Self-Regulatory Organizations; MEMX LLC; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To Amend Rules 19.3 and 19.4 To Establish Listing Criteria and Withdrawal Standards for Options on Commodity-Based Trusts That Hold Multiple Crypto Assets

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 110 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)]

[Notices]

[Pages 34867-34872]

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ]

[FR Doc No: 2026-11484]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-105616; File No. SR-MEMX-2026-13]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; MEMX LLC; Notice of Filing of a

Proposed Rule Change To Amend Rules 19.3 and 19.4 To Establish Listing

Criteria and Withdrawal Standards for Options on Commodity-Based Trusts

That Hold Multiple Crypto Assets

June 4, 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 May 21, 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 Rule 19.3, Criteria for Underlying Securities, and Rule 19.4,

Withdrawal of Approval of Underlying Securities, to establish listing

criteria and withdrawal standards for options on Commodity-Based Trusts

that hold multiple crypto assets. 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 Rule 19.3, Criteria for Underlying

Securities, and Rule 19.4, Withdrawal of Approval of Underlying

Securities, to establish listing criteria and withdrawal standard for

options on Commodity-Based Trusts that hold multiple crypto assets.\3\

Specifically, the Exchange proposes to amend the criteria for listing

options on Fund Shares \4\ at Rule 19.3(i) and withdrawal criteria at

Rule 19.4. This a competitive filing substantively identical to a

proposal submitted by another options exchange that has recently been

deemed approved by the Commission.\5\

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\3\ The Exchange notes that the rules of Chapter 19, including

Rules 19.3 and 19.5, are incorporated by reference into the rulebook

of its affiliate Exchange, MX2, LLC.

\4\ ``Fund Shares'' are defined in Rule 19.3(i).

\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 105072 (March 24,

2026) 91 FR 14894 (March 27, 2026) (SR-ISE-2025-30) (Self-Regulatory

Organizations; Nasdaq ISE, LLC; Order Approving a Proposed Rule

Change, as Modified by Amendment Nos. 1 and 2, Regarding the

Adoption of Listing Criteria for Options on Commodity-Based Trusts

That Hold Multiple Crypto Assets).

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[[Page 34868]]

On January 7, 2026, the Exchange filed a proposal to permit certain

options on Fund Shares that represent interests in a Commodity-Based

Trust that meet certain generic listing requirements.\6\ Currently,

Rule 19.3(i)(v) \7\ allows the Exchange to list and trade options on

Fund Shares that represent interests in a Commodity-Based Trust that

(A) meets the generic criteria of the U.S. exchange that is the primary

equities listing market for the Commodity-Based Trust, and (B) holds a

single crypto asset that meets certain requirements.

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\6\ See Securities Exchange Release No. 104592 (January 13,

2026), 91 FR 2244 (January 16, 2016) (SR-MEMX-2026-01) (Notice of

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change To

Amend Rule 19.3 To Permit the Listing and Trading of Options on

Commodity-Based Trust Shares).

\7\ In connection with this filing, the Exchange is proposing to

renumber the list of securities deemed appropriate for trading under

19.3(i) using lowercase roman numerals i-v, as opposed to the

numbers 1-5 in an effort to avoid confusion when referencing

sections of this rule and otherwise maintain consistency with the

numbering throughout the Exchange's rulebook. Additionally, it is

proposing to renumber the criteria required under 19.3(i)(v)

(formerly 19.3(i)(5), as numbers (1) and (2), which were previously

numbered (i) and (ii).

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On September 17, 2025, the Commission approved proposals by The

Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. and NYSE Arca, Inc.,

to Adopt Generic Listing Standards for Commodity-Based Trusts.\8\ In

the approval order, the Commission noted that each of the exchanges

proposed to adopt substantially identical ``generic'' listing standards

for Commodity-Based Trusts. Those generic listing standards define the

term shares of a ``Commodity-Based Trust'' as a security \9\ that:

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\8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 103995 (Sept. 17,

2025), 90 FR 45414 (Sept. 22, 2025) (Self-Regulatory Organizations;

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; NYSE Arca,

Inc.; Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Changes,

as Modified by Amendments Thereto, To Adopt Generic Listing

Standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares)(SR-NASDAQ-2025-056; SR-

CboeBZX-2025-104; SR-NYSEARCA-2025-54) (``Generic Listing Standards

for Commodity-Based Trust Shares Approval''). The Exchange believes

that it is appropriate to rely on the generic listing standards

outlined by the primary listing market due to the potential

proliferation of new primary listing markets and the Commission's

acknowledgment that the definition of shares of a Commodity-Based

Trust across those primary listing markets is substantially

identical.

\9\ Shares of the applicable Commodity-Based Trust trade as

equity securities. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50603

(Oct. 28, 2004), 69 FR 64614, 64619 (Nov. 5, 2004) (SR-NYSE-2004-22)

(approving the listing and trading of street TRACKS Gold Shares)

(``Spot Gold Approval Order'') and ETP Request for Comments, infra

note 20, at 34731. See also Nasdaq Rule 5711(d)(ii); proposed BZX

Rule 14.11(e)(4)(B); proposed NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E(b) (Generic)

(stating that Commodity-Based Trust Shares are included within the

definition of a ``security'' as such term is used in the Exchanges'

rules and are subject to the Exchanges' existing rules governing the

trading of equity securities).

(1) is issued by a trust, limited liability company,

partnership, or other similar entity (``Trust'') that, if

applicable, is operated by a registered commodity pool operator

pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA''), and is not

registered as an investment company pursuant to the Investment

Company Act of 1940, or series or class thereof;

(2) is designed to reflect the performance of one or more

reference assets or an index of reference assets;

(3) in order to reflect the performance, is issued by a Trust

that holds (a) one or more commodities or commodity-based assets,

and (b) in addition to such commodities or commodity-based assets,

may hold securities, cash, and cash equivalents;

(4) is issued by such Trust in a specified aggregate minimum

number in return for a deposit of (a) a specified quantity of the

underlying commodities, commodity-based assets, securities, cash,

and/or cash equivalents or (b) a cash amount with a value based on

the next determined net asset value per Trust share; and

(5) when aggregated in the same specified minimum number, may be

redeemed at a holder's request by such Trust which will deliver to

the redeeming holder (a) the specified quantity of the underlying

commodities, commodity-based assets, securities, cash, and/or cash

equivalents or (b) a cash amount with a value based on the next

determined net asset value per Trust share.

Specifically, the Commodity-Based Trust must satisfy the following:

(1) the total global supply of the underlying crypto asset held by the

Commodity-Based Trust has an average daily market value of at least

$700 million over the last 12 months; and (2) the crypto asset held by

the Commodity-Based Trust underlies a derivatives contract that trades

on a market with which the Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance

sharing agreement, whether directly or through common membership in the

Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'').

At this time, the Exchange proposed to amend Rule 19.3(i)(v) to

permit the listing and trading of options on a Commodity-Based Trust

that holds multiple crypto assets in addition to a Commodity-Based

Trust that holds a single crypto asset. As amended, Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v) would state:

(v) represent interests in a Commodity-Based Trust that meets the

generic criteria of the U.S. securities exchange that is the primary

equities listing market for the Commodity-Based Trust, except that the

Commodity-Based Trust holds a single crypto asset or multiple crypto

assets that meets the following requirements: (1) the total global

supply of each underlying crypto asset(s) held by the Commodity-Based

Trust has an average daily market value of at least $700 million over

the last 12 months; and (2) each crypto asset held by the Commodity-

Based Trust underlies a derivatives contract that trades on a market

with which the Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing

agreement, whether directly or through common membership in the

Intermarket Surveillance Group. For purposes of this number (v) in this

Rule, the term ``crypto asset'' means an asset that is generated,

issued and/or transferred using a blockchain or similar distributive

ledger technology network, including but not limited to, assets known

as ``tokens,'' ``digital assets,'' ``virtual currencies,'' and

``coins'' and that relies on cryptographic protocols.

With the addition of multiple crypto assets, the criteria would

require each underlying crypto asset to meet the total global supply

figure and to underlie a derivative contract that trades on a market

with which the Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing

agreement. The market value for each underlying crypto asset held by a

Commodity-Based Trust will be calculated by taking the total global

supply of the particular crypto asset multiplied by the token price of

that asset.\10\ The total supply of a crypto asset includes all crypto

assets currently issued and does not include unissued crypto

assets.\11\

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\10\ The market supply information can be obtained from publicly

available sources such as coingecko.com or coinmarketcap.com .

\11\ For example, if Bitcoin were the underlying crypto asset,

the Exchange would consider the total supply of all Bitcoin

currently issued instead of the maximum supply, which would be

currently issued as well as unminted Bitcoin. As of March 10, 2026

Bitcoin's total supply was 20,000,406 (the maximum supply is

21,000,000). See https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin . The

Exchange would calculate market value by utilizing the total supply

number multiplied by the Bitcoin price on that day

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As a result of this filing, the proposed listing criteria would

permit a Commodity-Based Trust that is generically listed on the

applicable primary listing market and holds multiple crypto assets to

qualify for the listing of options on that ETF, provided Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v), as amended in the relevant part, has also been met, as well

as the listing criteria in Exchange Rule 19.3(a) and (b), or Exchange

Rule 19.3(i)(1)(B). Similar to options on any ETF, an option on a

Commodity-Based Trust that meets the requirements of Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v) would also be subject to the Exchange's continued listing

standards for options on ETFs set

[[Page 34869]]

forth in Exchange Rule 19.4(g). Currently, pursuant to Exchange Rule

19.4(g), ETFs approved for options trading pursuant to Exchange Rule

19.3 will not be deemed 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

19.4(b)(4),\12\ or are halted or suspended from trading in their

primary market.\13\ With respect to options on Commodity-Based Trusts

that are approved subject to Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v), the Exchange

proposes to amend Exchange Rule 19.4(g) to adopt a new subparagraph (3)

which states, ``In the case of options covering Fund Shares approved

pursuant to Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v), if the criteria in Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v)(1) are no longer satisfied, as determined by the Exchange on

a monthly basis, or if the criteria in Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(2) are

no longer satisfied.'' \14\ This proposed new criteria would require

ETFs that are listed pursuant to Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v) to continue

to meet the requirements of Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(1) and (2).

Additionally, this proposed new criteria, which would also be added to

Exchange Rule 19.4(g)(1), would require ETFs that are listed pursuant

to Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(1)(A) \15\ to continue to meet the

requirements of Exchange Rule 19.4 subparagraphs (b)(1), (2), (3) and

(4) of Exchange Rule 19.4. The Exchange is proposing that the criteria

in Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(1) be met on a monthly basis while the

criteria in Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(2) be met on a daily basis. The

Exchange believes that requiring the criteria in Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v)(1) to be met on a monthly basis is reasonable given that the

Exchange believes that it is unlikely that a crypto asset with an

average daily market value of at least $700 million over the previous

twelve months would fail to meet that standard as a resulting of

trading over a relatively short period of time. By way of example, if a

crypto asset has a market capitalization of $900 million and traded at

that market capitalization for 15 days in a 20-day trading month, the

crypto asset could lose a substantial amount of its value (up to 88%)

and still meet the criteria. Similarly, a crypto asset with a market

capitalization of $500 million for 15 days in a 20- day trading month,

would have to achieve a market capitalization of $1.3 billion (a 160%

increase) in the last 5 days to meet the criteria. Given the

unlikelihood that there would be a huge movement over a month's period

of time and considering the work that would be required to calculate

the criteria on a daily basis as compared to each month, the Exchange

believes that the proposed continued listing obligation for the average

daily market value criteria is sufficient. Further, options on

Commodity-Based Trusts that are approved subject to Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v) would continue to be subject to Exchange Rule 19.4(g)(5), as

renumbered, which states that the Exchange may consider suspending open

transactions in options on Fund Shares if, ``such other event occurs or

condition exists that in the opinion of the Exchange makes further

dealing in such options on MEMX Options inadvisable.'' The Exchange may

determine at any point to delist an option on a Commodity-Based Trust

that may not have sufficient liquidity or market demand.

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\12\ Exchange Rule 19.4(b)(4) provides the Exchange will not

open for trading any additional series of options on shares of an

ETF if the ETF is no longer an NMS stock as defined in Rule 600 of

Reg NMS under the Act.

\13\ See Exchange Rule 19.4(g).

\14\ The Exchange proposes to renumber the remaining paragraphs

in Rule 19.4(g).

\15\ The Exchange notes that it is amending incorrect references

in Rules 19.4(g)(1) and 19.4(g)(2) from 19.3(i)(4)(A) and

19.3(i)(4)(B) (provisions which do not exist in the Exchange's

rulebook) to 19.3(i)(1)(A) and 19.3(i)(1)(B), respectively.

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Consistent with current Rule 19.5, which governs the opening of

options series on a specific underlying security (including ETFs), the

Exchange will open at least one expiration month and one series of

options on a Commodity-Based Fund Share \16\ at the commencement of

trading on the Exchange and may also list series of options on a

Commodity-Based Fund Share for trading on a weekly,\17\ monthly,\18\ or

quarterly basis.\19\ The Exchange may also list long-term options

series that expire from 12 to 39 months from the time they are

listed.\20\

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\16\ See Rule 19.5(b) and (e). The monthly expirations are

subject to certain listing criteria for underlying securities

described within Rule 19.3. Monthly listings expire the third Friday

of the month. The term ``expiration date'' (unless separately

defined elsewhere in the OCC By-Laws), when used in respect of an

option contract (subject to certain exceptions), means the third

Friday of the expiration month of such option contract, or if such

Friday is a day on which the exchange on which such option is listed

is not open for business, the preceding day on which such exchange

is open for business. See OCC By-Laws Article I, Section 1. Pursuant

to Rule 19.5(c), additional series of options of the same class may

be opened for trading on the Exchange when the Exchange deems it

necessary to maintain an orderly market, to meet customer demand or

when the market price of the underlying stock moves more than five

strike prices from the initial exercise price or prices. New series

of options on an individual stock may be added until the beginning

of the month in which the options contract will expire. Due to

unusual market conditions, the Exchange, in its discretion, may add

a new series of options on an individual stock until the close of

trading on the business day prior to expiration.

\17\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .05.

\18\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .08.

\19\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .04.

\20\ See Rule 19.7.

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Pursuant to Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .01, which governs

strike prices of series of options on Fund Shares, the interval of

strike prices for series of options on Commodity-Based Fund Shares may

be $1 or greater where the strike price is $200 or less or $5 or

greater where the strike price is over $200.\21\ Additionally, the

Exchange may list series of options pursuant to the $1 Strike Price

Interval Program,\22\ the $0.50 Strike Program,\23\ the $2.50 Strike

Price Program,\24\ and the $5 Strike Program.\25\ Pursuant to Rule

21.5, where the price of a series of a Commodity-Based Fund Share

option 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.\26\ Any and all new series of Commodity-Based Fund Share options

that the Exchange lists will be consistent and comply with the

expirations, strike prices, and minimum increments set forth in Rules

19.5 and 21.5, as applicable.

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\21\ The Exchange notes that for options listed pursuant to the

Short Term Option Series Program, Rule 19.5, Interpretation and

Policy .08 sets forth intervals between strike prices on Short Term

Option Series.

\22\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretations and Policies .01 and .02.

\23\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .06.

\24\ See Rule 19.5, Interpretation and Policy .03.

\25\ See Rule 19.5(d)(5).

\26\ If options on a Commodity-Based Trust are eligible to

participate in the Penny Interval Program, the minimum increment

will be $0.01 for series with a price below $3.00 and $0.05 for

series with a price at or above $3.00. See Rule 21.5(d) (which

describes the requirements for the Penny Interval Program).

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Options on Commodity-Based Trusts that may be listed pursuant to

proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v) will trade in the same manner as options on

other ETFs on the Exchange. The Exchange Rules that currently apply to

the listing and trading of all Fund Share options on the Exchange,

including, for example, Rules that govern listing criteria,

expirations, exercise prices, minimum increments, position and exercise

limits, margin requirements, customer accounts, and trading halt

procedures will apply to the listing and trading of options on

Commodity-Based Trusts that are approved subject to Rule 19.3(i)(v) in

the same manner.

Position and exercise limits for options, including options on

[[Page 34870]]

Commodity-Based Trust Shares, are determined pursuant to Rules 18.7 and

18.9, respectively. Position and exercise limits for options on ETFs

vary according to the number of outstanding shares and the trading

volumes of the underlying security over the past six months, where the

largest in capitalization and the most frequently traded funds have an

option position and exercise limit of 250,000 contracts (with

adjustments for splits, re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side of

the market; and smaller capitalization funds have position and exercise

limits of 200,000, 75,000, 50,000 or 25,000 contracts (with adjustments

for splits, re-capitalizations, etc.) on the same side of the

market.\27\ Further, the Exchange notes that Rule 28.3, which governs

margin requirements applicable to the trading of all options on the

Exchange, including options on ETFs, will also apply to the trading of

options on Commodity-Based Trusts listed pursuant to proposed Rule

19.3(i)(v).

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\27\ See Exchange Rules 18.7 and 18.9.

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The Exchange represents it has an adequate surveillance program in

place for options and intends to apply those same program procedures to

options on Commodity-Based Trusts that may be listed pursuant to

proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v) that it applies to the Exchange's other

options products.\28\ 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 Commodity-Based Trusts. 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, the Exchange has a

Regulatory Services Agreement with the Financial Industry Regulatory

Authority (``FINRA'') for certain market surveillance, investigation

and examinations functions. Pursuant to a multi-party 17d-2 joint plan,

all options exchanges allocate amongst themselves and FINRA

responsibilities to conduct certain options-related market surveillance

that are common to rules of all options exchanges.\29\ Further, the

Exchange will implement any new surveillance procedures it deems

necessary to effectively monitor the trading of options on Commodity-

Based Trusts pursuant to proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v).

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\28\ The surveillance program includes surveillance patterns for

price and volume movements as well as patterns for potential

manipulation (e.g., spoofing and marking the close).

\29\ Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, among other things, requires

every self-regulatory organization (``SRO'') registered as a

national securities exchange or national securities association to

comply with the Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and the

SRO's own rules, and, absent reasonable justification or excuse,

enforce compliance by its members and persons associated with its

members. See 15 U.S.C. 78q(d)(1) and 17 CFR 240.17d-2. Section

17(d)(1) of the Act allows the Commission to relieve an SRO of

certain responsibilities with respect to members of the SRO who are

also members of another SRO (``common members''). Specifically,

Section 17(d)(1) allows the Commission to relieve an SRO of its

responsibilities to: (i) receive regulatory reports from such

members; (ii) examine such members for compliance with the Act and

the rules and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the SRO; or

(iii) carry out other specified regulatory responsibilities with

respect to such members.

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The Exchange has also analyzed its capacity and represents that it

believes the Exchange and the Options Price Reporting Authority

(``OPRA'') have the necessary systems capacity to handle the additional

traffic associated with the listing of new series of options on ETFs,

including on Commodity-Based Trusts pursuant to proposed Rule

19.3(i)(v), up to the number of expirations currently permissible under

the Rules. The Exchange believes any additional traffic generated from

the trading of options on Commodity-Based Trusts listed pursuant to

proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v) would be manageable. The Exchange represents

that Exchange members will not have a capacity issue as a result of

this proposed rule change.

Further, quotation and last sale information for Commodity-Based

Trusts listed pursuant to proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v) is available via the

Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA'') high speed line. Quotation and

last sale information for such securities is also available from the

exchange on which such securities are listed. Quotation and last sale

information for options on Commodity-Based Trusts listed pursuant to

proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v) will be available via OPRA \30\ and major

market data vendors. Finally, the Exchange currently lists options on

Fund Shares that would qualify for listing as an option a Commodity-

Based Trust pursuant to proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v),\31\ and it has not

identified any issues with the listing of options on those ETFs.

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\30\ Last sale reports and quotations are the core of the

information that OPRA disseminates. OPRA also disseminates certain

other types of information with respect to the trading of options on

the markets of the OPRA participants, such as the number of options

contracts traded, open interest and end of day summaries. OPRA also

disseminates certain kinds of administrative messages.

\31\ The following Fund Shares currently have options listed on

them on the Exchange: the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, the ARK

21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Fidelity

Ethereum Fund; the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the Grayscale Bitcoin

Mini Trust, the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, the Bitwise Ethereum ETF, the

Grayscale Ethereum Trust, the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust, and the

iShares Ethereum Trust.

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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.\32\ Specifically, the Exchange believes the proposed rule change

is consistent with the Section 6(b)(5) \33\ 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) \34\ requirement that the rules of

an exchange not be designed to permit unfair discrimination between

customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.

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\32\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).

\33\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).

\34\ Id.

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In particular, the Exchange believes that its proposal to permit

Commodity-Based Trust Shares that hold multiple crypto assets to be

listed and traded without the need for additional approvals, 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 it would allow the Exchange to immediately list and trade

qualifying options on Commodity-Based Trusts, provided the initial

listing criteria has been met, without any additional approvals from

the Commission.

Specifically, the Exchange's proposal to adopt Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v) to allow the listing and trading of options on units that

represent interests in Commodity-Based Trusts that meet the generic

listing standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares of the applicable

primary listing market,\35\ and hold multiple crypto assets in addition

to single crypto assets, is consistent with the Act because it will

permit the Exchange to offer options on Commodity-Based Trusts soon

after the

[[Page 34871]]

listing of the ETF on the primary listing market, provided that all the

generic listing standards for that Commodity-Based Trust on that

primary listing market have been met. Listing these options will avail

market participants of the opportunity to hedge their positions in the

Commodity-Based Trusts in a timely manner, thereby providing investors

with the ability to hedge their exposure to the underlying Commodity-

Based Trust. Options on Commodity-Based Trusts benefits investors,

similar to the listing of any other option on an ETF, by providing

investors with a relatively lower-cost risk management tool to manage

their positions and associated risk in their portfolios more easily in

connection with exposure to the price of a crypto asset. Additionally,

listing options on Commodity-Based Trusts provides investors with the

ability to transact in such options on a listed market as opposed to

the OTC options market, which increases market transparency and

enhances the process of price discovery to the benefit of all

investors.

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\35\ See supra note 8.

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Also, this proposal would permit options on Commodity-Based Trusts

to be listed on the Exchange in the same manner as all other securities

that are subject to the current listing criteria in Exchange Rule

19.3(i). The Exchange notes that the majority of ETFs are able to list

and trade options once the initial listing criteria have been met

without the need for additional approvals. The proposed rule change

would allow options on certain Commodity-Based Trusts to likewise list

and trade options once the initial listing criteria on the primary

listing market have been met without the need for additional approvals.

As proposed, the Exchange would list options in a Commodity-Based Trust

that met the generic criteria of the applicable primary listing market,

provided the Commodity-Based Trust held multiple crypto assets.

Further, each crypto asset held by the Commodity-Based Trust would also

be required to satisfy the conditions in proposed Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v), which requires that (1) the total global supply of each

underlying crypto asset held by the Commodity-Based Trust has an

average daily market value of at least $700 million over the last 12

months; and (2) each crypto asset held by the Commodity-Based Trust

underlie a derivatives contract that trades on a market with which the

Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement, whether

directly or through common membership in the ISG.

These requirements are consistent with the Act and the protection

of investors as they should ensure that each crypto asset held by the

underlying ETF has sufficient liquidity prior to listing options, which

will serve to prevent disruption to the underlying market. The Exchange

believes that market supply serves as a good measure of liquidity to

permit options trading in options on Commodity-Based Trusts that holds

multiple crypto assets. Requiring each underlying crypto asset to have

a requisite amount of deliverable supply, in addition to all the other

criteria the ETF is required to have under the applicable primary

listing market rules, should ensure adequate liquidity prior to

listing. Further, ensuring each crypto asset held by the Commodity-

Based Trust underlies a derivatives contract that trades on a market

with which the Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing

agreement, whether directly or through common membership in the ISG,

will provide the Exchange with information to adequately surveillance

options on qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts. Today, the Exchange has a

comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement in place with both the CME

and Coinbase Derivatives through its common membership in ISG. This

facilitates the sharing of information that is available to the CME and

Coinbase Derivatives through their surveillance of their respective

markets, including their surveillance of their respective digital asset

futures markets.

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

qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts 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

crypto assets already deemed appropriate for options trading on the

Exchange in addition to the proposed criteria. Options on qualifying

Commodity-Based Trusts would trade in the same manner as any other ETF

options--the same Exchange rules that currently govern the listing and

trading of all ETF options, including permissible strike prices and

minimum increments, and applicable position and exercise limits and

margin requirements, will govern the listing and trading of options on

qualifying Commodity-Based Trust.

Further, the proposal adopts new subparagraph (3) to Rule 19.4(g)

which will require each crypto asset held by a Commodity-Based Trust to

continue to meet the requirement of Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(1) on a

monthly basis and for the criteria in Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v)(2) to be

met on a continuous basis. Accordingly, each crypto asset held by a

Commodity-Based Trust must continue to have a total global supply with

an average daily market value of at least $700 million over the last 12

months, and also must continue to underlie a derivatives contract that

trades on a market with which the Exchange has a comprehensive

surveillance sharing agreement, whether directly or through common

membership in the ISG. The Exchange believes that this continued

listing standard, in addition to requirements of Rule 19.3(i) would

protect investors and the public interest by ensuring that the crypto

assets held by the Commodity-Based Trust continue to remain liquid. The

Exchange believes that requiring the criteria in Exchange Rule

19.3(i)(v)(1) on a monthly basis is consistent with the Act and the

protection of investors given that the Exchange believes that it is

unlikely that a crypto asset with an average daily market value of at

least $700 million over the previous twelve months would fail to meet

that standard as a resulting of trading over a relatively short period

of time. Given the unlikelihood that there would be a huge movement

over a month's period of time and considering the work that would be

required to calculate the criteria on a daily basis as compared to each

month, the Exchange believes that the proposed continued listing

obligation for the average daily market value criteria is sufficient.

Further, options on Commodity-Based Trusts that are approved subject to

Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v) would continue to be subject to exchange Rule

19.4(g)(5), as renumbered, which states that the Exchange may consider

suspending open transactions in options on an ETF if, ``such other

event occurs or condition exists that in the opinion of the Exchange

makes further dealing in such options on the Exchange inadvisable.''

The Exchange may determine at any point to delist an option on a

Commodity-Based Trust that may not have sufficient liquidity or market

demand.

Options on qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts would trade in the

same manner as any other ETF options--the same Exchange Rules that

currently govern the listing and trading of all ETF options, including

permissible expirations, strike prices and minimum increments, and

applicable position and exercise limits and margin

[[Page 34872]]

requirements, will govern the listing and trading of options on

qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts.

The Exchange represents that it has the necessary systems capacity

to support the listing and trading of options on qualifying Commodity-

Based Trusts. The Exchange believes that its existing surveillance and

reporting safeguards are designed to deter and detect possible

manipulative behavior which might arise from listing and trading of

these options on Commodity-Based Trust, particularly in light of the

additional requirement that each crypto asset held by the Commodity-

Based Trust underlies a derivatives contract that trades on a market

with which the Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing

agreement, whether directly or through common membership in ISG.

Finally, today, the Exchange lists and trades options on ETFs that

would qualify for listing as an option on a Commodity-Based Trust under

proposed Rule 19.3(i)(v),\36\ and it has not identified any issues with

the listing and trading of options on those ETFs.

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\36\ See supra note 31.

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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. In this regard and as

indicated above, the Exchange notes that the rule change is being

proposed as a competitive response to the filing submitted by ISE.\37\

The Exchange does not believe that the proposal to amend the listing

criteria at Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v), with respect to ETFs, to adopt

new criteria to permit the listing and trading of options on certain

Commodity-Based Trusts that hold multiple crypto assets and that were

listed pursuant to the generic listing standards for Commodity-Based

Trust Shares of the applicable primary listing market, without the need

for additional approvals, will impose any burden on intramarket

competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the

purposes of the Act. Options on qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts would

need to satisfy the initial listing standards set forth in the Exchange

Rules in the same manner as any other ETF before the Exchange could

list options on them. Additionally, options on qualifying Commodity-

Based Trusts will be equally available to all market participants who

wish to trade such options. The Exchange Rules currently applicable to

the listing and trading of options on ETFs on the Exchange will apply

in the same manner to the listing and trading of all options on

qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts.

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\37\ See supra note 5.

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Additionally, the Exchange notes that listing and trading options

on qualifying Commodity-Based Trusts on the Exchange will subject such

options to transparent exchange based rules as well as price discovery

and liquidity, as opposed to alternatively trading such options in the

OTC market. The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change may

relieve any burden on, or otherwise promote, competition as it is

designed to increase competition for order flow on the Exchange in a

manner that is beneficial to investors by providing them with a lower-

cost option to hedge their investment portfolios in a timely manner.

The Exchange does not believe that the proposal to adopt new

listing criteria at Exchange Rule 19.3(i)(v) to permit the listing and

trading of certain options on certain Commodity-Based Trusts that hold

multiple crypto assets and that were listed pursuant to the generic

listing standards for Commodity-Based Trust Shares of the applicable

primary listing market, without the need for additional approvals, will

impose any burden on intermarket competition that is not necessary or

appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Other options

exchanges are free to amend their applicable rules to permit them to

list and trade options on Commodity-Based Trusts that hold multiple

crypto assets.

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

Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the

Federal Register or within such longer period up to 90 days (i) as the

Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be

appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to

which the Exchange consents, the Commission will: (A) by order approve

or disapprove such proposed rule change, or (B) institute proceedings

to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.

IV. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views and

arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule

change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of

the following methods:

Electronic Comments

Use the Commission's internet comment form ( https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or

Send an email to [email protected] . Please include

file number SR-MEMX-2026-13 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-2026-13. 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-2026-13 and should be submitted on

or before June 30, 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).

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Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2026-11484 Filed 6-8-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P