Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Options 7, Section 9, 21122-21126 [2024-06322]

Download as PDF 21122 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 26, 2024 / Notices protection. All submissions should refer to file number SR–DTC–2024–003 and should be submitted on or before April 16, 2024. II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.20 Sherry R. Haywood, Assistant Secretary. In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. [FR Doc. 2024–06337 Filed 3–25–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–99785; File No. SR–Phlx– 2024–10] Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Options 7, Section 9 March 20, 2024. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on March 7, 2024, Nasdaq PHLX LLC (‘‘Phlx’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend its Rules at Options 7, Section 9, Other Member Fees.3 The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s website at https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/ rulebook/phlx/rules, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 20 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 3 The Exchange initially filed the proposed pricing changes on November 28, 2023 (SR–Phlx– 2023–52) to be effective on December 1, 2023. On December 5, 2023, the Exchange withdrew SR– Phlx–2023–52 and replaced it with SR–Phlx–2023– 56. On January 16, 2023, the Exchange withdrew SR–Phlx–2023–56 and submitted SR–Phlx–2024– 02. On March 7, 2024, the Exchange withdrew SR– Phlx–2024–02 and submitted this filing. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 1 15 VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:10 Mar 25, 2024 Jkt 262001 A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to amend Options 7, Section 9, B, Port Fees, to increase the SQF Port 4 Fee cap. Today, Phlx assesses $1,250 per port, per month up to a maximum of $42,000 per month for an SQF Port that receives inbound quotes at any time within that month.5 Today, member organizations are not assessed an active SQF Port Fee for additional ports acquired for ten business days for the purpose of transitioning technology.6 The Exchange proposes to add the words ‘‘active port’’ in parenthesis at the end of the description of SQF Port Fee to tie the 4 ‘‘Specialized Quote Feed’’ or ‘‘SQF’’ is an interface that allows Lead Market Makers, Streaming Quote Traders (‘‘SQTs’’) and Remote Streaming Quote Traders (‘‘RSQTs’’) to connect, send, and receive messages related to quotes, Immediate-or-Cancel Orders, and auction responses into and from the Exchange. Features include the following: (1) options symbol directory messages (e.g., underlying and complex instruments); (2) system event messages (e.g., start of trading hours messages and start of opening); (3) trading action messages (e.g., halts and resumes); (4) execution messages; (5) quote messages; (6) Immediate-orCancel Order messages; (7) risk protection triggers and purge notifications; (8) opening imbalance messages; (9) auction notifications; and (10) auction responses. The SQF Purge Interface only receives and notifies of purge requests from the Lead Market Maker, SQT or RSQT. Lead Market Makers, SQTs and RSQTs may only enter interest into SQF in their assigned options series. Immediate-or-Cancel Orders entered into SQF are not subject to the Order Price Protection, the Market Order Spread Protection, or Size Limitation in Options 3, Section 15(a)(1), (a)(2) and (b)(2), respectively. See Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B). 5 An active port shall mean that the port was utilized to submit a quote to the System during a given month. See Options 7, Section 9, B. 6 The member organization is required to provide the Exchange with written notification of the transition and all additional ports, provided at no cost, will be removed at the end of the ten business days. See Options 7, Section 9, B. PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 definition of an active port to the description for the port.7 At this time, the Exchange proposes to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee of $42,000 per month to $50,000 per month.8 The Exchange is not amending the $1,250 per port, per month fee. As is the case today, the Exchange would not assess a member organization an SQF Port Fee beyond the monthly cap once the member organization has exceeded the monthly cap for the respective month. Despite increasing the maximum SQF Port Fee from $42,000 per month to $50,000 per month, the Exchange will continue to offer member organizations the opportunity to cap their SQF Port Fees so that they would not be assessed these fees beyond the cap. Pursuant to Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B), Market Makers may only enter interest into SQF in their assigned options series. Pursuant to Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B), the SQF interface allows Market Makers to connect, send, and receive messages related to quotes, Immediate-or-Cancel Orders, and auction responses to the Exchange. A Phlx Market Maker requires only one SQF Port to submit quotes in its assigned options series into Phlx. A Phlx Market Maker requires only one SQF Port to submit quotes in its assigned options series into Phlx. A Phlx Market Maker may submit all quotes through one SQF Port. While a Phlx Market Maker may elect to obtain multiple SQF Ports to organize its business,9 only one SQF Port is necessary for a Phlx Market Maker to fulfill its regulatory quoting obligations.10 2. Statutory Basis The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act,11 in general, and furthers the objectives of Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,12 in particular, in that it 7 The Exchange also proposes a technical amendment to add a comma between ‘‘per port’’ and ‘‘per month’’ for the SQF Port Fee in Options 7, Section 9, B. 8 Currently, 29% of Phlx Market Makers cap their SQF Port Fees. Of those Market Makers, there is a mix of small, medium and large Market Makers. 9 For example, a Phlx Market Maker may desire to utilize multiple SQF Ports for accounting purposes, to measure performance, for regulatory reasons or other determinations that are specific to that member organization. 10 Phlx Market Makers have various regulatory requirements as provided for in Options 2, Section 4. Additionally, Phlx Market Makers have certain quoting requirements with respect to their assigned options series as provided in Options 2, Section 5. SQF Ports are the only quoting protocol available on Phlx and only Market Makers may utilize SQF Ports. 11 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 12 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM 26MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 26, 2024 / Notices provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any facility, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers. The proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee from $42,000 to $50,000 per month is reasonable because despite the increase in the maximum SQF Port Fee, the Exchange will continue to offer member organizations the opportunity to cap their SQF Port Fees so that they would not be assessed SQF Port Fees beyond the cap. Additionally, a Phlx Market Maker requires only one SQF Port to submit quotes in its assigned options series into Phlx. A Phlx Market Maker may submit all quotes through one SQF Port. While a Phlx Market Maker may elect to obtain multiple SQF Ports to organize its business,13 only one SQF Port is necessary for a Phlx Market Maker to fulfill its regulatory quoting obligations.14 Member organizations may choose a greater number of SQF Ports beyond one port, depending on that member organization’s particular business model. Additionally, the Exchange believes that the caps are reasonable for two reasons. First, SQF Ports are a secure method for Market Makers to submit quotes into the Exchange’s match engine and for the Exchange to send messages related to those quotes to Market Makers. Phlx must manage the security and message traffic, among other things, for each port. Utilizing the cap to manage a Market Maker’s costs while also ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 13 For example, a Phlx Market Maker may desire to utilize multiple SQF Ports for accounting purposes, to measure performance, for regulatory reasons or other determinations that are specific to that member organization. 14 Phlx Market Makers have various regulatory requirements as provided for in Options 2, Section 4. Additionally, Phlx Market Makers have certain quoting requirements with respect to their assigned options series as provided in Options 2, Section 5. SQF Ports are the only quoting protocol available on Phlx and only Market Makers may utilize SQF Ports. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:10 Mar 25, 2024 Jkt 262001 managing the quantity of SQF Ports issued on Phlx has led the Exchange to select $50,000 as the amended monthly cap for SQF Ports. By capping the ports at a different level, the Exchange is considering the message traffic and message rates associated with the current number of outstanding ports and its ability to process messages. The ability to have a cap and amend that cap permits the Exchange to scale its needs with respect to processing messages in an efficient manner. The Exchange notes that Cboe Exchange, Inc. (‘‘Cboe’’) limits usage on each port and assesses fees for incremental usage.15 21123 Second, the Exchange notes that multiple ports are not necessary, however, to the extent that some Market Makers elect to obtain multiple ports, the Exchange is offering to cap their total port cost at $50,000 per month. Phlx believes the existence of a cap allows for efficiencies and permits Market Makers to increase their number of ports beyond the cap. The cap levels the playing field by allowing those Market Makers that want to obtain a larger number of ports to do so with the certainty of a fee cap. Without the cap, Phlx Market Makers may pay more to obtain multiple ports on Phlx. BOX Exchange LLC (‘‘BOX’’) assesses $1,000 per month for all SAIL Ports for Market Making and $500 per month per port up to 5 ports for order entry and $150 per month for each additional port.16 Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC’s (‘‘MIAX’’) MIAX Express Interface (‘‘MEI’’) Fee levels are based on a tiered fee structure based on the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month.17 The number of ports that member organizations choose to purchase varies widely. Today, on Phlx, 2 Marker Makers have 1 SQF Port, 5 Market Makers have 2–5 SQF Ports, 4 Market Makers have between 6–10 SQF Ports, and 11 Market Makers have more than 10 SQF Ports. Additionally, today, on Nasdaq GEMX, LLC no Market Makers have 1 SQF Port/SQF Purge Port, 1 Market Maker has 2–5 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, 4 Market Makers have between 6–10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, and 8 Market Makers have more than 10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports. Finally, on Nasdaq MRX LLC (‘‘MRX’’), 2 Marker Makers have 1 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, no Market Makers have 2– 5 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, 2 Market Makers have between 6–10 SQF Ports/ SQF Purge Ports, and 6 Market Makers have more than 10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports. The proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee from $42,000 to $50,000 per month is equitable and not unfairly discriminatory because the Exchange would uniformly not assess any Market Makers that exceeded the maximum SQF Port Fee any SQF Port Fees beyond the maximum amount. Market Makers are the only market participants that are assessed an SQF Port Fee because they are the only market participants that are permitted to quote on the Exchange. SQF Ports are only utilized in the Market Maker’s assigned options series. The following chart represents the classification of Phlx members and the percentage of Market Makers. 15 Each Cboe Binary Order Entry (‘‘BOE’’) or FIX Logical Port incur the logical port fee indicated when used to enter up to 70,000 orders per trading day per logical port as measured on average in a single month. For each incremental usage of up to 70,000 per day per logical port will incur an additional logical port fee of $800 per month. BOE or FIX Logical Ports provide users the ability to enter order/quotes. See Cboe’s Fees Schedule. 16 See BOX’s Fee Schedule. 17 MEI is a connection to MIAX systems that enables Market Makers to submit simple and complex electronic quotes to MIAX. MIAX caps its MEI Ports. For these Monthly MIAX MEI Fees levels, if the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month is less than 0.060% of the total monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed option classes for that month, then the fee will be $14,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. See MIAX’s Fee Schedule. PO 00000 Frm 00184 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM 26MRN1 21124 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 26, 2024 / Notices PHLX M.ember Type Distribution Unlike other market participants, Market Makers are subject to market making and quoting obligations.18 These liquidity providers are critical market participants in that they are the only market participants that provide liquidity to Phlx on a continuous basis. In addition, the Exchange notes that Lead Market Makers are required to submit quotes in the Opening Process to open an options series.19 Market Makers are subject to a number of fees, unlike other market participants. Market Makers pay separate permit fees,20 and Streaming Quote Trader Fees,21 in addition to other fees paid by other market participants. Providing Market Makers a means to cap their cost related to quoting and enabling all Market Makers to acquire SQF Ports at no cost beyond a certain dollar amount enables these market participants to provide the necessary liquidity to Phlx at lower costs. Therefore, because Market Makers fulfill a unique role on the Exchange, are the only market participant required to submit quotes as part of their obligations to operate on the Exchange, and, in light of that role, they are eligible for certain incentives. The proposed SQF Port fee cap is designed to continue to incent Market Makers to quote on Phlx, thereby promoting liquidity, quote competition, and trading opportunities. In 2022, NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’) proposed to restructure fees 18 See Options 2, Sections 4 and 5. Options 3, Section 8. 20 See Options 7, Section 8, A. 21 See Options 7, Section 8, B. 19 See VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:10 Mar 25, 2024 Jkt 262001 relating to OTPs for Market Makers.22 In that rule change,23 NYSE Arca argued that, Market Makers serve a unique and important function on the Exchange (and other options exchanges) given the quotedriven nature of options markets. Because options exchanges rely on actively quoting Market Makers to facilitate a robust marketplace that attracts order flow, options exchanges must attract and retain Market Makers, including by setting competitive Market Maker permit fees. Stated otherwise, changes to Market Maker permit fees can have a direct effect on the ability of an exchange to compete for order flow. The Exchange also believes that the number of options exchanges on which Market Makers can effect option transactions also ensures competition in the marketplace and constrains the ability of exchanges to charge supracompetitive fees for access to its market by Market Makers. Further, NYSE ARCA noted that,24 The Exchange further believes that its ability to set Market Maker permit fees is constrained by competitive forces based on the fact that Market Makers can, and have, chosen to terminate their status as a Market Maker if they deem Market Maker permit fees to be unreasonable or excessive. Specifically, the Exchange notes that a BOX participant modified its access to BOX in connection with the implementation of a proposed change to BOX’s Market Maker permit fees. The Exchange has also observed that another 22 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 95412 (June 23, 2022), 87 FR 38786 (June 29, 2022) (SR– NYSEArca–2022–36). NYSE Arca proposed to increase both the monthly fee per Market Maker OTP and the number of issues covered by each additional OTP because, among other reasons, the number of issues traded on the Exchange has increased significantly in recent years. 23 Id at 38788. 24 Id at 38790. PO 00000 Frm 00185 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 options exchange group experienced decreases in market share following its proposed modifications of its access fees (including Market Maker trading permit fees), suggesting that market participants (including Market Makers) are sensitive to changes in exchanges’ access fees and may respond by shifting their order flow elsewhere if they deem the fees to be unreasonable or excessive. There is no requirement, regulatory or otherwise, that any Market Maker connect to and access any (or all of) the available options exchanges. The Exchange also is not aware of any reason why a Market Maker could not cease being a permit holder in response to unreasonable price increases. The Exchange does not assess any termination fee for a Market Maker to drop its OTP, nor is the Exchange aware of any other costs that would be incurred by a Market Maker to do so. The Exchange likewise believes that its ability to cap SQF Ports fees is constrained by competitive forces and that its proposed modifications to the SQF Port Fee cap is reasonably designed in consideration of the competitive environment in which the Exchange operates, by balancing the value of the enhanced benefits available to Market Makers due to the current level of activity on the Exchange with a fee structure that will continue to incent Market Makers to support increased liquidity, quote competition, and trading opportunities on the Exchange, for the benefit of all market participants. 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 not E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM 26MRN1 EN26MR24.006</GPH> ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Mareh2024 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 26, 2024 / Notices necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. order entry protocols. The Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which market participants can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The chart below shows the February 2024 market share for multiply listed options by exchange. Of the 17 operating Intermarket Competition The proposal does not impose an undue burden on intermarket competition. The Exchange believes its proposal remains competitive with other options markets who also offer 21125 options exchanges, none currently has more than a 17.6% market share. Customers widely distribute their transactions across exchanges according to their business needs and the ability of each exchange to meet those needs through technology, liquidity and functionality. Options Market Share by Exchange: February 2024 17.6% CBOE ARCA 12.5% PHLX 9.3% 7.0% AMEX EDGX 6.6% iSE 6.0% MI/\X 6.0% BOX 5.5% 5.091, NOM BATS c. Ill BOX 5.8% MPRL EMLD Options Exchanges- Parent Company 4.0% 3.5% ; :■ '3.1% GEMX 2.496 MRX 2.4% MEMX 1.4% BXOP-2.0% 31.3% MEMX-1.4% Market share is the percentage of volume on a particular exchange relative to the total volume across all exchanges, and indicates the amount of order flow directed to that exchange. High levels of market share enhance the value of trading and ports. In such an environment, the Exchange must continually adjust its fees to remain competitive with other exchanges. Because competitors are free to modify their own fees in response, and because market participants may readily adjust their order routing practices, the Exchange believes that the degree to which fee changes in this market may impose any burden on competition is extremely limited. Other exchanges amended certain costs attributed to Market Makers.25 In 2022, MRX proposed a monthly cap for SQF Ports and SQF Purge Ports of 17,500.26 MRX noted in its rule change 25 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 95412 (June 23, 2022), 87 FR 38786 (June 29, 2022) (SR– NYSEArca–2022–36). 26 See Securities Exchange Act No. 96824 (February 7, 2023), 88 FR 8975 (February 10, 2023) (SR–MRX–2023–05) (Notice of Filing and VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:10 Mar 25, 2024 Jkt 262001 that, ‘‘Only one SQF quote protocol is required for an MRX Market Maker to submit quotes into MRX and to meet its regulatory requirements.’’ 27 If the Commission were to apply a different standard of review this proposal than it applied to other exchange fee filings, where Market Maker fees were increased and port fee caps were established, it would create a burden on competition such that it would impair Phlx’s ability to compete among other options markets. Additionally, BOX assesses $1,000 per month for all SAIL Ports for Market Making and $500 per month per port up to 5 ports for order entry and $150 per month for each additional port.28 MIAX’s MEI Fee levels are based on a tiered fee structure based on the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month.29 Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend MRX Options 7, Section 6). 27 Id at 8976. 28 See BOX’s Fee Schedule. 29 MEI is a connection to MIAX systems that enables Market Makers to submit simple and complex electronic quotes to MIAX. MIAX caps its MEI Ports. For these Monthly MIAX MEI Fees PO 00000 Frm 00186 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 If the Commission were to apply a different standard of review this proposal than it applied to other exchange fee filings, where Market Maker fees were increased and port fee caps were established, it would create a burden on competition such that it would impair Phlx’s ability to compete among other options markets. Intramarket Competition The Exchange’s proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee from $42,000 to $50,000 per month does not impose an undue burden on competition because the Exchange would uniformly not assess any Market Makers that exceeded the maximum SQF Port Fee any SQF Port Fees beyond the maximum amount. Market Makers are the only market participants that are assessed an SQF Port Fee because they are the only levels, if the Market Maker’s total monthly executed volume during the relevant month is less than 0.060% of the total monthly executed volume reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed option classes for that month, then the fee will be $14,500 instead of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. See MIAX’s Fee Schedule. E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM 26MRN1 EN26MR24.007</GPH> ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 5ourcc,: OCC, Nadsaq Economic R~search 21126 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 26, 2024 / Notices market participants that are permitted to quote on the Exchange. Unlike other market participants, Market Makers are subject to market making and quoting obligations.30 These liquidity providers are critical market participants in that they are the only market participants that provide liquidity to Phlx on a continuous basis. In addition, the Exchange notes that Lead Market Makers are required to submit quotes in the Opening Process to open an options series.31 Market Makers are subject to a number of fees, unlike other market participants. Market Makers pay separate permit fees,32 and Streaming Quote Trader Fees,33 in addition to other fees paid by other market participants. Providing Market Makers a means to cap their cost related to quoting and enabling all Market Makers to acquire SQF Ports at no cost beyond a certain dollar amount enables these market participants to provide the necessary liquidity to Phlx at lower costs. Therefore, because Market Makers fulfill a unique role on the Exchange, are the only market participant required to submit quotes as part of their obligations to operate on the Exchange, and, in light of that role, they are eligible for certain incentives. The proposed SQF Fee cap is designed to continue to incent Market Makers to quote on Phlx, thereby promoting liquidity, quote competition, and trading opportunities. C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others No written comments were either solicited or received. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.34 At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule change if it appears to the Commission that such action is: (i) necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings 30 See Options 2, Sections 4 and 5. Options 3, Section 8. 32 See Options 7, Section 8, A. 33 See Options 7, Section 8, B. 34 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 31 See VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:10 Mar 25, 2024 Jkt 262001 to determine whether the proposed rule should be approved or disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: • 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– Phlx–2024–10 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–Phlx–2024–10. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission’s internet website (https://www.sec.gov/ rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in the Commission’s Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All submissions should refer to file number SR–Phlx–2024–10 and should be submitted on or before April 16, 2024. Frm 00187 Fmt 4703 [FR Doc. 2024–06322 Filed 3–25–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–99798; File No. SR–MRX– 2024–09] Electronic Comments PO 00000 For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.35 Sherry R. Haywood, Assistant Secretary. Sfmt 4703 Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq MRX, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend the Cabinet Proximity Option Fee To Establish a Reservation Fee for Cabinets With Power Densities Greater Than 10 kW March 20, 2024. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on March 13, 2024, Nasdaq MRX, LLC (‘‘MRX’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to amend the Exchange’s Cabinet Proximity Option Fee at General 8, Section 1, as described further below. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s website at https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/ rulebook/mrx/rules, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set 35 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 1 15 E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM 26MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21122-21126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06322]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-99785; File No. SR-Phlx-2024-10]


Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend Options 7, 
Section 9

March 20, 2024.
    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that 
on March 7, 2024, Nasdaq PHLX LLC (``Phlx'' or ``Exchange'') filed with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed 
rule change as described in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items 
have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this 
notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested 
persons.
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
    \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance 
of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to amend its Rules at Options 7, Section 9, 
Other Member Fees.\3\
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    \3\ The Exchange initially filed the proposed pricing changes on 
November 28, 2023 (SR-Phlx-2023-52) to be effective on December 1, 
2023. On December 5, 2023, the Exchange withdrew SR-Phlx-2023-52 and 
replaced it with SR-Phlx-2023-56. On January 16, 2023, the Exchange 
withdrew SR-Phlx-2023-56 and submitted SR-Phlx-2024-02. On March 7, 
2024, the Exchange withdrew SR-Phlx-2024-02 and submitted this 
filing.
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    The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's 
website at https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/phlx/rules, at the 
principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public 
Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements 
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and 
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The 
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in 
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in 
sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such 
statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and 
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose
    The Exchange proposes to amend Options 7, Section 9, B, Port Fees, 
to increase the SQF Port \4\ Fee cap.
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    \4\ ``Specialized Quote Feed'' or ``SQF'' is an interface that 
allows Lead Market Makers, Streaming Quote Traders (``SQTs'') and 
Remote Streaming Quote Traders (``RSQTs'') to connect, send, and 
receive messages related to quotes, Immediate-or-Cancel Orders, and 
auction responses into and from the Exchange. Features include the 
following: (1) options symbol directory messages (e.g., underlying 
and complex instruments); (2) system event messages (e.g., start of 
trading hours messages and start of opening); (3) trading action 
messages (e.g., halts and resumes); (4) execution messages; (5) 
quote messages; (6) Immediate-or-Cancel Order messages; (7) risk 
protection triggers and purge notifications; (8) opening imbalance 
messages; (9) auction notifications; and (10) auction responses. The 
SQF Purge Interface only receives and notifies of purge requests 
from the Lead Market Maker, SQT or RSQT. Lead Market Makers, SQTs 
and RSQTs may only enter interest into SQF in their assigned options 
series. Immediate-or-Cancel Orders entered into SQF are not subject 
to the Order Price Protection, the Market Order Spread Protection, 
or Size Limitation in Options 3, Section 15(a)(1), (a)(2) and 
(b)(2), respectively. See Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B).
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    Today, Phlx assesses $1,250 per port, per month up to a maximum of 
$42,000 per month for an SQF Port that receives inbound quotes at any 
time within that month.\5\ Today, member organizations are not assessed 
an active SQF Port Fee for additional ports acquired for ten business 
days for the purpose of transitioning technology.\6\ The Exchange 
proposes to add the words ``active port'' in parenthesis at the end of 
the description of SQF Port Fee to tie the definition of an active port 
to the description for the port.\7\
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    \5\ An active port shall mean that the port was utilized to 
submit a quote to the System during a given month. See Options 7, 
Section 9, B.
    \6\ The member organization is required to provide the Exchange 
with written notification of the transition and all additional 
ports, provided at no cost, will be removed at the end of the ten 
business days. See Options 7, Section 9, B.
    \7\ The Exchange also proposes a technical amendment to add a 
comma between ``per port'' and ``per month'' for the SQF Port Fee in 
Options 7, Section 9, B.
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    At this time, the Exchange proposes to increase the maximum SQF 
Port Fee of $42,000 per month to $50,000 per month.\8\ The Exchange is 
not amending the $1,250 per port, per month fee. As is the case today, 
the Exchange would not assess a member organization an SQF Port Fee 
beyond the monthly cap once the member organization has exceeded the 
monthly cap for the respective month.
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    \8\ Currently, 29% of Phlx Market Makers cap their SQF Port 
Fees. Of those Market Makers, there is a mix of small, medium and 
large Market Makers.
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    Despite increasing the maximum SQF Port Fee from $42,000 per month 
to $50,000 per month, the Exchange will continue to offer member 
organizations the opportunity to cap their SQF Port Fees so that they 
would not be assessed these fees beyond the cap.
    Pursuant to Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B), Market Makers may only 
enter interest into SQF in their assigned options series. Pursuant to 
Options 3, Section 7(a)(i)(B), the SQF interface allows Market Makers 
to connect, send, and receive messages related to quotes, Immediate-or-
Cancel Orders, and auction responses to the Exchange. A Phlx Market 
Maker requires only one SQF Port to submit quotes in its assigned 
options series into Phlx. A Phlx Market Maker requires only one SQF 
Port to submit quotes in its assigned options series into Phlx. A Phlx 
Market Maker may submit all quotes through one SQF Port. While a Phlx 
Market Maker may elect to obtain multiple SQF Ports to organize its 
business,\9\ only one SQF Port is necessary for a Phlx Market Maker to 
fulfill its regulatory quoting obligations.\10\
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    \9\ For example, a Phlx Market Maker may desire to utilize 
multiple SQF Ports for accounting purposes, to measure performance, 
for regulatory reasons or other determinations that are specific to 
that member organization.
    \10\ Phlx Market Makers have various regulatory requirements as 
provided for in Options 2, Section 4. Additionally, Phlx Market 
Makers have certain quoting requirements with respect to their 
assigned options series as provided in Options 2, Section 5. SQF 
Ports are the only quoting protocol available on Phlx and only 
Market Makers may utilize SQF Ports.
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2. Statutory Basis
    The Exchange believes that its proposal is consistent with Section 
6(b) of the Act,\11\ in general, and furthers the objectives of 
Sections 6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,\12\ in particular, in that it

[[Page 21123]]

provides for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and 
other charges among members and issuers and other persons using any 
facility, and is not designed to permit unfair discrimination between 
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
    \12\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5).
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    The proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee 
from $42,000 to $50,000 per month is reasonable because despite the 
increase in the maximum SQF Port Fee, the Exchange will continue to 
offer member organizations the opportunity to cap their SQF Port Fees 
so that they would not be assessed SQF Port Fees beyond the cap. 
Additionally, a Phlx Market Maker requires only one SQF Port to submit 
quotes in its assigned options series into Phlx. A Phlx Market Maker 
may submit all quotes through one SQF Port. While a Phlx Market Maker 
may elect to obtain multiple SQF Ports to organize its business,\13\ 
only one SQF Port is necessary for a Phlx Market Maker to fulfill its 
regulatory quoting obligations.\14\ Member organizations may choose a 
greater number of SQF Ports beyond one port, depending on that member 
organization's particular business model. Additionally, the Exchange 
believes that the caps are reasonable for two reasons.
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    \13\ For example, a Phlx Market Maker may desire to utilize 
multiple SQF Ports for accounting purposes, to measure performance, 
for regulatory reasons or other determinations that are specific to 
that member organization.
    \14\ Phlx Market Makers have various regulatory requirements as 
provided for in Options 2, Section 4. Additionally, Phlx Market 
Makers have certain quoting requirements with respect to their 
assigned options series as provided in Options 2, Section 5. SQF 
Ports are the only quoting protocol available on Phlx and only 
Market Makers may utilize SQF Ports.
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    First, SQF Ports are a secure method for Market Makers to submit 
quotes into the Exchange's match engine and for the Exchange to send 
messages related to those quotes to Market Makers. Phlx must manage the 
security and message traffic, among other things, for each port. 
Utilizing the cap to manage a Market Maker's costs while also managing 
the quantity of SQF Ports issued on Phlx has led the Exchange to select 
$50,000 as the amended monthly cap for SQF Ports. By capping the ports 
at a different level, the Exchange is considering the message traffic 
and message rates associated with the current number of outstanding 
ports and its ability to process messages. The ability to have a cap 
and amend that cap permits the Exchange to scale its needs with respect 
to processing messages in an efficient manner. The Exchange notes that 
Cboe Exchange, Inc. (``Cboe'') limits usage on each port and assesses 
fees for incremental usage.\15\
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    \15\ Each Cboe Binary Order Entry (``BOE'') or FIX Logical Port 
incur the logical port fee indicated when used to enter up to 70,000 
orders per trading day per logical port as measured on average in a 
single month. For each incremental usage of up to 70,000 per day per 
logical port will incur an additional logical port fee of $800 per 
month. BOE or FIX Logical Ports provide users the ability to enter 
order/quotes. See Cboe's Fees Schedule.
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    Second, the Exchange notes that multiple ports are not necessary, 
however, to the extent that some Market Makers elect to obtain multiple 
ports, the Exchange is offering to cap their total port cost at $50,000 
per month. Phlx believes the existence of a cap allows for efficiencies 
and permits Market Makers to increase their number of ports beyond the 
cap. The cap levels the playing field by allowing those Market Makers 
that want to obtain a larger number of ports to do so with the 
certainty of a fee cap. Without the cap, Phlx Market Makers may pay 
more to obtain multiple ports on Phlx. BOX Exchange LLC (``BOX'') 
assesses $1,000 per month for all SAIL Ports for Market Making and $500 
per month per port up to 5 ports for order entry and $150 per month for 
each additional port.\16\ Miami International Securities Exchange, 
LLC's (``MIAX'') MIAX Express Interface (``MEI'') Fee levels are based 
on a tiered fee structure based on the Market Maker's total monthly 
executed volume during the relevant month.\17\
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    \16\ See BOX's Fee Schedule.
    \17\ MEI is a connection to MIAX systems that enables Market 
Makers to submit simple and complex electronic quotes to MIAX. MIAX 
caps its MEI Ports. For these Monthly MIAX MEI Fees levels, if the 
Market Maker's total monthly executed volume during the relevant 
month is less than 0.060% of the total monthly executed volume 
reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed 
option classes for that month, then the fee will be $14,500 instead 
of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. See MIAX's Fee 
Schedule.
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    The number of ports that member organizations choose to purchase 
varies widely. Today, on Phlx, 2 Marker Makers have 1 SQF Port, 5 
Market Makers have 2-5 SQF Ports, 4 Market Makers have between 6-10 SQF 
Ports, and 11 Market Makers have more than 10 SQF Ports. Additionally, 
today, on Nasdaq GEMX, LLC no Market Makers have 1 SQF Port/SQF Purge 
Port, 1 Market Maker has 2-5 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, 4 Market Makers 
have between 6-10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, and 8 Market Makers have 
more than 10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports. Finally, on Nasdaq MRX LLC 
(``MRX''), 2 Marker Makers have 1 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, no Market 
Makers have 2-5 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, 2 Market Makers have between 
6-10 SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports, and 6 Market Makers have more than 10 
SQF Ports/SQF Purge Ports.
    The proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF Port Fee 
from $42,000 to $50,000 per month is equitable and not unfairly 
discriminatory because the Exchange would uniformly not assess any 
Market Makers that exceeded the maximum SQF Port Fee any SQF Port Fees 
beyond the maximum amount. Market Makers are the only market 
participants that are assessed an SQF Port Fee because they are the 
only market participants that are permitted to quote on the Exchange. 
SQF Ports are only utilized in the Market Maker's assigned options 
series. The following chart represents the classification of Phlx 
members and the percentage of Market Makers.

[[Page 21124]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN26MR24.006

    Unlike other market participants, Market Makers are subject to 
market making and quoting obligations.\18\ These liquidity providers 
are critical market participants in that they are the only market 
participants that provide liquidity to Phlx on a continuous basis. In 
addition, the Exchange notes that Lead Market Makers are required to 
submit quotes in the Opening Process to open an options series.\19\ 
Market Makers are subject to a number of fees, unlike other market 
participants. Market Makers pay separate permit fees,\20\ and Streaming 
Quote Trader Fees,\21\ in addition to other fees paid by other market 
participants. Providing Market Makers a means to cap their cost related 
to quoting and enabling all Market Makers to acquire SQF Ports at no 
cost beyond a certain dollar amount enables these market participants 
to provide the necessary liquidity to Phlx at lower costs. Therefore, 
because Market Makers fulfill a unique role on the Exchange, are the 
only market participant required to submit quotes as part of their 
obligations to operate on the Exchange, and, in light of that role, 
they are eligible for certain incentives. The proposed SQF Port fee cap 
is designed to continue to incent Market Makers to quote on Phlx, 
thereby promoting liquidity, quote competition, and trading 
opportunities.
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    \18\ See Options 2, Sections 4 and 5.
    \19\ See Options 3, Section 8.
    \20\ See Options 7, Section 8, A.
    \21\ See Options 7, Section 8, B.
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    In 2022, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'') proposed to restructure 
fees relating to OTPs for Market Makers.\22\ In that rule change,\23\ 
NYSE Arca argued that,
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    \22\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 95412 (June 23, 
2022), 87 FR 38786 (June 29, 2022) (SR-NYSEArca-2022-36). NYSE Arca 
proposed to increase both the monthly fee per Market Maker OTP and 
the number of issues covered by each additional OTP because, among 
other reasons, the number of issues traded on the Exchange has 
increased significantly in recent years.
    \23\ Id at 38788.

    Market Makers serve a unique and important function on the 
Exchange (and other options exchanges) given the quote-driven nature 
of options markets. Because options exchanges rely on actively 
quoting Market Makers to facilitate a robust marketplace that 
attracts order flow, options exchanges must attract and retain 
Market Makers, including by setting competitive Market Maker permit 
fees. Stated otherwise, changes to Market Maker permit fees can have 
a direct effect on the ability of an exchange to compete for order 
flow. The Exchange also believes that the number of options 
exchanges on which Market Makers can effect option transactions also 
ensures competition in the marketplace and constrains the ability of 
exchanges to charge supracompetitive fees for access to its market 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
by Market Makers.

    Further, NYSE ARCA noted that,\24\
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    \24\ Id at 38790.

    The Exchange further believes that its ability to set Market 
Maker permit fees is constrained by competitive forces based on the 
fact that Market Makers can, and have, chosen to terminate their 
status as a Market Maker if they deem Market Maker permit fees to be 
unreasonable or excessive. Specifically, the Exchange notes that a 
BOX participant modified its access to BOX in connection with the 
implementation of a proposed change to BOX's Market Maker permit 
fees. The Exchange has also observed that another options exchange 
group experienced decreases in market share following its proposed 
modifications of its access fees (including Market Maker trading 
permit fees), suggesting that market participants (including Market 
Makers) are sensitive to changes in exchanges' access fees and may 
respond by shifting their order flow elsewhere if they deem the fees 
to be unreasonable or excessive.
    There is no requirement, regulatory or otherwise, that any 
Market Maker connect to and access any (or all of) the available 
options exchanges. The Exchange also is not aware of any reason why 
a Market Maker could not cease being a permit holder in response to 
unreasonable price increases. The Exchange does not assess any 
termination fee for a Market Maker to drop its OTP, nor is the 
Exchange aware of any other costs that would be incurred by a Market 
Maker to do so.

    The Exchange likewise believes that its ability to cap SQF Ports 
fees is constrained by competitive forces and that its proposed 
modifications to the SQF Port Fee cap is reasonably designed in 
consideration of the competitive environment in which the Exchange 
operates, by balancing the value of the enhanced benefits available to 
Market Makers due to the current level of activity on the Exchange with 
a fee structure that will continue to incent Market Makers to support 
increased liquidity, quote competition, and trading opportunities on 
the Exchange, for the benefit of all market participants.

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 not

[[Page 21125]]

necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
Intermarket Competition
    The proposal does not impose an undue burden on intermarket 
competition. The Exchange believes its proposal remains competitive 
with other options markets who also offer order entry protocols. The 
Exchange notes that it operates in a highly competitive market in which 
market participants can readily favor competing venues if they deem fee 
levels at a particular venue to be excessive. The chart below shows the 
February 2024 market share for multiply listed options by exchange. Of 
the 17 operating options exchanges, none currently has more than a 
17.6% market share. Customers widely distribute their transactions 
across exchanges according to their business needs and the ability of 
each exchange to meet those needs through technology, liquidity and 
functionality.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN26MR24.007

    Market share is the percentage of volume on a particular exchange 
relative to the total volume across all exchanges, and indicates the 
amount of order flow directed to that exchange. High levels of market 
share enhance the value of trading and ports.
    In such an environment, the Exchange must continually adjust its 
fees to remain competitive with other exchanges. Because competitors 
are free to modify their own fees in response, and because market 
participants may readily adjust their order routing practices, the 
Exchange believes that the degree to which fee changes in this market 
may impose any burden on competition is extremely limited.
    Other exchanges amended certain costs attributed to Market 
Makers.\25\ In 2022, MRX proposed a monthly cap for SQF Ports and SQF 
Purge Ports of 17,500.\26\ MRX noted in its rule change that, ``Only 
one SQF quote protocol is required for an MRX Market Maker to submit 
quotes into MRX and to meet its regulatory requirements.'' \27\
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    \25\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 95412 (June 23, 
2022), 87 FR 38786 (June 29, 2022) (SR-NYSEArca-2022-36).
    \26\ See Securities Exchange Act No. 96824 (February 7, 2023), 
88 FR 8975 (February 10, 2023) (SR-MRX-2023-05) (Notice of Filing 
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Amend MRX 
Options 7, Section 6).
    \27\ Id at 8976.
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    If the Commission were to apply a different standard of review this 
proposal than it applied to other exchange fee filings, where Market 
Maker fees were increased and port fee caps were established, it would 
create a burden on competition such that it would impair Phlx's ability 
to compete among other options markets. Additionally, BOX assesses 
$1,000 per month for all SAIL Ports for Market Making and $500 per 
month per port up to 5 ports for order entry and $150 per month for 
each additional port.\28\ MIAX's MEI Fee levels are based on a tiered 
fee structure based on the Market Maker's total monthly executed volume 
during the relevant month.\29\
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    \28\ See BOX's Fee Schedule.
    \29\ MEI is a connection to MIAX systems that enables Market 
Makers to submit simple and complex electronic quotes to MIAX. MIAX 
caps its MEI Ports. For these Monthly MIAX MEI Fees levels, if the 
Market Maker's total monthly executed volume during the relevant 
month is less than 0.060% of the total monthly executed volume 
reported by OCC in the market maker account type for MIAX-listed 
option classes for that month, then the fee will be $14,500 instead 
of the fee otherwise applicable to such level. See MIAX's Fee 
Schedule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If the Commission were to apply a different standard of review this 
proposal than it applied to other exchange fee filings, where Market 
Maker fees were increased and port fee caps were established, it would 
create a burden on competition such that it would impair Phlx's ability 
to compete among other options markets.
Intramarket Competition
    The Exchange's proposed pricing change to increase the maximum SQF 
Port Fee from $42,000 to $50,000 per month does not impose an undue 
burden on competition because the Exchange would uniformly not assess 
any Market Makers that exceeded the maximum SQF Port Fee any SQF Port 
Fees beyond the maximum amount. Market Makers are the only market 
participants that are assessed an SQF Port Fee because they are the 
only

[[Page 21126]]

market participants that are permitted to quote on the Exchange. Unlike 
other market participants, Market Makers are subject to market making 
and quoting obligations.\30\ These liquidity providers are critical 
market participants in that they are the only market participants that 
provide liquidity to Phlx on a continuous basis. In addition, the 
Exchange notes that Lead Market Makers are required to submit quotes in 
the Opening Process to open an options series.\31\ Market Makers are 
subject to a number of fees, unlike other market participants. Market 
Makers pay separate permit fees,\32\ and Streaming Quote Trader 
Fees,\33\ in addition to other fees paid by other market participants. 
Providing Market Makers a means to cap their cost related to quoting 
and enabling all Market Makers to acquire SQF Ports at no cost beyond a 
certain dollar amount enables these market participants to provide the 
necessary liquidity to Phlx at lower costs. Therefore, because Market 
Makers fulfill a unique role on the Exchange, are the only market 
participant required to submit quotes as part of their obligations to 
operate on the Exchange, and, in light of that role, they are eligible 
for certain incentives. The proposed SQF Fee cap is designed to 
continue to incent Market Makers to quote on Phlx, thereby promoting 
liquidity, quote competition, and trading opportunities.
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    \30\ See Options 2, Sections 4 and 5.
    \31\ See Options 3, Section 8.
    \32\ See Options 7, Section 8, A.
    \33\ See Options 7, Section 8, B.
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed 
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were either solicited or received.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 
Commission Action

    The foregoing rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 
19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.\34\
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    \34\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule 
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule 
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is: (i) 
necessary or appropriate in the public interest; (ii) for the 
protection of investors; or (iii) otherwise in furtherance of the 
purposes of the Act. If the Commission takes such action, the 
Commission shall institute proceedings to determine whether the 
proposed rule should be approved or disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule 
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of 
the following methods:

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
     Send an email to [email protected]. Please include 
file number SR-Phlx-2024-10 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-Phlx-2024-10. This file 
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help 
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, 
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on 
the Commission's internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all 
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are 
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to 
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other 
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and 
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for 
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. Do not 
include personal identifiable information in submissions; you should 
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. We 
may redact in part or withhold entirely from publication submitted 
material that is obscene or subject to copyright protection. All 
submissions should refer to file number SR-Phlx-2024-10 and should be 
submitted on or before April 16, 2024.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\35\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-06322 Filed 3-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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