Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Rule Changes

Approving exchange fee changes under immediate effectiveness provisions

Options exchanges are locked in a chaotic race to recalibrate fees as their regulatory costs collide with record trading volumes. Cboe doubled its Options Regulatory Fee to $0.0002 per contract on January 2, 2026, while NYSE slashed its fee from $0.0038 to $0.0026. The whipsaw reflects a deeper crisis: exchanges collect fees based on all customer options trades cleared industrywide, not just trades on their own platforms, creating unpredictable revenue swings.

Updated May 19