E have been reached or because of
market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange,
make trading in the Shares inadvisable.
The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of a
new type of Trust Issued Receipt based on the price of Bitcoin Futures
Contracts that will enhance competition among market participants, to
the benefit of investors and the marketplace. As noted above, the
Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to
properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and to
deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws.
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 that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purpose of the Act. The Exchange notes that the
proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of a new
type of Trust Issued Receipt based on the price of Bitcoin Futures
Contracts and that will enhance competition among market participants,
to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period up to 90 days (i) as the
Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be
appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
A. By order approve or disapprove the proposed rule change, or
B. institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be 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 [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-02 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-2018-02. 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 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing will also 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-NYSEArca-2018-02 and should be submitted
on or before February 14, 2018.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\21\
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\21\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-01209 Filed 1-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P