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      MEMX to Launch Second Options Exchange in Q2 2026

      Shanny Basar
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      MEMX to Launch Second Options Exchange in Q2 2026

      MEMX is due to launch a second options exchange in the second quarter of 2026 after its first options venue reached record monthly market share this year. 

      MEMX Options launched in September 2023 with 22 firms participating in the first three days. Two years later in September 2025, MEMX Options had a new volume record of 2.15 million average daily contracts with a 3.9% market share. 

      In July this year MEMX Options’ monthly market share reached new highs of 4.1% of total market share and 7.6% of regular electronic market share. The firm said that its market share was 11.1% in non-penny options and its quote performance was ranked first out of 18 exchanges.

      Geralyn Endo, head of options business development at MEMX, told Markets Media: “There are firms that have had a better experience in terms of fill rates or interactions on MEMX Options than on other price/time platforms which has contributed to our rapid growth.”

      In March this year the firm received regulatory approval for its second exchange medallion, MX2. On 1 October 2025 MEMX said in a statement that it has received regulatory approval from the SEC to trade listed options under its MX2 exchange license and that it has established rules governing trading for both the US Options price/time and pro-rata exchange models.

      Jonathan Kellner, chief executive of MEMX, said in a statement: “As investor interest and trading strategies continue to evolve, the addition of a customer priority, pro-rata model reflects our commitment to delivering flexible, innovative solutions that align with the diverse needs of today’s market.”

      Endo said it has been an advantage to have proven technology for its second options exchange, which is familiar to clients. 

      “That familiarity is a big thing for our customers,” she added.

      MEMX Options uses a price time-model, which means that orders are executed on a first in / first out basis after determining the best price, which encourages liquidity provision and tighter spreads. In comparison, MX2 will use customer priority, pro-rata allocation model which means that larger orders receive preference for execution, which encourages liquidity providers to put more size on the order book. 

      MX2 will allow the firm to expand into the significant pro-rata market and attract new users whose business is more geared towards this model. The price-time model gives an advantage to firms who invest in speed, but this is less important in the customer priority, pro-rata model, which encourages deeper liquidity. 

      Endo said: “If you don’t have a customer priority, pro-rata exchange, then you are not appealing to half the market.”

      There are already a number of existing pro-rata options exchanges but Endo argued that the new exchange will also include a unique active risk control feature that has been available on MEMX Options. The risk control feature aims to improve quote performance by helping market makers better manage risk using internal metrics, especially when markets are volatile.

      “There is a more dynamic conversation between the routing firm and the exchange,” said Endo. “The trader can track, manage and adjust their risk in a near real-time and in a more granular way as our parameters are more sensitive.”

      Even within the customer priority, pro-rata allocation model, there are many nuances such as whether or not there are lead market makers, according to Endo. 

      Geralyn Endo, MEMX

      “There are a lot of levers you can pull to make you more unique and we are actively discussing those types of programs with clients,” she added. “In addition, different fee models can be overlaid on the allocation models, and the many different permutations designed to enhance customer experiences are why there are nearly 20 U.S options exchanges.”

      Endo also argued that MEMX has an advantage as the firm was founded by a group of retail brokers, financial services firms, banks and global market makers, and the members own the exchanges and can influence the direction of the business. When the first options exchange was launched, members were excited by the value proposition and having a voice in the technology, regulatory and market structure discussions. 

      “Market participants appreciate knowing they are working with a model that represents their needs,” she added. 

      TMX Group Acquires Verity

      Press Release
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      TMX Group Acquires Verity

      Addition of US-based provider of investment research management solutions and data intelligence brings important new investor-focused capabilities to TMX Datalinx, advances global growth strategy   


      October 1, 2025 (TORONTO) – TMX Group today announced it has acquired Verity, a leading buy-side investment research management system, data, and analytics provider. The acquisition enhances TMX Datalinx’s client offering, strengthening its position in delivering global investment-grade data, insights, and investment workflow tools across equities, fixed income, and private assets.  


      “The addition of Verity strengthens our ability to serve a growing global client base, including the world’s top investment firms, by helping them to optimize and act on their most valuable asset – their intellectual capital – while enriching workflows with best practices and continuous innovation,” said Michelle Tran, President of TMX Datalinx. “Verity brings dynamic new financial data and proprietary analytics, including insider activity, buybacks, executive compensation, institutional holdings, and proven financial industry experts to our team. Together, we look forward to introducing these exciting new capabilities to more than 5,000 TMX Datalinx clients around the world.”

      Verity’s two core product offerings are VerityRMS, a market-leading research management system, and VerityData, featuring enhanced datasets and insights primarily focused on public equity filings. TMX Datalinx plans to continue  advancing VerityData and VerityRMS, including their artificial intelligence capabilities, to enhance client investment outcomes and realize operational efficiencies. 


      “Joining TMX Group unlocks the next chapter for Verity, its products, and its global customer base,” said Andrew Robson, Verity CEO. “Verity has long been trusted by institutional investors who want to move from insight to action faster and with more confidence. As part of TMX Datalinx, we’re able to better deliver on that mission. I’m excited for our employees, our customers, and for the future ahead.”


      For more information about Verity, visit www.verityplatform.com.


      Solomon Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Verity.

      About TMX Group (TSX-X) 

      TMX Group operates global markets, and builds digital communities and analytic solutions that facilitate the funding, growth and success of businesses, traders and investors. TMX Group’s key operations include Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, TSX Alpha Exchange, The Canadian Depository for Securities, Montréal Exchange, Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, TSX Trust, TMX Trayport,  TMX Datalinx, TMX VettaFi and TMX Newsfile, which provide listing markets, trading markets, clearing facilities, depository services, technology solutions, data products and other services to the global financial community. TMX Group is headquartered in Toronto and operates offices across North America (Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver and New York), as well as in key international markets including London, Singapore and Vienna. For more information about TMX Group, visit www.tmx.com. Follow TMX Group on X: @TMXGroup.

      For more information please contact:


      Catherine Kee

      Head of Media Relations

      TMX Group
      416-671-1704
      catherine.kee@tmx.com

      SEC-CFTC: The Merger that Never Was

      Editorial Staff
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      SEC-CFTC: The Merger that Never Was

      (FLASH FRIDAY is a weekly content series looking at the past, present and future of capital markets trading and technology. FLASH FRIDAY is sponsored by Instinet, a Nomura company.)

      It’s not happening.

      Not that it was ever really going to happen.

      The possibility of a merger between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been discussed for about as long as the two market regulators have existed. Which is to say a very long time.

      “Jurisdictional conflict exists between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC),” Mark Frederick Hoffman of the University of Michigan Law School wrote in a 1995 research paper. “While a merger of the two agencies may not eliminate all of the inefficiencies of the current system, a single regulator could provide a lower-cost alternative to the present, anachronistic, dual regulatory system which is faced with problems of increasingly complex financial instruments and expanding global competition.” 

      Fast forward 30 years, and the merger-favoring backdrop seems to still be in place. Indeed, the regulatory system is in fact dual and it can be viewed as anachronistic; financial instruments are more complex; and global competition has expanded.

      But at least in the past 15 or so years – or, for as long as your friendly neighborhood Traders Magazine Editor has covered the industry –  the discussions have never seemed particularly serious. At industry conferences, “should the SEC and CFTC merge?” was likely to be asked at the very end of a panel, more as an academic exercise to fill airtime than anything else. 

      The ‘should they merge’ question would garner perhaps 50 percent support, but affirmatives for the ‘will they merge’ question would be closer to zero.  

      Combining the SEC-CFTC sounds sensible enough, at least in theory. The regulators are located just 2.6 miles from each other in Washington, DC – putting them together would cut overhead and save taxpayers money, while (as the UMich researcher alluded to) reducing duplicative regulation and eliminating confusion in the marketplace about who oversees what.

      But what’s good in theory isn’t always good in practice, and any ember of a merger possibility has been extinguished, at least for now. This has been signaled, ironically enough, by the regulators recently declaring their intent to collaborate better, and holding a roundtable event to discuss how regulatory harmonization could help market participants, market operators, and end-user investors.

      The notion of a SEC-CFTC merger was discussed at Solidus Labs’ DACOM 2025 in New York earlier this week. Christopher Giancarlo, former CFTC Chairman, noted that a merger was studied in 2017, and estimated annual savings was pegged at just $9 million. Given that piddly number, there was no momentum for a combination to move forward, and the plan now is for market participants to be better off with two separate agencies that work well together and don’t hinder innovation or the efficient workings of capital markets.   

      Will this joint venture work out as it’s meant to, or will regulators not be able to share the sandbox in a way that will continue to vex market operators and participants? Time will tell.    

      FalconX Launches 24/7 Electronic Crypto Options Platform

      Anna Lyudvig
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      FalconX Launches 24/7 Electronic Crypto Options Platform

      FalconX has launched a new Electronic Options platform aimed at modernizing the way institutional investors trade crypto options. The platform, announced on September 29, enables 24/7 electronic trading and offers access to FalconX’s principal liquidity, addressing long-standing inefficiencies in the crypto options market.

      Griffin Sears

      According to Griffin Sears, Head of Derivatives at FalconX, crypto options trading has been “fragmented across isolated OTC desks, chat-based RFQs, and limited access to exchange venues.” This fragmentation leads to challenges such as “poor price transparency, manual workflows, and inconsistent execution,” he told Traders Magazine.

      FalconX’s approach centers on consolidating liquidity internally rather than aggregating from external exchanges or multiple RFQ networks. According to Sears, this model “eliminates the need to navigate fragmented order books or source quotes across multiple venues,” thereby reducing slippage and enabling more reliable execution. Clients gain direct access to “meaningful size and pricing” from FalconX’s own principal liquidity, which is among the largest in the crypto options market.

      A key innovation is the platform’s 24/7 availability. While crypto spot and futures markets have long traded continuously, options trading has largely remained confined to traditional OTC trading hours. Sears said this has limited how institutions can manage risk around the clock.

      “Crypto markets don’t sleep — and neither should the risk tools used to hedge them. With 24/7 access, clients can execute delta-neutral or volatility-driven strategies during high-impact weekend events, rebalance exposures around the clock, and capitalize on short-term dislocations without waiting for traditional OTC windows to reopen,” he stressed.

      This availability is particularly important for funds with continuous mandates or automated trading strategies, allowing them to maintain consistent pricing and execute strategies across global time zones, he added.

      FalconX has also developed a matrix-style strategy builder that differentiates the platform from traditional multi-leg options tools commonly used in equities or FX. Sears described the interface as a “single, visual” environment where traders can “quickly visualize the risk profiles of instruments across strikes” and build multi-leg strategies without switching between different tools. The platform allows setting custom ratios for each leg directly within the matrix, enabling a faster, more intuitive workflow tailored to the high volatility and continuous nature of crypto markets, he said.

      According to Sears, the launch coincides with growing institutional demand tied to ETFs and basis arbitrage strategies. As ETFs expand the instruments institutions use to gain crypto exposure, there is a rising need for effective hedging and relative-value trading, Sears noted.

      “ETF launches are expanding the set of instruments that institutions use to gain crypto exposure, and with that comes more demand for hedging and relative-value strategies,” he said.

      While options on ETFs may develop as a distinct market, FalconX’s platform is designed to provide complementary tools for managing the underlying crypto exposures on which those ETFs are based, he said.

      Importantly, Sears said, ETF options trade during standard equity market hours, whereas FalconX’s options platform remains open 24/7, reflecting the continuous nature of crypto markets. This allows clients to manage risk more precisely and supports cross-market strategies, such as combining options and futures to execute basis trades or build relative-value positions across ETF and underlying markets, he said.

      At launch, the platform covers options on BTC, ETH, SOL, and HYPE, with plans to support additional altcoins in the future. FalconX’s initiative reflects an effort to close the gap between traditional OTC crypto options trading and the electronic execution models established in other asset classes, Sears said.

      Looking ahead, Sears anticipates a structural shift in institutional crypto options trading. “We believe institutional crypto options trading will move from a bespoke, voice-driven market to one where scalable electronic infrastructure underpins growth,” he said. Currently, deep liquidity tends to be concentrated among the largest players trading bilaterally. Over the next two to three years, FalconX expects this quality of execution to become more broadly accessible electronically.

      FalconX supports this transition with a platform offering both user interface and API access, enabling institutions to automate strategies, build systematic trading businesses, and integrate options into more sophisticated risk management frameworks. Sears emphasized that the platform is “designed not just to serve today’s market but to be the backbone for how institutional crypto derivatives evolve.”

      Preparing Capital Markets for the Age of Agentic AI

      Aerospike
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      Preparing Capital Markets for the Age of Agentic AI

      By Stuart Tarmy, Global Director, Financial Services Industry Solutions, Aerospike

      Capital markets are entering a new journey in the adoption of AI. The global agentic AI market is expected to be approximately $7.55 billion in 2025 and could reach $200 billion by 2034. Financial services firms are a large portion of this spending. Since budgets are private, it’s difficult to know how much capital markets firms spend on AI. However, industry estimates suggest they allocate billions annually, with 10–20% of R&D directed toward AI projects and a growing portion going to agentic systems.

      Adoption at capital markets firms is already happening. According to a recent survey, 15% of buy-side traders use AI to some extent in their execution workflows, and another 25% expect to have it in use within the year. Many companies are starting to transition from decision-making models to agent-driven, autonomous workflows.

      From Predictive AI to Agentic AI 

      AI adoption typically moves through three stages at most firms, including capital markets firms (also think asset management and brokerage): 1) predictive AI, 2) generative AI (GenAI), and 3) agentic AI. Each has increasing complexity on the technical infrastructure. Below is a quick summary of each stage.

      Predictive AI uses statistical analysis and machine learning to analyze historical data, and has been around for 50+ years. Early use cases included fraud detection and credit scoring (e.g., FICO scores). Predictive AI models in capital markets forecast price movements, create execution plans, assess market and credit risks, mitigate opportunities for fraud risk, and provide customized analysis of clients to provide personalized portfolio strategies. They’re typically well-scoped, trained using historical data, and yield results quickly.

      Generative AI, which is neural net-based, large language models (LLMs), gained prominence with the introduction of ChatGPT-3 in 2020. It’s ideal for creating new content such as reports, white papers, or answering questions. In capital markets, Gen AI is used to develop research reports and client pitch books, summarize complex information, extract trading signals from unstructured data, and answer customer inquiries.

      The new frontier is agentic AI, which uses autonomous software agents to implement AI capabilities in systems without human interaction. Its uses range from automating routine, low-level work to complex, multi-step, human-like activities.

      Each phase provides increasing capabilities that add more demands on the enterprise technology infrastructure to perform in real time and with ever-increasing amounts of data. For leaders in capital markets, the question is no longer whether or not to deploy these technologies, but how to best design their architectures to maximize performance at the least cost.

      Front Office: Trading and Alpha Generation

      Capital markets firms have long relied on complex algorithms to identify opportunities and execute strategies. Agentic AI is taking this even further. For example, Goldman Sachs is deploying an agentic AI system called Devin for its 12,000 developers. By autonomously generating, testing, and refining code, these agents can accelerate the creation of custom trading and risk systems, allowing Goldman to update and optimize algorithms at unprecedented speed. BlackRock has also advanced in this area by implementing AI agents into its Aladdin platform to perform portfolio analytics, risk management, and regulatory oversight, and by installing guardrails to protect against AI hallucinations.  Aladdin is Blackrock’s internal trading, risk, and operations platform, used by over 200 leading financial services firms and governments to manage over $21 trillion in assets.

      Alpha generation, or the ability to generate investment returns in excess of a benchmark without incurring additional risk, is the holy grail for investment firms. It often involves using advanced quantitative models and AI to analyze large amounts of data to identify new investment opportunities.

      With agentic AI, the capabilities once concentrated in top quantitative firms are becoming more accessible. Renaissance Technologies’ Medallion Fund, often cited as the most successful quant hedge fund, has delivered returns exceeding 50% annually before fees. Compare this to mutual funds, where 90% of funds picked more losing stocks than winners. Adopting agentic AI can help a broader set of firms level the playing field by enabling them to develop and run advanced models much more easily and without the same concentration of Ph.D.-level quant talent on their teams.

      The potential goes beyond analyzing data to find new trading opportunities. Agentic AI can enable new approaches to securitizing derivative assets (from plain vanilla mortgage-backed securities (MBSs) to more complex fiber asset-backed securities), optimize trade execution pricing by understanding liquidity and order-book dynamics to minimize price slippage, and deliver hyper-personalized investment strategies for corporate and retail clients. These shifts will influence the pace of trading and the products firms bring to market.

      Middle Office: Compliance and Risk Management

      The financial services industry is the most regulated in the U.S., with numerous regulatory agencies at the federal and state levels (e.g., FINA, SEC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve) and thousands of pages of rules. For example, FINRA’s Annual Regulatory Oversight Report for 2025 is 80 pages long and only provides a summary of its programs. Risk and compliance functions depend on understanding the reams of compliance rules in financial services, coupled with timely, accurate insight across millions of transactions.

      Agentic AI can be a game-changer here to help compile and understand the numerous regulations to automate compliance. Agentic AI can operate in real time, identifying anomalies, monitoring compliance, initiating remediation steps, and calling for human intervention if needed. Citigroup has committed to deploying agentic AI across the bank to automate compliance checks, streamline onboarding, and strengthen transaction monitoring. JPMorgan’s NeuroShield pilot demonstrates the impact: In early testing, its agentic fraud detection system reduced fraudulent transactions by 40%. UBS is investing in agentic AI for risk analytics and client advisory, giving financial advisors real-time recommendations on client opportunities, held-away assets, risk exposures, and portfolio adjustments.

      Using agentic AI in middle-office use cases will require attention to explainability and auditability. Regulators and clients expect transparency into how decisions are made, even as the systems evolve.

      Back Office: Clearing, Settlement, and Reconciliation

      Clearing and settlement processes remain costly and inefficient. Firebrand Research reports that the industry has incurred at least $914.7 billion over the past decade in penalties and resolution costs for settlement failures. During 2021 alone, the peak of market volatility, those costs reached $161 billion in equities and fixed-income markets. Agentic AI can analyze pre-trade data to flag at-risk transactions early and intervene before failures occur, which reduces exceptions and resolution overhead.

      Reconciliation presents another area for impact. Corporate actions such as stock splits, M&A activity, or special dividends can cause mismatches between order books and cleared trades, requiring large teams to reconcile these discrepancies overnight. It’s estimated that one large broker-dealer has a team of over 100 people doing manual overnight reconciliations before trading begins the following day. Agentic AI systems can automate reconciliations in near real time (due to pre- and post-trade monitoring), surface discrepancies, and trigger corrections as they occur. The result is lower operational risk, faster cycle times, and a better client experience.

      Building the Right Technology Foundation

      This is an incredibly exciting time in capital markets, but implementing agentic AI doesn’t just happen. It requires firms to modernize their technology architectures. These systems need immediate access to large volumes of real-time data to perform.  At the same time, the underlying architecture must handle high concurrency with low latency, enabling hundreds (thousands?) of agents to operate simultaneously without performance degradation. Meeting these requirements requires an ultra-low latency, real-time data platform to ingest, process, and serve information at scale without sacrificing consistency or reliability.

      The Competitive Window

      Capital markets firms are quickly moving into agentic AI across front, middle, and back offices to improve performance and gain a competitive advantage. To maximize agentic AI’s impact, it’s crucial for capital markets firms to pick the right, ultra-low-latency data platform to architect their systems. The leading firms are modernizing their data infrastructure and operating models today to capture the advantages of agentic AI and leapfrog the competition, while those who delay risk being left behind.

      Stuart Tarmy leads global partnerships and financial services industry solutions at Aerospike. He has more than 25 years of experience as a general manager and head of sales, partnerships and product management for leading global financial services technology, capital markets, electronic payments, artificial intelligence, data privacy and regulatory compliance companies. He has held executive roles with Fiserv, Mastercard, Deutsche Bank and McKinsey & Company. Stuart began his career as a computer design engineer at Texas Instruments developing artificial intelligence based computing systems. Stuart holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management, an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Duke University, and an Sc.B. with honors in electrical and computer engineering from Brown University.

      S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Leadership Succession

      Press Release
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      S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Leadership Succession
      • Catherine Clay Appointed CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices
      • Dan Draper to step down and will remain as a Special Advisor for a period of time after November 1, 2025

      NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”), the world’s leading index provider, has appointed Catherine Clay as CEO, effective November 1, 2025. She will replace Dan Draper, who will remain as a Special Advisor for a period of time after November 1, 2025.  Ms. Clay will also replace Mr. Draper on the S&P Dow Jones Indices Board.

      S&P Dow Jones Indices logo (PRNewsfoto/S&P Dow Jones Indices)

      Ms. Clay will report to Martina Cheung, President and CEO of S&P Global, and serve on the Company’s Executive Leadership Team. She will be based at S&P Global’s headquarters in New York.

      Ms. Clay joins from Cboe Global Markets where she was Executive Vice President and Global Head of Derivatives, leading the Exchange’s global options and futures businesses as well as its Data Vantage business across the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. She brings a wealth of experience across derivatives markets, digital assets, data analytics and financial technology to S&P DJI.

      “We are excited to welcome Catherine to S&P Dow Jones Indices, where she will lead our index business, recognized globally as the leading provider of financial market benchmarks, data, and research,” said Martina Cheung, President & CEO, S&P Global. “Her forward-thinking mindset, customer-centric approach and extensive leadership experience are vital for S&P DJI’s future.”

      “I am honored to take on the role of CEO at S&P Dow Jones Indices and excited to lead a team that is at the forefront of building trusted benchmarks for every investor. I look forward to building on the strong legacy of the world’s leading index provider,” said Ms. Clay.

      “Dan has steered S&P DJI for more than five years, with a strategic approach that spanned continents and asset classes, positioning the business for continued success under Catherine’s experienced leadership. I am grateful for Dan’s contributions to S&P DJI’s growth. As Dan moves on to new opportunities, we wish him all the best,” added Ms. Cheung.

      During Mr. Draper’s tenure at the helm of S&P Dow Jones Indices, he accelerated strategic initiatives to drive growth and was part of an acquisition to expand the business’ ability to offer innovative, high-quality benchmarks and data solutions tailored to the evolving needs of the wealth management industry.

      “I have every confidence in the future of our company under the leadership of Catherine. Her fresh insights and unique strengths will propel S&P DJI to new heights,” said Mr. Draper.

      Media Contact:  

      Silke McGuinness
      S&P Dow Jones Indices
      (+1) 415 205 8414
      silke.mcguinness@spglobal.com 

      About Catherine Clay
      Ms. Clay joins S&P Global from Cboe Global Markets, where she was Executive Vice President and Global Head of Derivatives, leading the Exchange’s global options and futures businesses as well as its Data Vantage business across the U.S., Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. She brings a wealth of experience across derivatives markets, digital assets, data analytics and financial technology to S&P DJI.

      Prior to this role, she served as Executive Vice President of Global Digital and Data Solutions, leading Cboe’s efforts to align the company’s digital assets, data & analytics product suite and market data services.

      Before joining Cboe, Ms. Clay was the CEO of LiveVol, a pioneering derivatives and analytics company that was acquired by Cboe in 2015.

      About S&P Dow Jones Indices
      S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

      S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

      SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

      OCC Eyes 22-5 Trading as First Step Toward 24-7

      Anna Lyudvig
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      OCC Eyes 22-5 Trading as First Step Toward 24-7

      Across financial markets, momentum is building behind the idea of expanding trading hours to meet the demands of a global, digitally connected investor base. From major exchanges and brokerages to clearinghouses and regulators, the industry is actively exploring what it would take to support near-continuous and eventually continuous trading.

      In its recently released white paper, Considerations of a Continuous Trading Environment and Implications for Central Clearing of U.S. Listed Options: Perspectives on CCP issues from a utility model clearinghouse, the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) outlines both a vision and a roadmap for how the U.S. listed options market could evolve toward a 24-7 model, beginning with a phased transition to a 22-5 trading and clearing environment.

      According to OCC, exchange operators like Nasdaq, Cboe Global Markets, and Intercontinental Exchange have publicly expressed interest in moving their equity platforms toward near-continuous operations. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the 24X National Exchange to operate 23 hours a day, five days a week. At the same time, several retail brokerage firms, including Robinhood and Charles Schwab, have extended their own trading hours to allow for overnight transactions in major index-linked securities.

      The white paper notes that this momentum is not isolated to equities. Derivatives exchanges are exploring similar moves: Coinbase launched 24-7 trading for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures earlier this year, while CME Group, which already offers 24-5 access for a wide range of products, has announced plans to transition to full 24-7 trading by 2026.

      OCC itself has been clearing select products under its Extended Trading Hours (ETH) program since 2015. Through its Encore Global platform, OCC currently supports clearing for index options and index futures traded on Cboe and CFE during extended sessions. However, these efforts are still limited in scope and participation.

      Andrej Bolkovic, OCC
      Andrej Bolkovic

      In its white paper, OCC proposes a phased approach that begins with a shift to a 22-5 trading and clearing model, providing 22 hours of operations per day, five days a week, with the remaining two hours reserved for scheduled system maintenance, operational adjustments, and risk recalibrations.

      “We recommend a gradual transition to a 22-5 or 23-5 model, leaving a window for trade reconciliation and end-of-day processing, and maintaining weekends for system maintenance, backups and data deployments,” Andrej Bolkovic ,OCC CEO, commented.

      This approach would enable clearing members (CMs), exchanges, and regulators to build institutional muscle memory around the processes and risk protocols required to manage real-time markets, according to the paper.

      Still, the transition raises meaningful technical and structural challenges, particularly in the options market. OCC highlights that “listed equity options… have a strike price and expiration date,” and those expirations currently follow “a fixed weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedule”.

      Beyond lifecycle management, the reliability of price discovery becomes a central concern, according to the white paper. Market makers depend on real-time access to the underlying equity to hedge their options exposure. Without liquidity or up-to-date pricing in the underlying security, the OCC warns that “options pricing may become skewed,” which could lead market makers to pull back during thinly traded sessions. The paper underscores the importance of consistent trading hours across underlying securities, options contracts, and clearing operations to maintain market integrity.

      Operationally, OCC acknowledges the need to transition from “centralized cut-offs for trade processing, market close pricing, margin calculation, and collateral management” to “event-driven workflows” that function around the clock. That shift would require multiple daily margin and settlement cycles instead of the single end-of-day model used today. OCC also explores the possibility of intraday margin calls during extended hours to address increased volatility or thinning liquidity in overnight sessions.

      New challenges also arise around data and regulatory reporting according to OCC. In a near-continuous market, legacy end-of-day reporting formats for margin, stress tests, and capital requirements would need to be overhauled. The OCC explains that reports traditionally generated overnight—when markets are quiet—would need to shift to “rolling processes that align with near-continuous trading,” potentially requiring collaboration with regulators to redefine when and how data is captured and submitted.

      Looking beyond 22-5, a full move to 24-7 trading would raise the stakes further. With no downtime windows, system infrastructure would need to support “rolling updates” and “hot-hot” environments capable of operating without maintenance breaks, according to the paper. OCC acknowledges that such a leap would require deeper regulatory coordination—both domestic and international—and a significant shift toward automation and resilience across the financial system.

      As the paper emphasizes, “expanded trading offers benefits and opportunities in terms of access, [but] it also requires substantial adjustments throughout financial markets and at CCPs themselves.”

      SIFMA Supports SEC Order to Reduce Consolidated Audit Trail Costs

      Press Release
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      SIFMA Supports SEC Order to Reduce Consolidated Audit Trail Costs

      SIFMA issued the following statement from president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. on the order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reduce operating costs of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT):

      “SIFMA believes the exemptive relief issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which allows for immediate implementation of much needed changes designed to save millions of dollars in annual operating costs of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), is a long overdue step in the right direction. We have long held the view that ever-increasing CAT costs, lacking any transparency or accountability, is one of many festering problems with the CAT and we commend the SEC for leadership in trying to rein them in.

      We also agree with the Chairman that more work needs to be done, including further reducing costs, eliminating investors’ personally identifiable information (PII) and establishing rational governance.  We thank the Chairman for his leadership on this issue and look forward to continued engagement on this issue.”

      Source: SIFMA

      SEC Issues Order to Reduce Operating Costs of Consolidated Audit Trail

      The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order granting conditional exemptive relief related to certain requirements of the National Market System Plan governing the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT NMS Plan), Rule 613 of Regulation NMS, and Rule 17a-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This conditional exemptive relief allows the self-regulatory organizations that are the participants to the CAT NMS Plan to expeditiously and meaningfully reduce the operating costs of the consolidated audit trail (CAT) while maintaining core regulatory functionality.

      “Both the Commission and the participants that operate the CAT need to take very seriously their roles in reducing these seemingly endless cost increases. CAT must be more efficient and cost-effective, especially after the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that vacated the 2023 Funding Model Order governing the CAT,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “While I am pleased to support today’s exemptive relief, I want to reiterate that this is just the start.”

      “The Commission action begins an overdue journey to reform and rationalize the CAT. The Division will continue to engage participants and industry members to facilitate needed improvements to reduce costs for investors,” said Jamie Selway, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets.

      The conditional exemptive relief order expands on previous cost savings measures approved by the Commission and will allow the plan participants to, among other things: (1) cease creating interim lifecycle linkages absent regulator request; (2) ease requirements related to the re-processing of late records; (3) cease providing certain functionality associated with the online targeted query tool; and (4) delete certain CAT data and more cost effectively store older CAT data. The CAT budget originally approved by the Operating Committee of the CAT for 2025 exceeded $248 million. As a result of implementation of previous cost amendments and the relief granted today, CAT’s expenses are approximately forecast to fall an additional $20 million-$27 million below the approximately $196 million forecast expenses for 2025.

      Source: SEC

      Maylan Studart: From Stakes-Winning Jockey to Wealth Advisor

      The Open Order Podcast
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      Maylan Studart: From Stakes-Winning Jockey to Wealth Advisor

      Maylan Studart may be the only financial services professional who has won races as a jockey at premier New York horse tracks.

      In this episode of the Open Order Podcast, Maylan discusses her very unique career journey, from jockey in Brazil to wealth advisor in New York, with Traders Magazine Editor Terry Flanagan. 

      Cboe Announces Derivatives and Data Vantage Leadership Appointments

      Press Release
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      Cboe Announces Derivatives and Data Vantage Leadership Appointments

      CHICAGO, September 30, 2025 – Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world’s leading derivatives and securities exchange network, today announced the appointment of two industry veterans to lead its Derivatives and Data businesses. Rob Hocking rejoins as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Derivatives, and Brian McElligott joins as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Cboe Data Vantage. Hocking will succeed Cathy Clay who is departing the company for a new opportunity.

      Hocking brings more than 25 years of experience in global derivatives markets and a strong track record for building new, innovative tradable products. In his new role Hocking will oversee Cboe’s global derivatives business, which includes futures and options markets in the U.S. and Europe, as well as a suite of globally traded proprietary products, including the S&P 500 Index options and VIX franchises. He rejoins Cboe having previously served as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Product Innovation. Before joining Cboe in 2018, he was Global Head of Equity Volatility Trading at DRW Trading and held roles at Golman Sachs as Vice President of Index Trading and at Hull Trading in index derivatives market making. Over the course of his career, he spent 18 years as a Cboe options exchange member and trading permit holder.

      “I’m thrilled to be rejoining Cboe at such an exciting time,” said Rob Hocking. “Cboe has always been at the forefront of derivatives innovation, and I look forward to working with our talented team to continue driving growth and delivering value to our clients.”

      McElligott brings more than 25 years of experience in data and analytics. In his new role he will oversee Cboe’s market data and access services, global indices, risk and market analytics, and execution solutions services. His previous leadership roles include 14 years at CME Group where he was Managing Director, Global Head of Information Products, Analytics and Market Data. He also served as Managing Director, Head of Data Product Strategy at Tradeweb and Global Head of Data Product Strategy and Partnerships at Morningstar.

      “Rob and Brian bring deep expertise in global markets, strong client and partner relationships, and a relentless focus on innovation. I’ve known them both for many years and their leadership will be instrumental in advancing our strategic priorities and accelerating innovation across our derivatives and data businesses during this exciting time in our industry,” said Craig Donohue, Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets. “We are very grateful to Cathy for her many contributions to Cboe. Her leadership has helped position our derivatives and data businesses for long-term success. We thank her and wish her great success in her future endeavors.”

      “Working alongside the dedicated and visionary team at Cboe has been an extraordinary privilege. I’m incredibly proud of all we’ve accomplished together. As I step away, I do so with deep gratitude and confidence in the team’s continued success,” said Cathy Clay, Executive Vice President, Global Head of Derivatives.

      Both Hocking and McElligott will be based in Chicago at Cboe’s global headquarters and will start their new roles on October 1, 2025. Hocking will report into Donohue and join Cboe’s Executive Leadership team. McElligott will report into Prashant Bhatia, Executive Vice President, Head of Enterprise Strategy & Corporate Development.

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