2024-27989. Self-Regulatory Organizations; MIAX Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Exchange Rule 402, Criteria for Underlying Securities, Exchange Rule 307, Position Limits, and Exchange ...  

  • Bitcoin Fund Shares outstanding
    Fidelity Fund 201,100,100
    ARK 21 Fund 45,495,000

    Each Bitcoin Fund had significantly more than 7,000,000 shares outstanding (approximately 29 and 6.5 times that amount, respectively), which is the minimum number of shares of a corporate stock that the Exchange generally requires to list options on that stock pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(b)(1). The Exchange believes this demonstrates that each Bitcoin Fund is characterized by a substantial number of outstanding shares.

    Further, the below table contains information regarding the number of beneficial holders of the Bitcoin Funds as of the specified dates:

    Bitcoin Fund Beneficial holders Date
    Fidelity Fund 279,656 6/27/2024
    ARK 21 Fund 69,425 6/26/2024

    As this table shows, each Bitcoin Fund has significantly more than 2,000 beneficial holders (approximately 140 and 35 times more, respectively), which is the minimum number of holders the Exchange generally requires for corporate stock in order to list options on that stock pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(b)(2). Therefore, the Exchange believes the shares of each Bitcoin Fund are widely held.

    As demonstrated above, despite the fact that the Bitcoin Funds had been trading for approximately seven months [11] only as of August 7, 2024, the six-month trading volume for each as of that date was substantially higher than 2,400,000 shares (approximately 464 and 124 times that amount, respectively), which is the minimum 12-month volume the Exchange generally requires for a corporate stock in order to list options on that security as set forth in Exchange Rule 402(b)(4). Additionally, as of August 7, 2024, the trading volume for each Bitcoin Fund was in the top 5% of all ETFs that are currently trading. The Exchange believes this data demonstrates each Bitcoin Fund is characterized as having shares that are actively traded.

    Options on the Bitcoin Funds will also be subject to the Exchange's continued listing standards set forth in Exchange Rule 403(g), for ETFs deemed appropriate for options trading pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(i). Specifically, Exchange Rule 403(g) provides that ETFs that were initially approved for options trading pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(i) shall be deemed not to meet the requirements for continued approval, and the Exchange shall not open for trading any additional series of option contracts of the class covering that such ETFs, if the ETFs are delisted from trading pursuant to Exchange Rule 403(b)(4), are halted or suspended from trading in their primary market. Additionally, options on ETFs may be subject to the suspension of opening transactions in any of the following circumstances: (1) in the case of options covering ETFs approved for trading ( print page 94830) under Exchange Rule 402(i)(5)(i)(A), in accordance with the terms of paragraphs (b)(1), (2), and (3) of Exchange Rule 403; (2) in the case of options covering ETFs approved for trading under Exchange Rule 402(i)(5)(i)(B), following the initial twelve-month period beginning upon the commencement of trading in the ETFs on a national securities exchange and are defined as an NMS stock, there are fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial holders of such ETFs for 30 or more consecutive trading days; (3) the value of the index or portfolio of securities, non-U.S. currency, or portfolio of commodities including commodity futures contracts, options on commodity futures contracts, swaps, forward contracts and/or options on physical commodities and/or financial instruments and money market instruments on which the ETFs are based is no longer calculated or available; or (4) such other event shall occur or condition exist that in the opinion of the Exchange makes further dealing in such options on the Exchange inadvisable.

    Options on each Bitcoin Fund would be physically settled contracts with American-style exercise.[12] Consistent with current Exchange Rule 404, which governs the opening of options series on a specific underlying security (including ETFs), the Exchange will open at least one expiration month for options on each Bitcoin Fund [13] at the commencement of trading on the Exchange and may also list series of options on a Bitcoin Fund for trading on a weekly,[14] monthly,[15] or quarterly [16] basis. The Exchange may also list long-term equity option series (“LEAPS”) that expire from 12 to 39 months from the time they are listed.[17]

    Pursuant to Exchange Rule 404, Interpretation and Policy .06, which governs strike prices of series of options on ETFs, the interval between strike prices of series of options on ETFs approved for options trading pursuant to Exchange Rule 402(i) shall be fixed at a price per share which is reasonably close to the price per share at which the underlying security is traded in the primary market at or about the same time such series of options is first open for trading on the Exchange, or at such intervals as may have been established on another options exchange prior to the initiation of trading on the Exchange. With respect to the Short Term Options Series or Weekly Program, during the month prior to expiration of an option class that is selected for the Short Term Option Series Program, the strike price intervals for the related non-Short Term Option (“Related non-Short Term Option”) shall be the same as the strike price intervals for the Short Term Option.[18] Specifically, the Exchange may open for trading Short Term Option Series at strike price intervals of (i) $0.50 or greater where the strike price is less than $100, and $1 or greater where the strike price is between $100 and $150 for all option classes that participate in the Short Term Options 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 where the strike price is above $150.[19] Additionally, the Exchange may list series of options pursuant to the $1 Strike Price Interval Program,[20] the $0.50 Strike Program,[21] and the $2.50 Strike Price Program.[22] Pursuant to Exchange Rule 510, where the price of a series of options for a Bitcoin Fund is less than $3.00, the minimum increment will be $0.05, and where the price is $3.00 or higher, the minimum increment will be $0.10 [23] consistent with the minimum increments for options on other ETFs listed on the Exchange. Any and all new series of a Bitcoin Fund options that the Exchange lists will be consistent and comply with the expirations, strike prices, and minimum increments set forth in Rules 404 and 510, as applicable.

    Bitcoin Fund options will trade in the same manner as any other ETF options on the Exchange. The Exchange Rules that currently apply to the listing and trading of all ETFs options on the Exchange, including, for example, Exchange Rules that govern listing criteria, expiration and exercise prices, minimum increments, position and exercise limits, margin requirements, customer accounts and trading halt procedures will apply to the listing and trading of Bitcoin Funds options on the Exchange in the same manner as they apply to other options on all other ETFs that are listed and traded on the Exchange, including the precious-metal backed commodity ETFs already deemed appropriate for options trading on the Exchange pursuant to current Exchange Rule 402(i)(4).

    The Exchange also proposes to amend Rules 307 and 309. Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend Supplementary Material .01 to Exchange Rule 307 to provide a position limit of 25,000 same side option contracts for each Bitcoin Fund option. Additionally, pursuant to the proposed change to Supplementary Material .01 to Exchange Rule 309, the exercise limits for options on each Bitcoin Fund will be equivalent to this proposed position limit.

    The Exchange determined these proposed position and exercise limits considering, among other things, the approximate six-month average daily volume (“ADV”) and outstanding shares of each underlying Bitcoin Fund (which as discussed above demonstrate that each Bitcoin Fund is widely held and actively traded and thus justify these conservatively proposed position limits), as set forth below, along with market capitalization (as of August 7, 2024): ( print page 94831)

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund Six-month ADV (shares) Outstanding shares Market capitalization ($)
    Fidelity Fund 8,902,893 201,100,100 14,217,013,188
    ARK 21 Fund 2,378,886 45,495,000 2,487,666,600

    The Exchange then compared the number of outstanding shares of the Bitcoin Funds to those of other ETFs. The following table provides the approximate average position (and exercise limit) of ETF options with similar outstanding shares (as of August 27, 2024), compared to the proposed position and exercise limit for the Bitcoin Fund options:

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund Average limit of other ETF options (contracts) Proposed limit (contracts)
    Fidelity Fund 24  188,110 25,000
    ARK 21 Fund 25  108,696 25,000

    The Exchange considered current position and exercise limits of options on ETFs with outstanding shares comparable to those of each Bitcoin Fund, with the proposed limit significantly lower (between two and ten times lower) than the average limits of the options on the other ETFs. As discussed above, the Bitcoin Funds are actively held and widely traded: (1) each Bitcoin Fund (as of August 7, 2024) had significantly more than 7,000,000 shares outstanding, which is the minimum number of shares of a corporate stock that the Exchange generally requires to list options on that stock pursuant to Rule 402(b)(1); (2) each Bitcoin Fund (as of the dates listed above) had significantly more than 2,000 beneficial holders, which is the minimum number of holders the Exchange generally requires for corporate stock in order to list options on that stock pursuant to Rule 402(b)(2); and (3) each Bitcoin Fund had a six-month trading volume substantially higher than 2,400,000 shares, which is the minimum 12-month volume the Exchange generally requires for a security in order to list options on that security as set forth in Rule 402(b)(3).

    With respect to outstanding shares, if a market participant held the maximum number of positions possible pursuant to the proposed position and exercise limits, the equivalent shares represented by the proposed position/exercise limit would represent the following approximate percentage of current outstanding shares:

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund Proposed position/exercise limit (in equivalent shares) Outstanding shares Percentage of outstanding shares (%)
    Fidelity Fund 2,500,000 201,100,100 1.2
    ARK 21 Fund 2,500,000 45,495,000 5.5

    As this table demonstrates, if a market participant held the maximum permissible options positions in one of the Bitcoin Fund options and exercised all of them at the same time, that market participant would control a small percentage of the outstanding shares of the underlying Bitcoin Fund.

    Rule 309 provides two methods of qualifying for a position limit tier above 25,000 option contracts. The first method is based on six-month trading volume in the underlying security, and the second method is based on slightly lower six-month trading volume and number of shares outstanding in the underlying security. An underlying stock or ETF that qualifies for method two based on trading volume and number of shares outstanding would be required to have the minimum number of outstanding shares as shown in middle column of the table below.

    The table, which provides the equivalent shares of the position limits applicable to equity options, including ETFs, further represents the percentages of the minimum number of outstanding shares that an underlying stock or ETF must have to qualify for that position limit (under the second method described above), all of which are higher than the percentages for the Bitcoin Funds.

    Position/Exercise Limit (in equivalent shares) Minimum Outstanding Shares Percentage of Outstanding Shares (%)
    2,500,000 26  6,300,000 40.0
    5,000,000 40,000,000 12.5
    ( print page 94832)
    7,500,000 120,000,000 6.3
    20,000,000 240,000,000 8.3
    25,000,000 300,000,000 8.3

    The equivalent shares represented by the proposed position and exercise limits for each Bitcoin Fund as a percentage of outstanding shares of the underlying Bitcoin Fund is significantly lower than the percentage for the lowest possible position limit for equity options of 25,000 (under 6% compared to 40%) and is lower than that percentage for each current position limit bucket.[27]

    Further, the proposed position and exercise limits for each Bitcoin Fund option are significantly below the limits that would otherwise apply pursuant to current Rule 307. These position and exercise limits are the lowest position and exercise limits available in the options industry, are extremely conservative and more than appropriate given the market capitalization, average daily volume, and high number of outstanding shares of the Bitcoin Funds.

    All of the above information demonstrates that the proposed position and exercise limits for the Bitcoin Fund options are more than reasonable and appropriate. The trading volume, ADV, and outstanding shares of each Bitcoin Fund demonstrate that these funds are actively traded and widely held, and proposed position and exercise limits are well below those of other ETFs with similar market characteristics. The proposed position and exercise limits are the lowest position and exercise limits available for equity options in the industry, are extremely conservative, and are more than appropriate given each Bitcoin Fund's market capitalization, ADV, and high number of outstanding shares.

    The Exchange further notes that Exchange Rule 1502, which governs margin requirements applicable to trading on the Exchange, including options on ETFs, will also apply to the trading of the Bitcoin Fund options. Notwithstanding the position limits in Exchange Rule 307(d) and exercise limits in Exchange Rule 309, the Exchange proposes the position and exercise limits for the options on the Bitcoin Fund to be 25,000 contracts on the same side pursuant to proposed Supplementary Material .01 to Exchange Rule 307 and proposed Supplementary Material .01 to Exchange Rule 309.

    The Exchange represents that the same surveillance procedures applicable to all other options on other ETFs currently listed and traded on the Exchange will apply to options on the Bitcoin Funds. Also the Exchange represents that it has the necessary systems capacity to support the new option series. The Exchange believes that its existing surveillance and reporting safeguards are designed to deter and detect possible manipulative behavior which might potentially arise from listing and trading options on ETFs, including the proposed Bitcoin Funds options.

    Today, the Exchange has an adequate surveillance program in place for options. The Exchange intends to apply those same program procedures to Bitcoin Fund options that it applies to the Exchange's other options products.[28] The Exchange's staff will have access to the surveillance programs conducted by its affiliate exchanges, MIAX Pearl and MIAX Sapphire with respect to trading in the shares of the underlying Bitcoin Funds when conducting surveillances for market abuse or manipulation in the options on the Bitcoin Funds. Additionally, the Exchange is a member of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (“ISG”) under the Intermarket Surveillance Group Agreement. ISG members work together to coordinate surveillance and investigative information sharing in the stock, options, and futures markets. In addition to obtaining surveillance data from MIAX Pearl and MIAX Sapphire, the Exchange will be able to obtain information regarding trading in the shares of the underlying Bitcoin Funds from Cboe and other markets through ISG. In addition, the Exchange has a Regulatory Services Agreement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Pursuant to a multi-party 17d-2 joint plan, all options exchanges allocate regulatory responsibilities to FINRA to conduct certain options-related market surveillance that are common to rules of all options exchanges.[29]

    The underlying shares of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products (“ETPs”), including the Bitcoin Funds, are also subject to safeguards related to addressing market abuse and manipulation. As the Commission stated in Bitcoin ETP Order:

    Each Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with the CME via their common membership in the Intermarket Surveillance Group. This facilitates the sharing of information that is available to the CME through its surveillance of its markets, including its surveillance of the CME bitcoin futures market.[30]

    The Exchange states that, given the consistently high correlation between the CME bitcoin futures market and the spot bitcoin market, as confirmed by the Commission through robust correlation analysis, the Commission was able to conclude that such surveillance sharing agreements could reasonably be “expected to assist in surveilling for fraudulent and ( print page 94833) manipulative acts and practices in the specific context of the [Bitcoin ETPs].” [31]

    In light of surveillance measures related to both options and futures as well as the underlying Bitcoin Funds,[32] the Exchange believes that existing surveillance procedures are designed to deter and detect possible manipulative behavior which might potentially arise from listing and trading the proposed options on the Bitcoin Funds. Further, the Exchange represents that it will implement any new surveillance procedures it deems necessary to effectively monitor the trading of options on Bitcoin Funds.

    The Exchange has also analyzed its capacity and represents that it believes the Exchange and Options Price Reporting Authority or “OPRA” have the necessary systems capacity to handle the additional traffic associated with the listing of new series that may result from the introduction of options on Bitcoin Funds up to the number of expirations currently permissible under the Rules. Because the proposal is limited to one class, the Exchange believes any additional traffic that may be generated from the introduction of Bitcoin Funds options will be manageable.

    The Exchange believes that offering options on Bitcoin Funds will benefit investors by providing them with an additional, relatively lower cost investing tool to gain exposure to the price of Bitcoin and hedging vehicle to meet their investment needs in connection with Bitcoin-related products and positions. The Exchange expects investors will transact in options on Bitcoin ETPs in the unregulated over-the-counter (“OTC”) options market (if the Commission approves Bitcoin ETPs for exchange-trading),[33] but may prefer to trade such options in a listed environment to receive the benefits of trading listing options, including (1) enhanced efficiency in initiating and closing out position; (2) increased market transparency; and (3) heightened contra-party creditworthiness due to the role of OCC as issuer and guarantor of all listed options. The Exchange believes that listing Bitcoin Fund options may cause investors to bring this liquidity to the Exchange, would increase market transparency and enhance the process of price discovery conducted on the Exchange through increased order flow. The ETFs that hold financial instruments, money market instruments, or precious metal commodities on which the Exchange may already list and trade options are trusts structured in substantially the same manner as Bitcoin Funds and essentially offer the same objectives and benefits to investors, just with respect to different assets. The Exchange notes that it has not identified any issues with the continued listing and trading of any ETFs options, including ETFs that hold commodities ( i.e., precious metals) that it currently lists and trades on the Exchange.

    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.[34] Specifically, the Exchange believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the Section 6(b)(5) [35] 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) [36] requirement that the rules of an exchange not be designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.

    In particular, the Exchange believes that the proposal to list and trade options on the Bitcoin Funds will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, in general, protect investors because offering options on the Bitcoin Funds will provide investors with a greater opportunity to realize the benefits of utilizing options on an ETF based on a Bitcoin Fund, including cost efficiencies and increased hedging strategies. The Exchange believes that offering Bitcoin Funds options will benefit investors by providing them with an additional, relatively lower-cost risk management tool, allowing them to manage, more easily, their positions and associated risks in their portfolios in connection with exposure to the price of Bitcoin and with Bitcoin-related products and positions. Additionally, the Exchange's offering of Bitcoin Fund options will provide investors with the ability to transact in such options in a listed market environment as opposed to in the unregulated OTC option market, which would increase market transparency and enhance the process of price discovery conducted on the Exchange through increased order flow to the benefit of all investors. The Exchange also notes that it already lists options on other commodity-based ETFs,[37] which, as described above, are trusts structured in substantially the same manner as Bitcoin Funds and essentially offer the same objectives and benefits to investors, just with respect to a different commodity ( i.e., Bitcoin rather than precious metals) and for which the Exchange has not identified any issues with the continued listing and trading of commodity-backed ETF options it currently lists for trading.

    The Exchange also believes the proposed rule change will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, because it is consistent with current Exchange Rules, previously filed with the Commission. Options on Bitcoin Funds must satisfy the initial listing standards and continued listing standards currently in the Exchange Rules, applicable to options on all ETFs, including ETFs that hold other commodities already deemed appropriate for options trading on the Exchange. Additionally, as demonstrated above, each Bitcoin Fund is characterized by a substantial number of shares that are widely held and actively traded. Bitcoin Fund options will trade in the same manner as any other ETF options—the same Exchange Rules that including permissible ( print page 94834) expirations, strike prices, minimum increments, position and exercise limits (as proposed herein), and margin requirements, will govern the listing and trading of options on the Bitcoin Funds.

    The Exchange believes the proposed position and exercise limits are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and promote just and equitable principles of trade, as they are designed to address potential manipulative schemes and adverse market impacts surrounding the use of options, such as disrupting the market in the security underlying the options. The proposed position and exercise limits for options on each of the Bitcoin Funds is 25,000 contracts. These position and exercise limits are the lowest position and exercise limits available in the options industry, are extremely conservative and more than appropriate given each of the Bitcoin Funds market capitalization, average daily volume, and high number of outstanding shares for each. The information above demonstrates that the average position and exercise limits of options on ETFs with comparable outstanding shares and trading volume to those of the Bitcoin Funds are significantly higher than the proposed position and exercise limits for Bitcoin Fund options. Therefore, the proposed position and exercise limits for the Bitcoin Fund options are conservative relative to options on ETFs with comparable market characteristics.

    Further, given that the issuer of each Bitcoin Fund may create and redeem shares that represent an interest in Bitcoin, the Exchange believes it is relevant to compare the size of a position limit to the market capitalization of the Bitcoin market. As of August 27, 2024, the global supply of Bitcoin was 19,745,940, and the price of one Bitcoin was approximately $59,466.82,[38] which equates to a market capitalization of approximately $1.165 trillion. Consider the proposed position and exercise limit of 25,000 option contracts for each Bitcoin Fund option. A position and exercise limit of 25,000 same side contracts effectively restricts a market participant from holding positions that could result in the receipt of no more than 2,500,000 of Fidelity Fund shares or ARK 21 Fund shares, as applicable (if that market participant exercised all its options. The following table shows the share price of each Bitcoin Fund on August 27, 2024, the value of 2,500,000 shares of the Bitcoin Fund at that price, and the approximate percentage of that value of the size of the Bitcoin market:

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund August 27, 2024 share price ($) Value of 2,500,000 shares of bitcoin fund ($) Percentage of bitcoin market (%)
    Fidelity Fund 54.33 135,825,000 0.01
    ARK 21 Fund 62.08 155,200,000 0.01

    Therefore, if a market participant with the maximum 25,000 same side contracts in either Fidelity Fund options or ARK 21 Fund options exercised all positions at one time, such an event would have no practical impact on the Bitcoin market.

    The Exchange also believes the proposed limits are appropriate given position limits for Bitcoin futures. For example, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) imposes a position limit of 2,000 futures (for the initial spot month) on its Bitcoin futures contract.[39] On August 28, 2024, CME Aug 24 Bitcoin Futures settled at $58,950. A position of 2,000 CME Bitcoin futures, therefore, would have a notional value of $589,500,000. The following table shows the share price of each Bitcoin Fund on August 28, 2024 and the approximate number of option contracts that equates to that notional value:

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund August 28, 2024 share price ($) Number of option contracts
    Fidelity Fund 51.47 114,532
    ARK 21 Fund 58.83 100,203

    The approximate number of option contracts for each Bitcoin Fund that equate to the notional value of CME Bitcoin futures is significantly higher than the proposed limit of 25,000 options contract for each Bitcoin Fund option. The fact that many options ultimately expire out of-the-money and thus are not exercised for shares of the underlying, while the delta of a Bitcoin Future is 1, further demonstrates how conservative the proposed limits of 25,000 options contracts are for the Bitcoin Fund options.

    The Exchange notes, unlike options contracts, CME position limits are calculated on a net futures-equivalent basis by contract and include contracts that aggregate into one or more base contracts according to an aggregation ratio(s).[40] Therefore, if a portfolio includes positions in options on futures, CME would aggregate those positions into the underlying futures contracts in accordance with a table published by CME on a delta equivalent value for the relevant spot month, subsequent spot month, single month and all month position limits.[41] If a position exceeds position limits because of an option assignment, CME permits market participants to liquidate the excess position within one business day without being considered in violation of its rules. Additionally, if at the close of trading, a position that includes options exceeds position limits for futures contracts, when evaluated using the delta factors as of that day's close of trading but does not exceed the limits when evaluated using the previous day's delta factors, then the position ( print page 94835) shall not constitute a position limit violation. Considering CME's position limits on futures for Bitcoin, the Exchange believes that that the proposed same side position limits are more than appropriate for the Bitcoin Fund options.

    The Exchange believes the proposed position and exercise limits will have no material impact to the supply of Bitcoin. For example, consider again the proposed position limit of 25,000 option contracts for each Bitcoin Fund option. As noted above, a position limit of 25,000 same side contracts effectively restricts a market participant from holding positions that could result in the receipt of no more than 2,500,000 shares of the applicable Bitcoin Fund (if that market participant exercised all its options). As of August 7, 2024, the Bitcoin Funds had the number of shares outstanding set forth in the table below. The table below also sets forth the approximate number of market participants that could hold the maximum of 25,000 same side positions in each Bitcoin Fund that would equate to the number of shares outstanding of that Bitcoin Fund:

    Underlying Bitcoin Fund Shares outstanding Number of market participants with 25,000 same side positions
    Fidelity Fund 201,100,100 80
    ARK 21 Fund 45,495,000 18

Document Information

Published:
11/29/2024
Department:
Securities and Exchange Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
2024-27989
Pages:
94828-94838 (11 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Release No. 34-101717, File No. SR-MIAX-2024-43
PDF File:
2024-27989.pdf