Nasdaq Exchange Imposes Micro-Fee for Audit Trail System Costs
Published Date: 7/14/2025
Notice
Summary
Starting July 1, 2025, Nasdaq GEMX will charge industry members a new, lower fee to help cover the costs of the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system. This fee is tiny—just $0.000009 per share traded—and will last through the end of the year. Traders and brokers will see their first bills in August based on July’s activity, replacing the older, higher fee from earlier in 2025.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Six-Month Budgeted CAT Costs Total
The Budgeted CAT Costs for the period July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025 total $60,726,412. CEBBs collectively are allocated one-third of that amount ($20,242,137.33) and CEBSs collectively are allocated one-third of that amount ($20,242,137.33).
New Lower CAT Fee per Share
Starting July 1, 2025, Nasdaq GEMX will assess a CAT Fee called CAT Fee 2025-2 of $0.000009 per executed equivalent share through December 31, 2025. CAT Executing Brokers will receive their first monthly invoice in August 2025 based on July 2025 activity. CAT Fee 2025-2 is intended to replace the earlier CAT Fee 2025-1, which had a rate of $0.000022 per executed equivalent share.
Who Pays and How the Fee Is Calculated
CAT Fee 2025-2 will be charged to CAT Executing Brokers identified as CEBBs and CEBS for each transaction in Eligible Securities. For each month the fee is in effect, the fee for a transaction is calculated by multiplying the number of executed equivalent shares by one-third and by the Fee Rate (the operating committee determined Fee Rate 2025-2 as $0.00002651641828376661 per executed equivalent share, which is divided by three and rounded to $0.000009 per executed equivalent share).
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