Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its Fee Schedule Related To Add/Remove Volume Tiers, 13796-13800 [2025-05044]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 26, 2025 / Notices
Filing Materials Under Seal; Filing
Acceptance Date: March 20, 2025; Filing
Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR
3035.105, and 39 CFR 3041.310; Public
Representative: Christopher Mohr;
Comments Due: March 28, 2025.
6. Docket No(s).: MC2025–1247 and
K2025–1246; Filing Title: USPS Request
to Add Priority Mail & USPS Ground
Advantage Contract 655 to the
Competitive Product List and Notice of
Filing Materials Under Seal; Filing
Acceptance Date: March 20, 2025; Filing
Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR
3035.105, and 39 CFR 3041.310; Public
Representative: Maxine Bradley;
Comments Due: March 28, 2025.
7. Docket No(s).: MC2025–1248 and
K2025–1247; Filing Title: USPS Request
to Add Priority Mail & USPS Ground
Advantage Contract 656 to the
Competitive Product List and Notice of
Filing Materials Under Seal; Filing
Acceptance Date: March 20, 2025; Filing
Authority: 39 U.S.C. 3642, 39 CFR
3035.105, and 39 CFR 3041.310; Public
Representative: Kenneth Moeller;
Comments Due: March 28, 2025.
III. Summary Proceeding(s)
None. See Section II for public
proceedings.
This Notice will be published in the
Federal Register.
Jennie L. Jbara,
Primary Certifying Official.
[FR Doc. 2025–05131 Filed 3–25–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
International Product Change—Priority
Mail Express International, Priority Mail
International & First-Class Package
International Service Agreement
Postal ServiceTM.
Notice.
AGENCY:
The Postal Service gives
notice of filing a request with the Postal
Regulatory Commission to add a Priority
Mail Express International, Priority Mail
International & First-Class Package
International Service contract to the list
of Negotiated Service Agreements in the
Competitive Product List in the Mail
Classification Schedule.
DATES: Date of notice: March 26, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher C. Meyerson, (202) 268–
7820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on March 20, 2025,
it filed with the Postal Regulatory
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SUMMARY:
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16:57 Mar 25, 2025
Helen E. Vecchione,
Ethics and Legal Compliance Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2025–05148 Filed 3–25–25; 8:45 am]
RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Appointment to the Senior Executive
Service Performance Review Board
AGENCY:
ACTION:
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–102703; File No. SR–
CboeEDGX–2025–020]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of a
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its
Fee Schedule Related To Add/Remove
Volume Tiers
March 20, 2025.
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
Railroad Retirement Board.
Notice.
The Railroad Retirement
Board (Board) is announcing the
membership on its Senior Executive
Service Performance Review Board.
SUMMARY:
These appointments are effective
on the date of publication of this notice.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ana
Kocur, General Counsel, Railroad
Retirement Board, 844 North Rush
Street, Chicago, IL 60611–1275, (312)
751–4948.
Under
title 5, chapter 43, subchapter II, section
4314(c)(4) of the United States Code as
added by section 405(a) of the Civil
Service Reform Act of 1978, Public Law
95–454 (5 U.S.C. 4314(c)(4)), the Board
must publish in the Federal Register a
list of persons who may be named to
serve on the Performance Review Board
that oversees the evaluation of
performance appraisals for Senior
Executive Service members of the
Railroad Retirement Board. The
members of the Performance Review
Board are:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
POSTAL SERVICE
ACTION:
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Priority Mail Express International,
Priority Mail International & First-Class
Package International Service Contract
62 to Competitive Product List.
Documents are available at
www.prc.gov, Docket Nos. MC2025–
1242 and K2025–1241.
Shawna Weekley,
Keith Sartain,
Mark Blythe,
Ana Kocur (alternate member).
Dated: March 21, 2025.
By Authority of the Board.
Stephanie Hillyard,
Secretary to the Board.
[FR Doc. 2025–05111 Filed 3–25–25; 8:45 am]
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,
2025, Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.
(‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) 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
Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) proposes to
amend its Fee Schedule as follows: (i)
updating the criteria applicable to Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3; (ii) updating the
criteria applicable to Market Quality
Tier 1; (iii) updating the rate applicable
to Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2;
and (iv) updating the criteria applicable
to Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3.
The text of the proposed rule change is
provided in Exhibit 5.
The text of the proposed rule change
is also available on the Exchange’s
website (https://markets.cboe.com/us/
options/regulation/rule_filings/edgx/),
at the Exchange’s Office of the
Secretary, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
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2 17
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U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
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the most significant aspects of such
statements.
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A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGX’’) proposes to
amend its Fee as follows: (i) updating
the criteria applicable to Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3; (ii) updating the criteria
applicable to Market Quality Tier 1; (iii)
updating the rate applicable to NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 2; and (iv)
updating the criteria applicable to NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 3.
The Exchange first notes that it
operates in a highly competitive market
in which market participants can
readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a
particular venue to be excessive or
incentives to be insufficient. More
specifically, the Exchange is only one of
16 registered equities exchanges, as well
as a number of alternative trading
systems and other off-exchange venues
that do not have similar self-regulatory
responsibilities under the Act, to which
market participants may direct their
order flow. Based on publicly available
information,3 no single registered
equities exchange has more than 16% of
the market share. Thus, in such a lowconcentrated and highly competitive
market, no single equities exchange
possesses significant pricing power in
the execution of order flow. The
Exchange in particular operates a
‘‘Maker-Taker’’ model whereby it pays
rebates to members that add liquidity
and assesses fees to those that remove
liquidity. The Exchange’s Fee Schedule
sets forth the standard rebates and rates
applied per share for orders that provide
and remove liquidity, respectively.
Currently, for orders in securities priced
at or above $1.00, the Exchange
provides a standard rebate of $0.00160
per share for orders that add liquidity
and assesses a fee of $0.0030 per share
for orders that remove liquidity.4 For
orders in securities priced below $1.00,
the Exchange provides a standard rebate
of $0.00003 per share for orders that add
liquidity and assesses a fee of 0.30% of
the total dollar value for orders that
remove liquidity.5 Additionally, in
response to the competitive
3 See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market
Volume Summary, Month-to-Date (March 11, 2025),
available at https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/
market_statistics/.
4 See EDGX Equities Fee Schedule, Standard
Rates.
5 Id.
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environment, the Exchange also offers
tiered pricing which provides Members
opportunities to qualify for higher
rebates or reduced fees where certain
volume criteria and thresholds are met.
Tiered pricing provides an incremental
incentive for Members to strive for
higher tier levels, which provides
increasingly higher benefits or discounts
for satisfying increasingly more
stringent criteria.
Add/Remove Volume Tiers
Under footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule,
the Exchange currently offers various
Add/Remove Volume Tiers. In
particular, the Exchange offers nine Add
Volume Tiers (Tier 1 through Tier 9)
that each pay Members an enhanced
rebate for qualifying orders yielding fee
codes B,6 V,7 Y,8 3,9 or 4,10 when a
Member reaches certain add or remove
volume-based criteria. The Exchange
now proposes to update the criteria for
Add Volume Tier 3. Currently, the
criteria for Add Volume Tier 3 is as
follows:
• Add Volume Tier 3 provides an
enhanced rebate of $0.0027 per share for
qualifying orders (i.e., orders yielding
fee codes B, V, Y, 3, or 4) when: (1)
Member adds an ADV 11 (excluding fee
codes ZA 12 and ZO 13) greater than or
equal to 0.22% of the TCV; 14 or (2)
Member adds an ADV (excluding fee
codes ZA and ZO) greater than or equal
to 25,000,000 shares.
Now, the Exchange proposes to
update the criteria to both prongs of
Add Volume Tier 3, as follows:
• Proposed Add Volume Tier 3
provides an enhanced rebate of $0.0027
per share for qualifying orders (i.e.,
6 Fee code B is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX in Tape B securities.
7 Fee code V is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX in Tape A securities.
8 Fee code Y is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX in Tape C securities.
9 Fee code 3 is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX in the pre and post market in
Tape A or Tape C securities.
10 Fee code 4 is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX in the pre and post market in
Tape B securities.
11 ADV means average daily volume calculated as
the number of shares added to, removed from, or
routed by, the Exchange, or any combination or
subset thereof, per day. ADV is calculated on a
monthly basis.
12 Fee code ZA is appended to Retail Orders that
add liquidity to EDGX.
13 Fee code ZO is appended to Retail Orders that
add liquidity to EDGX in the pre and post market.
14 TCV means total consolidated volume
calculated as the volume reported by all exchanges
and trade reporting facilities to a consolidated
transaction reporting plan for the month for which
the fees apply. The Exchange excludes from its
calculation of TCV volume on any day that the
Exchange experiences an Exchange System
Disruption, on any day with a scheduled early
market close, and the Russell Reconstitution Day.
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orders yielding fee codes B, V, Y, 3, or
4) when: (1) Member adds an ADV
(excluding fee codes ZA and ZO) greater
than or equal to 0.25% of the TCV; or
(2) Member adds an ADV (excluding fee
codes ZA and ZO) greater than or equal
to 30,000,000 shares.
Also under footnote 1 of the Fee
Schedule, the Exchange currently offers
three Market Quality Tiers that each pay
a Member an enhanced rebate for
qualifying orders yielding fee codes, B,
V, Y, 3, or 4, when a Member reaches
certain add/remove volume-based
criteria. The Exchange now proposes to
update the criteria for Market Quality
Tier 1. Currently, the criteria for Market
Quality Tier 1 is as follows:
• Market Quality Tier 1 provides an
enhanced rebate of $0.0025 per share for
qualifying orders when (1) Member add
or removes an ADV greater than or equal
to 0.36% of the TCV; and (2) Member
has a retail remove ADV (yielding fee
codes ZM 15 or ZR 16) greater than or
equal to 800,000; and (3) Member has a
non-retail remove ADV (excluding fee
codes ZM and ZR) greater than or equal
to 0.08% of the TCV.
The Exchange now proposes to
update the criteria for prong 1 of Market
Quality Tier 1, as follows:
• Proposed Market Quality Tier 1
provides an enhanced rebate of $0.0025
per share for qualifying orders when: (1)
Member add or removes an ADV equal
to or greater than 0.50% of the TCV; and
(2) Member has a retail remove ADV
(yielding fee codes ZM or ZR) equal to
or greater than 800,000; and (3) Member
has non-retail remove ADV (excluding
fee codes ZM and ZR) equal to or greater
than 0.08% of the TCV.
The proposed modifications to Add
Volume Tier 3 and Market Quality Tier
1 represent a modest increase in
difficulty to achieve the applicable tier
threshold while maintaining the
existing rebate. The Exchange believes
that the proposed criteria continue to be
commensurate with the rebate received
and will encourage Members to grow
their volume on the Exchange. Increased
volume on the Exchange contributes to
a deeper and more liquid market, which
benefits all market participants and
provides greater execution opportunities
on the Exchange.
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tiers
Under footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule,
the Exchange currently offers five NonDisplayed Add Volume Tiers that each
pay a Member an enhanced rebate for
15 Fee code ZM is appended to retail orders with
a time-in-force of Day/RHO or GTX, that remove
liquidity upon arrival.
16 Fee code ZR is appended to retail orders that
remove liquidity from EDGX.
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qualifying orders (i.e. orders yielding fee
codes DM,17 HA,18 MM 19 and RP 20)
when they achieve certain add or
remove volume-based criteria.
Currently, Non-Displayed Add Volume
Tier 2 provides a rebate of $0.0020 to
Members who satisfy the criteria of
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2. The
Exchange now proposes to amend the
rebate applicable to Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2 from $0.0020 to $0.0022.
The purpose of revising the rebate
associated with Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2 is for business and
competitive reasons, as the proposed
change is intended to incentivize
Members to submit additional nondisplayed order flow to the Exchange by
providing a higher enhanced rebate and
such rebate remains consistent with the
Exchange’s overall pricing philosophy
of encouraging added liquidity.
Incentivizing an increase in liquidity
adding volume through enhanced rebate
opportunities encourages Members on
the Exchange to contribute to a deeper,
more liquid market, providing for
overall enhanced price discovery and
price improvement opportunities on the
Exchange. As such, increased overall
order flow benefits all Members by
contributing towards a robust and wellbalanced market ecosystem.
In addition to amending the rebate
associated with Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2, the Exchange now
proposes to modify the criteria for NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 3.
Currently, the criteria for Non-Displayed
Add Volume Tier 3 is as follows:
• Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3
provides a rebate of $0.0025 per share
for qualifying orders (i.e., orders
yielding fee codes DM, HA, MM and RP)
when a Member has an ADAV 21 equal
to or greater than 0.11% of TCV for NonDisplayed orders that yield fee codes,
DM, HA, HI,22 MM or RP.
The Exchange now proposes to
update the criteria of Non-Displayed
Add Volume Tier 3 as follows:
• Proposed Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 3 provides a rebate of
17 Fee code DM is appended to orders that add
liquidity to EDGX using MidPoint Discretionary
order within the discretionary range.
18 Fee code HA is appended to non-displayed
orders that add liquidity to EDGX.
19 Fee code MM is appended to non-displayed
orders that add liquidity to EDGX using Mid-Point
Peg.
20 Fee code RP is appended to non-displayed
orders that add liquidity to EDGX using
Supplemental Peg.
21 ADAV means average daily added volume
calculated as the number of shares added per day.
ADAV is calculated on a monthly basis.
22 Fee code HI is appended to non-displayed
orders that add liquidity to EDGX and receive price
improvement.
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$0.0025 per share for qualifying orders
(i.e., orders yielding fee codes DM, HA,
MM and RP) when a Member has an
ADAV equal to or greater than 0.15% of
TCV for Non-Displayed orders that yield
fee codes DM, HA, HI, MM or RP.
The proposed modification to NonDisplayed Tier 3 represents a modest
increase in difficulty to achieve the
applicable tier threshold while
maintaining the existing rebate. The
Exchange believes that the proposed
criteria continues to be commensurate
with the rebate received and will
encourage Members to grow their
volume on the Exchange. Increased
volume on the Exchange contributes to
a deeper and more liquid market, which
benefits all market participants and
provides greater execution opportunities
on the Exchange.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes the proposed
rule change is consistent with the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’) and the rules and regulations
thereunder applicable to the Exchange
and, in particular, the requirements of
Section 6(b) of the Act.23 Specifically,
the Exchange believes the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Section
6(b)(5) 24 requirements that the rules of
an exchange be designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged
in regulating, clearing, settling,
processing information with respect to,
and facilitating transactions in
securities, to remove impediments to
and perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system, and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest.
Additionally, the Exchange believes the
proposed rule change is consistent with
the Section 6(b)(5) 25 requirement that
the rules of an exchange not be designed
to permit unfair discrimination between
customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.
As described above, the Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market
in which market participants can
readily direct order flow to competing
venues if they deem fee levels at a
particular venue to be excessive or
incentives to be insufficient. The
Exchange believes that its proposal to
modify Add/Remove Volume Tier 3,
Market Quality Tier 1, and NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 3 reflects a
competitive pricing structure designed
to incentivize market participants to
23 15
24 15
U.S.C. 78f(b).
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
25 Id.
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direct their order flow to the Exchange,
which the Exchange believes would
enhance market quality to the benefit of
all Members. Specifically, the
Exchange’s proposal to introduce
slightly different criteria to Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality
Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add Volume
Tier 3 is not a significant departure from
existing criteria, is reasonably correlated
to the enhanced rebates offered by the
Exchange and other competing
exchanges,26 and will continue to
incentivize Members to submit order
flow to the Exchange. Additionally, the
Exchange notes that relative volumebased incentives and discounts have
been widely adopted by exchanges,27
including the Exchange,28 and are
reasonable, equitable and nondiscriminatory because they are open to
all Members on an equal basis and
provide additional benefits or discounts
that are reasonably related to (i) the
value to an exchange’s market quality
and (ii) associated higher levels of
market activity, such as higher levels of
liquidity provision and/or growth
patterns. Competing equity exchanges
offer similar tiered pricing structures,
including schedules or rebates and fees
that apply based upon members
achieving certain volume and/or growth
thresholds, as well as assess similar fees
or rebates for similar types of orders, to
that of the Exchange.
In particular, the Exchange believes
its proposal to modify Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1,
and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3
is reasonable because the revised tiers
will be available to all Members and
provide all Members with an
opportunity to receive an enhanced
rebate. The Exchange further believes its
proposal to modify Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1,
and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3
will provide a reasonable means to
encourage liquidity adding displayed
orders in Members’ order flow to the
Exchange and to incentivize Members to
continue to provide liquidity adding
volume to the Exchange by offering
them an opportunity to receive an
enhanced rebate on qualifying orders.
An overall increase in activity would
deepen the Exchange’s liquidity pool,
offer additional cost savings, support
26 See Nasdaq Price List, Rebate to Add Displayed
Liquidity, Shares Executed at or Above $1.00
available at https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?
id=PriceListTrading2; see also NYSE Arca Equities
Fees and Charges, Adding Tiers, available at https://
www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-arca/
NYSE_Arca_Marketplace_Fees.pdf.
27 See e.g., BZX Equities Fee Schedule, Footnote
1, Add/Remove Volume Tiers.
28 See e.g., EDGX Equities Fee Schedule, Footnote
1, Add/Remove Volume Tiers.
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the quality of price discovery, promote
market transparency and improve
market quality, for all investors.
Additionally, the Exchange believes
its proposed modification to the rate
associated with Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2 reflects a competitive
pricing structure designed to incentivize
market participants to direct their order
flow to the Exchange, which the
Exchange believes would enhance
market quality to the benefit of all
Members. In particular, the Exchange
believes its proposal to modify the
reduced fee [sic] associated with NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 2 is
reasonable, equitable, and consistent
with the Act because such change is
designed to incentivize Members to
submit additional non-displayed order
flow to the Exchange by providing a
higher enhanced rebate and such rebate
remains consistent with the Exchange’s
overall pricing philosophy of
encouraging added liquidity. The
proposed increased rebate of $0.0022
per share is reasonable and appropriate
because it is commensurate with the
rebates provided by the Exchange’s
other Non-Displayed Add Volume tiers
and the criteria required to be satisfied
under Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier
2. The Exchange further believes that
the proposed increase to the rebate
associated with Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2 is not unfairly
discriminatory because it applies to all
Members equally, in that all Members
will be eligible to receive the higher
rebate upon satisfying the criteria
associated with Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2.
The Exchange believes that its
proposal to modify Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1,
and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3
is reasonable as the proposed criteria
does not represent a significant
departure from the criteria currently
offered in the Fee Schedule. The
Exchange also believes that the proposal
represents an equitable allocation of fees
and rebates and is not unfairly
discriminatory because all Members
continue to be eligible for the proposed
Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, Market
Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 3 and have the opportunity
to meet the tier’s criteria and receive the
corresponding enhanced rebate if such
criteria is met. Without having a view of
activity on other markets and offexchange venues, the Exchange has no
way of knowing whether this proposed
rule change would definitely result in
any Members qualifying for proposed
Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, Market
Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 3. While the Exchange has
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no way of predicting with certainty how
the proposed changes will impact
Member activity, based on the prior
month’s volume, the Exchange
anticipates that at least two Members
will be able to satisfy proposed Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3, no Members
will be able to satisfy proposed Market
Quality Tier 1, and at least one Member
will be able to satisfy proposed NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 3. The
Exchange also notes that proposed
changes will not adversely impact any
Member’s ability to qualify for enhanced
rebates offered under other tiers. Should
a Member not meet the proposed new
criteria, the Member will merely not
receive that corresponding enhanced
rebate.
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 purposes of the Act. Rather, as
discussed above, the Exchange believes
that the proposed changes would
encourage the submission of additional
order flow to a public exchange, thereby
promoting market depth, execution
incentives and enhanced execution
opportunities, as well as price discovery
and transparency for all Members. As a
result, the Exchange believes that the
proposed changes further the
Commission’s goal in adopting
Regulation NMS of fostering
competition among orders, which
promotes ‘‘more efficient pricing of
individual stocks for all types of orders,
large and small.’’
The Exchange believes the proposed
rule changes do not impose any burden
on intramarket competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. Particularly,
the Exchange’s proposal to modify Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality
Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add Volume
Tier 3 will apply to all Members equally
in that all Members are eligible for the
modified tiers, have a reasonable
opportunity to meet the proposed tiers’
criteria and will receive the enhanced
rebate on their qualifying orders if such
criteria is met. Additionally, the
proposed change to modify the
enhanced rebate associated with NonDisplayed Add Volume Tier 2 does not
impose an unnecessary burden as all
Members will be eligible to receive the
higher enhanced rebate should they
satisfy the criteria of Non-Displayed
Add Volume Tier 2. The Exchange does
not believe the proposed changes
burden competition, but rather, enhance
competition as they are intended to
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increase the competitiveness of EDGX
by amending existing pricing incentives
in order to attract order flow and
incentivize participants to increase their
participation on the Exchange,
providing for additional execution
opportunities for market participants
and improved price transparency.
Greater overall order flow, trading
opportunities, and pricing transparency
benefits all market participants on the
Exchange by enhancing market quality
and continuing to encourage Members
to send orders, thereby contributing
towards a robust and well-balanced
market ecosystem.
Next, the Exchange believes the
proposed rule changes does not impose
any burden on intermarket competition
that is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
As previously discussed, the Exchange
operates in a highly competitive market.
Members have numerous alternative
venues that they may participate on and
direct their order flow, including other
equities exchanges, off-exchange
venues, and alternative trading systems.
Additionally, the Exchange represents a
small percentage of the overall market.
Based on publicly available information,
no single equities exchange has more
than 16% of the market share.29
Therefore, no exchange possesses
significant pricing power in the
execution of order flow. Indeed,
participants can readily choose to send
their orders to other exchange and offexchange venues if they deem fee levels
at those other venues to be more
favorable. Moreover, the Commission
has repeatedly expressed its preference
for competition over regulatory
intervention in determining prices,
products, and services in the securities
markets. Specifically, in Regulation
NMS, the Commission highlighted the
importance of market forces in
determining prices and SRO revenues
and, also, recognized that current
regulation of the market system ‘‘has
been remarkably successful in
promoting market competition in its
broader forms that are most important to
investors and listed companies.’’ 30 The
fact that this market is competitive has
also long been recognized by the courts.
In NetCoalition v. Securities and
Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit
stated as follows: ‘‘[n]o one disputes
that competition for order flow is
‘fierce.’ . . . As the SEC explained, ‘[i]n
the U.S. national market system, buyers
and sellers of securities, and the brokerdealers that act as their order-routing
29 Supra
note 3.
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808
(June 9, 2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
30 See
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 26, 2025 / Notices
agents, have a wide range of choices of
where to route orders for execution’;
[and] ‘no exchange can afford to take its
market share percentages for granted’
because ‘no exchange possesses a
monopoly, regulatory or otherwise, in
the execution of order flow from broker
dealers’. . . .’’.31 Accordingly, the
Exchange does not believe its proposed
fee change imposes any burden on
competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange neither solicited nor
received comments on the proposed
rule change.
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)
of the Act 32 and paragraph (f) of Rule
19b–4 33 thereunder. 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 necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act. If the
Commission takes such action, the
Commission will institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
change 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:
khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
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–
CboeEDGX–2025–020 on the subject
line.
31 NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 (D.C.
Cir. 2010) (quoting Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 59039 (December 2, 2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782–
83 (December 9, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2006–21)).
32 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
33 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:57 Mar 25, 2025
Jkt 265001
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–CboeEDGX–2025–020. 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–CboeEDGX–2025–020 and should be
submitted on or before April 16, 2025.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.34
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025–05044 Filed 3–25–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–102701; File No. SR–
CboeEDGA–2025–006]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
EDGA Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of a
Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its
Fee Schedule Regarding Dedicated
Cores
March 20, 2025.
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,
2025, Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGA’’) 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
Cboe EDGA Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘EDGA Equities’’)
proposes to amend its fee schedule to
adopt fees for Dedicated Cores. The text
of the proposed rule change is provided
in Exhibit 5.
The text of the proposed rule change
is also available on the Exchange’s
website (https://markets.cboe.com/us/
equities/regulation/rule_filings/edga/),
at the Exchange’s Office of the
Secretary, and at the Commission’s
Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant aspects of such
statements.
1 15
34 17
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00074
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
2 17
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 26, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13796-13800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05044]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-102703; File No. SR-CboeEDGX-2025-020]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc.; Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To
Amend Its Fee Schedule Related To Add/Remove Volume Tiers
March 20, 2025.
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, 2025, Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (``Exchange'' or ``EDGX'')
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or ``EDGX'') proposes to
amend its Fee Schedule as follows: (i) updating the criteria applicable
to Add/Remove Volume Tier 3; (ii) updating the criteria applicable to
Market Quality Tier 1; (iii) updating the rate applicable to Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 2; and (iv) updating the criteria applicable
to Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3. The text of the proposed rule
change is provided in Exhibit 5.
The text of the proposed rule change is also available on the
Exchange's website (https://markets.cboe.com/us/options/regulation/rule_filings/edgx/), at the Exchange's Office of the Secretary, and at
the Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
sections A, B, and C below, of
[[Page 13797]]
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
Cboe EDGX Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or ``EDGX'') proposes to
amend its Fee as follows: (i) updating the criteria applicable to Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3; (ii) updating the criteria applicable to Market
Quality Tier 1; (iii) updating the rate applicable to Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2; and (iv) updating the criteria applicable to Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 3.
The Exchange first notes that it operates in a highly competitive
market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be
excessive or incentives to be insufficient. More specifically, the
Exchange is only one of 16 registered equities exchanges, as well as a
number of alternative trading systems and other off-exchange venues
that do not have similar self-regulatory responsibilities under the
Act, to which market participants may direct their order flow. Based on
publicly available information,\3\ no single registered equities
exchange has more than 16% of the market share. Thus, in such a low-
concentrated and highly competitive market, no single equities exchange
possesses significant pricing power in the execution of order flow. The
Exchange in particular operates a ``Maker-Taker'' model whereby it pays
rebates to members that add liquidity and assesses fees to those that
remove liquidity. The Exchange's Fee Schedule sets forth the standard
rebates and rates applied per share for orders that provide and remove
liquidity, respectively. Currently, for orders in securities priced at
or above $1.00, the Exchange provides a standard rebate of $0.00160 per
share for orders that add liquidity and assesses a fee of $0.0030 per
share for orders that remove liquidity.\4\ For orders in securities
priced below $1.00, the Exchange provides a standard rebate of $0.00003
per share for orders that add liquidity and assesses a fee of 0.30% of
the total dollar value for orders that remove liquidity.\5\
Additionally, in response to the competitive environment, the Exchange
also offers tiered pricing which provides Members opportunities to
qualify for higher rebates or reduced fees where certain volume
criteria and thresholds are met. Tiered pricing provides an incremental
incentive for Members to strive for higher tier levels, which provides
increasingly higher benefits or discounts for satisfying increasingly
more stringent criteria.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Cboe Global Markets, U.S. Equities Market Volume
Summary, Month-to-Date (March 11, 2025), available at https://www.cboe.com/us/equities/market_statistics/.
\4\ See EDGX Equities Fee Schedule, Standard Rates.
\5\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Add/Remove Volume Tiers
Under footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule, the Exchange currently offers
various Add/Remove Volume Tiers. In particular, the Exchange offers
nine Add Volume Tiers (Tier 1 through Tier 9) that each pay Members an
enhanced rebate for qualifying orders yielding fee codes B,\6\ V,\7\
Y,\8\ 3,\9\ or 4,\10\ when a Member reaches certain add or remove
volume-based criteria. The Exchange now proposes to update the criteria
for Add Volume Tier 3. Currently, the criteria for Add Volume Tier 3 is
as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Fee code B is appended to orders that add liquidity to EDGX
in Tape B securities.
\7\ Fee code V is appended to orders that add liquidity to EDGX
in Tape A securities.
\8\ Fee code Y is appended to orders that add liquidity to EDGX
in Tape C securities.
\9\ Fee code 3 is appended to orders that add liquidity to EDGX
in the pre and post market in Tape A or Tape C securities.
\10\ Fee code 4 is appended to orders that add liquidity to EDGX
in the pre and post market in Tape B securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Add Volume Tier 3 provides an enhanced rebate of $0.0027
per share for qualifying orders (i.e., orders yielding fee codes B, V,
Y, 3, or 4) when: (1) Member adds an ADV \11\ (excluding fee codes ZA
\12\ and ZO \13\) greater than or equal to 0.22% of the TCV; \14\ or
(2) Member adds an ADV (excluding fee codes ZA and ZO) greater than or
equal to 25,000,000 shares.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ ADV means average daily volume calculated as the number of
shares added to, removed from, or routed by, the Exchange, or any
combination or subset thereof, per day. ADV is calculated on a
monthly basis.
\12\ Fee code ZA is appended to Retail Orders that add liquidity
to EDGX.
\13\ Fee code ZO is appended to Retail Orders that add liquidity
to EDGX in the pre and post market.
\14\ TCV means total consolidated volume calculated as the
volume reported by all exchanges and trade reporting facilities to a
consolidated transaction reporting plan for the month for which the
fees apply. The Exchange excludes from its calculation of TCV volume
on any day that the Exchange experiences an Exchange System
Disruption, on any day with a scheduled early market close, and the
Russell Reconstitution Day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, the Exchange proposes to update the criteria to both prongs of
Add Volume Tier 3, as follows:
Proposed Add Volume Tier 3 provides an enhanced rebate of
$0.0027 per share for qualifying orders (i.e., orders yielding fee
codes B, V, Y, 3, or 4) when: (1) Member adds an ADV (excluding fee
codes ZA and ZO) greater than or equal to 0.25% of the TCV; or (2)
Member adds an ADV (excluding fee codes ZA and ZO) greater than or
equal to 30,000,000 shares.
Also under footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule, the Exchange currently
offers three Market Quality Tiers that each pay a Member an enhanced
rebate for qualifying orders yielding fee codes, B, V, Y, 3, or 4, when
a Member reaches certain add/remove volume-based criteria. The Exchange
now proposes to update the criteria for Market Quality Tier 1.
Currently, the criteria for Market Quality Tier 1 is as follows:
Market Quality Tier 1 provides an enhanced rebate of
$0.0025 per share for qualifying orders when (1) Member add or removes
an ADV greater than or equal to 0.36% of the TCV; and (2) Member has a
retail remove ADV (yielding fee codes ZM \15\ or ZR \16\) greater than
or equal to 800,000; and (3) Member has a non-retail remove ADV
(excluding fee codes ZM and ZR) greater than or equal to 0.08% of the
TCV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ Fee code ZM is appended to retail orders with a time-in-
force of Day/RHO or GTX, that remove liquidity upon arrival.
\16\ Fee code ZR is appended to retail orders that remove
liquidity from EDGX.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange now proposes to update the criteria for prong 1 of
Market Quality Tier 1, as follows:
Proposed Market Quality Tier 1 provides an enhanced rebate
of $0.0025 per share for qualifying orders when: (1) Member add or
removes an ADV equal to or greater than 0.50% of the TCV; and (2)
Member has a retail remove ADV (yielding fee codes ZM or ZR) equal to
or greater than 800,000; and (3) Member has non-retail remove ADV
(excluding fee codes ZM and ZR) equal to or greater than 0.08% of the
TCV.
The proposed modifications to Add Volume Tier 3 and Market Quality
Tier 1 represent a modest increase in difficulty to achieve the
applicable tier threshold while maintaining the existing rebate. The
Exchange believes that the proposed criteria continue to be
commensurate with the rebate received and will encourage Members to
grow their volume on the Exchange. Increased volume on the Exchange
contributes to a deeper and more liquid market, which benefits all
market participants and provides greater execution opportunities on the
Exchange.
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tiers
Under footnote 1 of the Fee Schedule, the Exchange currently offers
five Non-Displayed Add Volume Tiers that each pay a Member an enhanced
rebate for
[[Page 13798]]
qualifying orders (i.e. orders yielding fee codes DM,\17\ HA,\18\ MM
\19\ and RP \20\) when they achieve certain add or remove volume-based
criteria. Currently, Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2 provides a rebate
of $0.0020 to Members who satisfy the criteria of Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 2. The Exchange now proposes to amend the rebate applicable
to Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2 from $0.0020 to $0.0022. The purpose
of revising the rebate associated with Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2
is for business and competitive reasons, as the proposed change is
intended to incentivize Members to submit additional non-displayed
order flow to the Exchange by providing a higher enhanced rebate and
such rebate remains consistent with the Exchange's overall pricing
philosophy of encouraging added liquidity. Incentivizing an increase in
liquidity adding volume through enhanced rebate opportunities
encourages Members on the Exchange to contribute to a deeper, more
liquid market, providing for overall enhanced price discovery and price
improvement opportunities on the Exchange. As such, increased overall
order flow benefits all Members by contributing towards a robust and
well-balanced market ecosystem.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ Fee code DM is appended to orders that add liquidity to
EDGX using MidPoint Discretionary order within the discretionary
range.
\18\ Fee code HA is appended to non-displayed orders that add
liquidity to EDGX.
\19\ Fee code MM is appended to non-displayed orders that add
liquidity to EDGX using Mid-Point Peg.
\20\ Fee code RP is appended to non-displayed orders that add
liquidity to EDGX using Supplemental Peg.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to amending the rebate associated with Non-Displayed
Add Volume Tier 2, the Exchange now proposes to modify the criteria for
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3. Currently, the criteria for Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 is as follows:
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 provides a rebate of
$0.0025 per share for qualifying orders (i.e., orders yielding fee
codes DM, HA, MM and RP) when a Member has an ADAV \21\ equal to or
greater than 0.11% of TCV for Non-Displayed orders that yield fee
codes, DM, HA, HI,\22\ MM or RP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ ADAV means average daily added volume calculated as the
number of shares added per day. ADAV is calculated on a monthly
basis.
\22\ Fee code HI is appended to non-displayed orders that add
liquidity to EDGX and receive price improvement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange now proposes to update the criteria of Non-Displayed
Add Volume Tier 3 as follows:
Proposed Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 provides a rebate
of $0.0025 per share for qualifying orders (i.e., orders yielding fee
codes DM, HA, MM and RP) when a Member has an ADAV equal to or greater
than 0.15% of TCV for Non-Displayed orders that yield fee codes DM, HA,
HI, MM or RP.
The proposed modification to Non-Displayed Tier 3 represents a
modest increase in difficulty to achieve the applicable tier threshold
while maintaining the existing rebate. The Exchange believes that the
proposed criteria continues to be commensurate with the rebate received
and will encourage Members to grow their volume on the Exchange.
Increased volume on the Exchange contributes to a deeper and more
liquid market, which benefits all market participants and provides
greater execution opportunities on the Exchange.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act'') and the rules and
regulations thereunder applicable to the Exchange and, in particular,
the requirements of Section 6(b) of the Act.\23\ Specifically, the
Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the
Section 6(b)(5) \24\ requirements that the rules of an exchange be
designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged in regulating, clearing,
settling, processing information with respect to, and facilitating
transactions in securities, to remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and,
in general, to protect investors and the public interest. Additionally,
the Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the
Section 6(b)(5) \25\ requirement that the rules of an exchange not be
designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers,
brokers, or dealers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\24\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
\25\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As described above, the Exchange operates in a highly competitive
market in which market participants can readily direct order flow to
competing venues if they deem fee levels at a particular venue to be
excessive or incentives to be insufficient. The Exchange believes that
its proposal to modify Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1,
and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 reflects a competitive pricing
structure designed to incentivize market participants to direct their
order flow to the Exchange, which the Exchange believes would enhance
market quality to the benefit of all Members. Specifically, the
Exchange's proposal to introduce slightly different criteria to Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 3 is not a significant departure from existing criteria, is
reasonably correlated to the enhanced rebates offered by the Exchange
and other competing exchanges,\26\ and will continue to incentivize
Members to submit order flow to the Exchange. Additionally, the
Exchange notes that relative volume-based incentives and discounts have
been widely adopted by exchanges,\27\ including the Exchange,\28\ and
are reasonable, equitable and non-discriminatory because they are open
to all Members on an equal basis and provide additional benefits or
discounts that are reasonably related to (i) the value to an exchange's
market quality and (ii) associated higher levels of market activity,
such as higher levels of liquidity provision and/or growth patterns.
Competing equity exchanges offer similar tiered pricing structures,
including schedules or rebates and fees that apply based upon members
achieving certain volume and/or growth thresholds, as well as assess
similar fees or rebates for similar types of orders, to that of the
Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ See Nasdaq Price List, Rebate to Add Displayed Liquidity,
Shares Executed at or Above $1.00 available at https://nasdaqtrader.com/Trader.aspx?id=PriceListTrading2; see also NYSE
Arca Equities Fees and Charges, Adding Tiers, available at https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/markets/nyse-arca/NYSE_Arca_Marketplace_Fees.pdf.
\27\ See e.g., BZX Equities Fee Schedule, Footnote 1, Add/Remove
Volume Tiers.
\28\ See e.g., EDGX Equities Fee Schedule, Footnote 1, Add/
Remove Volume Tiers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In particular, the Exchange believes its proposal to modify Add/
Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add
Volume Tier 3 is reasonable because the revised tiers will be available
to all Members and provide all Members with an opportunity to receive
an enhanced rebate. The Exchange further believes its proposal to
modify Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 will provide a reasonable means to
encourage liquidity adding displayed orders in Members' order flow to
the Exchange and to incentivize Members to continue to provide
liquidity adding volume to the Exchange by offering them an opportunity
to receive an enhanced rebate on qualifying orders. An overall increase
in activity would deepen the Exchange's liquidity pool, offer
additional cost savings, support
[[Page 13799]]
the quality of price discovery, promote market transparency and improve
market quality, for all investors.
Additionally, the Exchange believes its proposed modification to
the rate associated with Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2 reflects a
competitive pricing structure designed to incentivize market
participants to direct their order flow to the Exchange, which the
Exchange believes would enhance market quality to the benefit of all
Members. In particular, the Exchange believes its proposal to modify
the reduced fee [sic] associated with Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2
is reasonable, equitable, and consistent with the Act because such
change is designed to incentivize Members to submit additional non-
displayed order flow to the Exchange by providing a higher enhanced
rebate and such rebate remains consistent with the Exchange's overall
pricing philosophy of encouraging added liquidity. The proposed
increased rebate of $0.0022 per share is reasonable and appropriate
because it is commensurate with the rebates provided by the Exchange's
other Non-Displayed Add Volume tiers and the criteria required to be
satisfied under Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2. The Exchange further
believes that the proposed increase to the rebate associated with Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 2 is not unfairly discriminatory because it
applies to all Members equally, in that all Members will be eligible to
receive the higher rebate upon satisfying the criteria associated with
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2.
The Exchange believes that its proposal to modify Add/Remove Volume
Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 is
reasonable as the proposed criteria does not represent a significant
departure from the criteria currently offered in the Fee Schedule. The
Exchange also believes that the proposal represents an equitable
allocation of fees and rebates and is not unfairly discriminatory
because all Members continue to be eligible for the proposed Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier
3 and have the opportunity to meet the tier's criteria and receive the
corresponding enhanced rebate if such criteria is met. Without having a
view of activity on other markets and off-exchange venues, the Exchange
has no way of knowing whether this proposed rule change would
definitely result in any Members qualifying for proposed Add/Remove
Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier
3. While the Exchange has no way of predicting with certainty how the
proposed changes will impact Member activity, based on the prior
month's volume, the Exchange anticipates that at least two Members will
be able to satisfy proposed Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, no Members will
be able to satisfy proposed Market Quality Tier 1, and at least one
Member will be able to satisfy proposed Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier
3. The Exchange also notes that proposed changes will not adversely
impact any Member's ability to qualify for enhanced rebates offered
under other tiers. Should a Member not meet the proposed new criteria,
the Member will merely not receive that corresponding enhanced rebate.
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 purposes of the Act. Rather, as discussed above,
the Exchange believes that the proposed changes would encourage the
submission of additional order flow to a public exchange, thereby
promoting market depth, execution incentives and enhanced execution
opportunities, as well as price discovery and transparency for all
Members. As a result, the Exchange believes that the proposed changes
further the Commission's goal in adopting Regulation NMS of fostering
competition among orders, which promotes ``more efficient pricing of
individual stocks for all types of orders, large and small.''
The Exchange believes the proposed rule changes do not impose any
burden on intramarket competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Particularly, the Exchange's
proposal to modify Add/Remove Volume Tier 3, Market Quality Tier 1, and
Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 3 will apply to all Members equally in
that all Members are eligible for the modified tiers, have a reasonable
opportunity to meet the proposed tiers' criteria and will receive the
enhanced rebate on their qualifying orders if such criteria is met.
Additionally, the proposed change to modify the enhanced rebate
associated with Non-Displayed Add Volume Tier 2 does not impose an
unnecessary burden as all Members will be eligible to receive the
higher enhanced rebate should they satisfy the criteria of Non-
Displayed Add Volume Tier 2. The Exchange does not believe the proposed
changes burden competition, but rather, enhance competition as they are
intended to increase the competitiveness of EDGX by amending existing
pricing incentives in order to attract order flow and incentivize
participants to increase their participation on the Exchange, providing
for additional execution opportunities for market participants and
improved price transparency. Greater overall order flow, trading
opportunities, and pricing transparency benefits all market
participants on the Exchange by enhancing market quality and continuing
to encourage Members to send orders, thereby contributing towards a
robust and well-balanced market ecosystem.
Next, the Exchange believes the proposed rule changes does not
impose any burden on intermarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. As previously
discussed, the Exchange operates in a highly competitive market.
Members have numerous alternative venues that they may participate on
and direct their order flow, including other equities exchanges, off-
exchange venues, and alternative trading systems. Additionally, the
Exchange represents a small percentage of the overall market. Based on
publicly available information, no single equities exchange has more
than 16% of the market share.\29\ Therefore, no exchange possesses
significant pricing power in the execution of order flow. Indeed,
participants can readily choose to send their orders to other exchange
and off-exchange venues if they deem fee levels at those other venues
to be more favorable. Moreover, the Commission has repeatedly expressed
its preference for competition over regulatory intervention in
determining prices, products, and services in the securities markets.
Specifically, in Regulation NMS, the Commission highlighted the
importance of market forces in determining prices and SRO revenues and,
also, recognized that current regulation of the market system ``has
been remarkably successful in promoting market competition in its
broader forms that are most important to investors and listed
companies.'' \30\ The fact that this market is competitive has also
long been recognized by the courts. In NetCoalition v. Securities and
Exchange Commission, the D.C. Circuit stated as follows: ``[n]o one
disputes that competition for order flow is `fierce.' . . . As the SEC
explained, `[i]n the U.S. national market system, buyers and sellers of
securities, and the broker-dealers that act as their order-routing
[[Page 13800]]
agents, have a wide range of choices of where to route orders for
execution'; [and] `no exchange can afford to take its market share
percentages for granted' because `no exchange possesses a monopoly,
regulatory or otherwise, in the execution of order flow from broker
dealers'. . . .''.\31\ Accordingly, the Exchange does not believe its
proposed fee change imposes any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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\29\ Supra note 3.
\30\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 51808 (June 9,
2005), 70 FR 37496, 37499 (June 29, 2005).
\31\ NetCoalition v. SEC, 615 F.3d 525, 539 (D.C. Cir. 2010)
(quoting Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59039 (December 2,
2008), 73 FR 74770, 74782-83 (December 9, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2006-
21)).
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C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange neither solicited nor received comments on the
proposed rule change.
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) of the Act \32\ and paragraph (f) of Rule 19b-4 \33\
thereunder. 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 necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission will institute proceedings to
determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or
disapproved.
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\32\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\33\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f).
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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-CboeEDGX-2025-020 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-CboeEDGX-2025-020. 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-CboeEDGX-2025-020 and should
be submitted on or before April 16, 2025.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\34\
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\34\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-05044 Filed 3-25-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
