[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4736-4741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01970]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-104701; File No. SR-MEMX-2026-03]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; MEMX LLC; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposal To Amend the Short Term Option
Series Program in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05
January 28, 2026.
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 January 28, 2026, MEMX LLC (``MEMX'' or ``Exchange'') filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule
change as described in Items I and II 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 is filing with the Commission a proposed rule change
to amend the Short Term Option Series Program in Rule 19.5,
Interpretation and Policy .05 to permit the listing of up to two Monday
and Wednesday expirations for options on certain individual stocks and
Fund Shares. The text of the proposed rule change is provided in
Exhibit 5 and is available on the Exchange's website at https://info.memxtrading.com/regulation/rules-and-filings/.
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 the Short Term Option Series Program
in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05. Specifically, the Exchange
proposes to permit the listing of up to two Monday and Wednesday
expirations for options on certain individual stocks or exchange-traded
funds (``Fund Shares'') (as defined in Rule 19.3(i)) (collectively,
``Qualifying Securities''). This is a competitive filing based on a
similar proposal submitted by Nasdaq ISE, LLC (``ISE''),\3\ which was
recently approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
``Commission'').\4\
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\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 103434 (July 10,
2025), 90 FR 31716 (July 15, 2025) (SR-ISE-2025-15) (``ISE Amendment
No. 1'').
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 104624 (January 16,
2026) (SR-ISE-2025-15) (Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change, as
Modified by Amendment No. 1, to Amend the Short Term Option Series
Program to List Qualifying Securities) (``ISE Approval'').
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Currently, as set forth in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy
.05(h), after an option class has been approved for listing and trading
on the Exchange as a Short Term Option Series pursuant to Rule 19.5,
Interpretation and Policy .05,\5\ the Exchange may open for trading on
any Thursday or Friday that is a business day (``Short Term Option
Opening Date'') series of options on that class that expire at the
close of business on each of the next five Fridays that are business
days and are not Fridays in which standard expiration options series,
Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series expire (``Friday
Short Term Option Expiration Dates''). The Exchange may have no more
than a total of five Short Term Option Expiration Dates (``Short Term
Option Weekly Expirations''). Further, if the Exchange is not open for
business on the respective Thursday or Friday, the Short Term Option
Opening Date for
[[Page 4737]]
Short Term Option Weekly Expirations will be the first business day
immediately prior to that respective Thursday or Friday. Similarly, if
the Exchange is not open for business on a Friday, the Short Term
Option Expiration Date for Short Term Option Weekly Expirations will be
the first business day immediately prior to that Friday.
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\5\ The term ``Short Term Option Series'' means a series in an
option class that is approved for listing and trading on the
Exchange in which the series is opened for trading on any Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday that is a business day and
that expires on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday
of the next business week, or, in the case of a series that is
listed on a Friday and expires on a Monday, is listed one business
week and one business day prior to that expiration. If a Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday or Friday is not a business day, the series may
be opened (or shall expire) on the first business day immediately
prior to that Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, respectively.
For a series listed pursuant to this section for Monday expiration,
if a Monday is not a business day, the series shall expire on the
first business day immediately following that Monday. See Exchange
Rule 16.1.
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Additionally, the Exchange may open for trading series of options
on the symbols provided in Table 1 of Rule 19.5, Interpretation and
Policy .05(h) that expire at the close of business on each of the next
two Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, respectively, that
are business days beyond the current week and are not business days in
which standard expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or
Quarterly Options Series expire (``Short Term Option Daily
Expirations'').\6\ For those symbols listed in Table 1, the Exchange
may have no more than a total of two Short Term Option Daily
Expirations beyond the current week for each of Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Thursday expirations, as applicable, at one time.
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\6\ As set forth in Table 1 of Rule 19.5, Interpretation and
Policy .05(h), the Exchange currently permits expirations in SPY,
IWM, QQQ on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Also, the
Exchange permits expirations in GLD, SLV and TLT on Mondays and
Wednesdays. Finally, the Exchange permits expirations in USO and UNG
on Wednesdays.
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The Exchange proposes to expand the Short Term Option Series
Program to permit certain Qualifying Securities to list up to two
Monday and Wednesday expirations in addition to the Friday weekly
expiration. The Exchange proposes to define Qualifying Securities as
eligible individual stocks or Fund Shares, which are separate and apart
from the symbols listed in Table 1, that have received approval to list
additional expiries on specific symbols, that meet the following
criteria on a quarterly basis:
(1) an underlying security, as measured on the last day of the
prior calendar quarter, must have:
(A) a market capitalization of greater than 700 billion dollars for
an individual stock based on the closing price,\7\ or
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\7\ The closing price and the opening price shall be that of the
primary exchange where the security is listed.
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(B) Assets under Management (``AUM'') greater than 50 billion
dollars for a Fund Share based on net asset value (``NAV'');
(2) monthly options volume, as measured by sides traded in the last
month preceding the quarter end, of greater than 10 million options;
(3) a position limit of at least 250,000 contracts; and
(4) participate in the Penny Interval Program.
Each calendar quarter, the Exchange will apply the above criteria
to individual stocks and Fund Shares to determine eligibility for the
following quarter as a Qualifying Security. Beginning on the second
trading day in the first month of each calendar quarter, the market
capitalization of individual stocks shall be calculated based on the
closing price established on the primary exchange on the last trading
day of the prior calendar quarter and the AUM for Fund Shares shall be
calculated based on the NAV established on the primary exchange on the
last trading day of the prior calendar quarter. The data establishing
the volume thresholds will be established by using data from the last
month of the prior calendar quarter from The Options Clearing
Corporation. For options listed on the first trading day of a given
calendar quarter, the volume shall be calculated using the last month
of the quarter prior to that calendar quarter.\8\ The Exchange will
make the list of Qualifying Securities available by close of business
on the first trading day of the quarter.\9\
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\8\ OCC data becomes available for the end of a quarter on the
first trading day of a new quarter. For example, if the Exchange
were to list Qualifying Securities in Q3 of 2025, The Exchange would
look at the volume, measured in sides, for the last month of Q2 2025
or June 2025.
\9\ The Exchange will make this information available on its
website. This information will be freely accessible to the public.
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Eligible Qualifying Securities would be permitted to list two Short
Term Option Expiration Dates beyond the current week for each Monday
and Wednesday expiration at one time. For Qualifying Securities, the
Exchange would not list an expiry on a day when there will be an
Earnings Announcement \10\ that takes place after market close. For
purposes of this rule proposal, earnings announcements shall include
official public quarterly or yearly earnings filed with the Commission
(``Earnings Announcement'').\11\ Not listing an expiry for a Qualifying
Security on a day where there is an Earnings Announcement that takes
place after market close will avoid permitting an additional expiry on
a day where post-close price volatility may be impacted due to the
Earnings Announcement.
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\10\ An Earnings Announcement is an official public statement of
a company's profitability for a specific period, typically a quarter
or a year.
\11\ For purposes of this proposal, pre-announcements or
``guidance'' shall not be considered an Earnings Announcement.
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Qualifying Securities that do not continue to meet the above
criteria would no longer be permitted to list Monday and Wednesday
expiries beginning on the second day of the following quarter.\12\
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\12\ The Exchange has noted the additional expiries in a
proposed Table 2 in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(h)
along with the criteria for a Qualifying Security.
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The proposed Monday Qualifying Securities expirations will be
similar to the current Monday Expirations in SPY, QQQ, and IWM (among
other symbols that may list a Monday Expiration) in Short Term Option
Daily Expirations set forth in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy
.05(h), such that the Exchange may open for trading on any Friday or
Monday that is a business day (beyond the current week) series of
options on Qualifying Securities to expire on any Monday of the month
that is a business day and is not a Monday in which standard expiration
options series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series
expire, provided that Monday expirations that are listed on a Friday
must be listed at least one business week and one business day prior to
the expiration (``Monday Qualifying Securities Expirations'').\13\ In
the event Qualifying Securities would expire on a Monday and that
Monday is the same day that a standard expiration options series,
Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series expires, the
Exchange would skip that week's listing and instead list the following
week; the two weeks of Monday Qualifying Securities Expirations would
therefore not be consecutive. Today, Monday expirations in SPY, QQQ,
and IWM similarly skip the weekly listing in the event the weekly
listing would expire on the same day in the same class as a standard
expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options
Series.
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\13\ They may also trade on Fridays, as is the case for all
options series in the Short Term Option Series Program.
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The proposed Wednesday Qualifying Securities expirations will be
similar to the current Wednesday SPY, QQQ, and IWM (among other symbols
that may list a Wednesday Expiration) in Short Term Option Daily
Expirations, as set forth in Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy
.05(h), such that the Exchange may open for trading on any Tuesday or
Wednesday that is a business day (beyond the current week) series of
options on Qualifying Securities to expire on any Wednesday of the
month that is a business day and is not a Wednesday in which standard
expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options
[[Page 4738]]
Series expire (``Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations'').\14\ In
the event Qualifying Securities would expire on a Wednesday and that
Wednesday is the same day that a standard expiration options series,
Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series expires, the
Exchange would skip that week's listing and instead list the following
week; the two weeks of Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations
would therefore not be consecutive. Today, Wednesday expirations in
SPY, QQQ, and IWM similarly skip the weekly listing in the event the
weekly listing would expire on the same day in the same class as a
standard expiration options series, Monthly Options Series, or
Quarterly Options Series.
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\14\ See id.
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The interval between strike prices for the proposed Monday and
Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations will be the same as those
currently applicable for SPY, QQQ, and IWM Monday and Wednesday
Expirations (among other symbols that may list a Monday or Wednesday
Expiration) in the Short Term Option Series Program.\15\ Specifically,
the Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations will have a
strike interval of (i) $0.50 or greater for strike prices below $100,
and $1 or greater for strike prices between $100 and $150 for all
option classes that participate in the Short Term Option Series
Program, (ii) $0.50 for option classes that trade in one dollar
increments and are in the Short Term Option Series Program, or (iii)
$2.50 or greater for strike prices above $150.\16\ As is the case with
other equity options series listed pursuant to the Short Term Option
Series Program, the Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Securities
Expirations series will be P.M.-settled.
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\15\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(e). The
Exchange notes that equity options which have an expiration of more
than 21 days from the listing date would also be subject to the
intervals as noted within Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy
.05(f).
\16\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(e) and (g).
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Pursuant to Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(h), with
respect to the Short Term Option Series Program, if a Monday is not a
business day, the series shall expire on the first business day
immediately following that Monday, and a Wednesday expiration series
shall expire on the first business day immediately prior to that
Wednesday, e.g., Tuesday of that week if the Wednesday is not a
business day.
Currently, for each option class eligible for participation in the
Short Term Option Series Program, the Exchange is limited to opening
thirty (30) series for each expiration date for the specific class.\17\
The thirty (30) series restriction does not include series that are
open by other securities exchanges under their respective weekly rules;
the Exchange may list these additional series that are listed by other
options exchanges.\18\ With the proposed changes, this thirty (30)
series restriction would apply to Monday and Wednesday Qualifying
Securities Expirations as well. In addition, the Exchange will be able
to list series that are listed by other exchanges, assuming they file
similar rules with the Commission to list Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Securities Expirations.
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\17\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(c).
\18\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(a).
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With this proposal, Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Securities
Expirations would be treated similar to existing SPY, QQQ, and IWM
Monday and Wednesday Expirations. With respect to standard expiration
option series, Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations
will be permitted to expire in the same week in which standard
expiration option series on the same class expire.\19\ Not listing
Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Securities Expirations for one week
every month because there was a standard options series on that same
class on the Friday of that week would create investor confusion.
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\19\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(h).
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Further, as with SPY, QQQ, and IWM Monday and Wednesday
Expirations, the Exchange would not permit Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Securities Expirations to expire on a business day in which
standard expiration option series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly
Options Series expire.\20\ Therefore, all Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Securities Expirations would expire at the close of business
on each of the next two Mondays and Wednesdays, respectively, that are
business days and are not business days in which standard expiration
option series, Monthly Options Series, or Quarterly Options Series
expire. The Exchange believes that it is reasonable to not permit two
expirations on the same day in which a standard expiration option
series, Monthly Options Series, a Quarterly Options Series would expire
because those options would be duplicative of each other.
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\20\ See id.
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The Exchange does not believe that any market disruptions will be
encountered with the introduction of Monday and Wednesday Qualifying
Securities Expirations. The Exchange currently trades P.M.-settled
Short Term Option Series that expire Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday on several symbols \21\ and has not experienced any market
disruptions nor issues with capacity.\22\ Today, the Exchange has
surveillance programs in place to support and properly monitor trading
in Short Term Option Series that expire Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday on several symbols.\23\ The Exchange believes that it has the
necessary capacity and surveillance programs in place to support and
properly monitor trading in the proposed Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Securities Expirations.
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\21\ See supra note 6.
\22\ In its filing to permit the listing of up to two Monday and
Wednesday expirations for options on certain Qualifying Securities,
ISE provided charts and analysis demonstrating the percentage of
weekly listings in the options industry compared to monthly,
quarterly, and Long-Term Options Series for a twelve-month period
ending on February 11, 2025. The information includes time averaged
data (the number of strikes by maturity date divided from the number
of trading days) for all 18 options markets through February 11,
2025. The filing provides further that the Sample Qualifying
Securities (selected based on January 2025 data) have an average
annualized closing volatility of generally less than 20% and are
more volatile than SPY, QQQ and IWM, but given that these are
individual stocks it is reasonable to expect that they have
idiosyncratic characteristics (increasing their volatility) relative
to broad based Exchange-Traded Fund Shares like SPY, QQQ and IWM.
ISE sourced this information, which are estimates, from OCC. See ISE
Amendment No. 1.
\23\ See supra note 6.
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2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with
the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to the
Exchange and, in particular, the requirements of Section 6(b) of the
Act.\24\ Specifically, the Exchange believes the proposed rule change
is consistent with the Section 6(b)(5) \25\ 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 that the proposed rule change is
consistent with the Section 6(b)(5) \26\ requirement that the rules of
an exchange not be
[[Page 4739]]
designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers,
brokers, or dealers.
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\24\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\25\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
\26\ Id.
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In particular, similar to Monday expirations in SPY, QQQ, and IWM,
the proposal to permit Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security
Expirations, subject to the proposed limitation of two expirations
beyond the current week, would protect investors and the public
interest by providing the investing public and other market
participants more choice and flexibility to closely tailor their
investment and hedging decisions in these options and allow for a
reduced premium cost of buying portfolio protection, thus allowing them
to better manage their risk exposure.
The Exchange believes that the proposed criteria for Qualifying
Securities requires individual stocks and Fund Shares to be highly
liquid. A market capitalization measured on the last day of the prior
calendar quarter based on the closing price of the underlying, of
greater than 700 billion dollars for an individual stock, or AUM of 50
billion dollars for a Fund Share, in conjunction with the monthly
options volume requirement of greater than 10 million options as
measured by sides traded in the last month preceding the quarter end,
is very restrictive. This requirement represents substantially less
than 1% of individual stocks (only eight (8) individual stocks existed
that would have qualified to trade additional expiries as of January 1,
2025) and substantially less than 1% of Fund Shares (only seven (7)
Fund Shares existed that would have qualified to trade additional
expiries as of January 1, 2025, pursuant to Rule 19.5, Interpretation
and Policy .05(h), Table 1, to trade additional expiries) traded.
Therefore, an individual stock or Fund Share that meets the
aforementioned market capitalization and volume requirements are highly
liquid and could be viewed as stable securities.
The Exchange notes that with respect to position limits, Exchange
Rule 18.7(d)(5) provides, that ``[t]o be eligible for the 250,000
contract limit, either the most recent six (6) month trading volume of
the underlying security must have totaled at least 100 million shares
or the most recent six-month trading volume of the underlying security
must have totaled at least seventy-five (75) million shares and the
underlying security must have at least 300,000,000 shares currently
outstanding.'' The 250,000 contract position limit is the highest
position limit by Exchange rules. Options that qualify for the 250,000
position (and exercise) limit are highly liquid securities that have
met the stringent requirements noted in Exchange Rule 18.7(d)(5) to
qualify for the highest position limit.
Finally, a Qualifying Security must participate in the Penny
Interval Program. In order to qualify for the Penny Interval Program,
an options class must be among the 300 most actively traded multiply
listed option classes overlying securities priced below $200.\27\ The
most actively traded options classes are included in the Penny Interval
Program based on certain objective criteria (trading volume thresholds
and initial price tests).
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\27\ See Exchange Rule 21.5(d). Each December OCC ranks all
multiply listed option classes based on National Cleared Volume for
the six full calendar month from June 1 through November 30 for
determination of the most actively traded option classes.
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The number of individual stocks currently meeting all four criteria
for a Qualifying Security was eight (8), and the number of Fund Shares
currently meeting all four criteria for a Qualifying Security that do
not already have Monday and Wednesday expirations was one (1), as of
June 27, 2025. Both totals represent less than 0.2% of all securities
with options listed. The Exchange believes that since individual stocks
are the dominant constituents of the broad-based indexes (e.g., S&P 500
Index and Nasdaq-100 Index), the improvement in price transparency
brought about by Monday and Wednesday trading will offer Market Makers
and investors better volatility pricing which will inform trading on
the related products to these indexes. The Exchange believes that the
proposed criteria for Qualifying Securities is consistent with the
protection of investors and the general public because the criteria
targets the most liquid individual stocks and Fund Shares.
The Exchange would not list an expiry on a Qualifying Security on a
day where there will be an Earnings Announcement that takes place after
market close to avoid post close price volatility that may arise from
the Earnings Announcement and which may impact exercise and/or
assignment decisions.
Qualifying Securities that do not continue to meet the above
criteria would no longer be permitted to list Monday and Wednesday
expiries in the following quarter, although the Qualifying Security
would potentially have two weeks of strikes already listed which will
persist. These remaining listings could continue to be traded until
they expire.
With this proposal, overall, the Exchange would add a small number
of Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations by limiting the
addition of two Monday expirations and two Wednesday expirations beyond
the current week. The addition of Monday and Wednesday Qualifying
Security Expirations would remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market by encouraging Market Makers to
continue to deploy capital more efficiently and improve displayed
market quality.\28\ The Exchange believes that the proposal will allow
Option Members to expand hedging tools and tailor their investment and
hedging needs more effectively in Qualifying Securities as these funds
are most likely to be utilized by market participants to hedge the
underlying asset classes.
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\28\ Today, Market-Makers are required to quote a specified time
in their assigned options series. See Rule 22.6.
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Similar to SPY, QQQ, and IWM Monday and Wednesday Expirations, the
introduction of Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations is
consistent with the Act as it will, among other things, expand hedging
tools available to market participants and allow for a reduced premium
cost of buying portfolio protection. The Exchange believes that Monday
and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations will allow market
participants to purchase options on Qualifying Securities based on
their timing as needed and allow them to tailor their investment and
hedging needs more effectively, thus allowing them to better manage
their risk exposure. Today, the Exchange lists other Monday and
Wednesday expirations.\29\
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\29\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05(h) Table 1.
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In particular, the Exchange believes the Short Term Option Series
Program has been successful to date and that Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Security Expirations should simply expand the ability of
investors to hedge risk against market movements stemming from economic
releases or market events that occur throughout the month in the same
way that the Short Term Option Series Program has expanded the
landscape of hedging.
There are no material differences in the treatment of SPY, QQQ and
IWM Monday and Wednesday Expirations compared to the proposed Monday
and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations. Given the similarities
between SPY, QQQ and IWM Monday and Wednesday Expirations and the
proposed Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations, the
Exchange believes that applying the provisions in 19.5, Interpretation
and
[[Page 4740]]
Policy .05(h) that currently apply to SPY, QQQ and IWM Monday and
Wednesday Expirations is justified.
The Exchange believes Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security
Expirations will allow market participants to purchase options on
Qualifying Securities based on their timing as needed and allow them to
tailor their investment and hedging needs more effectively. Further,
the proposal to permit Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security
Expirations for options on Qualifying Securities listed pursuant to the
Short Term Option Series Program, subject to the proposed limitation of
two nearest expirations, would protect investors and the public
interest by providing the investing public and other market
participants more flexibility to closely tailor their investment and
hedging decisions in the options on Qualifying Securities, thus
allowing them to better manage their risk exposure.
In particular, the Exchange believes the Short Term Option Series
Program has been successful to date and that Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Security Expirations should simply expand the ability of
investors to hedge risk against market movements stemming from economic
releases or market events that occur throughout the month in the same
way that the Short Term Option Series Program has expanded the
landscape of hedging. Similarly, the Exchange believes Monday and
Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations should create greater trading
and hedging opportunities and provide customers the flexibility to
tailor their investment objectives more effectively.
Finally, the Exchange represents that it has an adequate
surveillance program in place to detect manipulative trading in the
proposed option expirations, in the same way that it monitors trading
in the current Short Term Option Series for Monday and Wednesday SPY,
QQQ and IWM expirations. The Exchange also represents that it has the
necessary system capacity to support the new expirations. Finally, the
Exchange does not believe that any market disruptions will be
encountered with the introduction of these option expirations. As
discussed above, the Exchange believes that its proposal is a modest
expansion of weekly expiration dates for Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Security Expirations given that it will be limited to two
Monday expirations and two Wednesday expirations beyond the current
week.
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.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intramarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act, but rather will
meet customer demand. The Exchange would uniformly apply the Qualifying
Security criteria to options in individual stocks and Fund Shares. The
Exchange believes that Options Members will continue to be able to
expand hedging tools and tailor their investment and hedging needs more
effectively in the Qualifying Securities. All market participants will
be treated in the same manner under this proposal.
Similar to SPY, QQQ and IWM Monday and Wednesday Expirations, the
introduction of Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations
does not impose an undue burden on competition. The Exchange believes
that it will, among other things, expand the hedging tools available to
market participants and allow for a reduced premium cost of buying
portfolio protection. The Exchange believes that Monday and Wednesday
Qualifying Security Expirations will allow market participants to
purchase options on Qualifying Securities based on their timing as
needed and allow them to tailor their investment and hedging needs more
effectively.
Further, not adding an expiry for a Qualifying Security on a day
where there will be an Earnings Announcement that takes place after
market close does not impose an undue burden on competition as the
Exchange would uniformly apply this practice to the listing of all
Qualifying Securities.
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on intermarket competition that is not necessary or
appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act, as nothing
prevents other options exchanges from proposing similar rules to list
and trade Monday and Wednesday Qualifying Security Expirations.
Further, the Commission recently approved a substantially similar rule
change of another options exchange.\30\
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\30\ See ISE Amendment No. 1 and ISE Approval.
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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
Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not: (i)
significantly affect the protection of investors or the public
interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii)
become operative prior to 30 days from the date on which it was filed,
or such shorter time as the Commission may designate, if consistent
with the protection of investors and the public interest, the proposed
rule change has become effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)(iii)
of the Act \31\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\32\
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\31\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
\32\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)
requires a self-regulatory organization to give the Commission
written notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, along
with a brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at
least five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed
rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
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A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \33\ normally
does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the
filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii),\34\ the Commission
may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has asked
the Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal
may become operative immediately upon filing. According to the
Exchange, waiver of the operative delay would allow the Exchange to
compete with at least one other exchange that has approval to list and
trade the same option series.\35\ The Commission believes that the
proposed rule change presents no novel issues and that waiver of the
30-day operative delay is consistent with the protection of investors
and the public interest. Accordingly, the Commission hereby waives the
30-day operative delay and designates the proposal operative upon
filing.\36\
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\33\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
\34\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
\35\ See supra note 4.
\36\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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[[Page 4741]]
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 shall institute proceedings under
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \37\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\37\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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-MEMX-2026-03 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-MEMX-2026-03. 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 filing 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-MEMX-2026-03 and should be submitted on
or before February 23, 2026.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\38\
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\38\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12) and (59).
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Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-01970 Filed 1-30-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P