SEC Grants Cboe Sub-Penny Pricing Exemption for Retail Traders
Published Date: 1/22/2026
Notice
Summary
The SEC gave Cboe BYX Exchange a special green light to use super tiny price steps (smaller than a penny) for certain retail orders, called RPI and Enhanced RPI Orders. This change helps BYX offer better prices to everyday investors without breaking the usual rules about minimum price increments. The exemption starts right away and aims to boost fairer, sharper pricing on the exchange—no extra costs for traders, just smarter trading!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
BYX Allowed Sub‑Penny Pricing ≥ $1.00
The SEC granted Cboe BYX a limited exemption allowing the Exchange to accept and rank Retail Price Improvement (RPI) interest priced equal to or greater than $1.00 per share in $0.001 increments.
RPI and Enhanced RPI Use Sub‑Penny Steps
Under the Exchange's RPI Program and the Proposal, RPI Orders and Enhanced RPI Orders may be priced in sub‑penny increments (for securities priced at or above $1.00, in $0.001 increments; for securities below $1.00 the Proposal describes pricing as small as $0.0001).
Sub‑Penny Prices Not Publicly Disseminated
The Commission noted that, under the modified RPI Program, sub‑penny prices will not be disseminated through the consolidated quotation data stream, a measure intended to avoid quote flickering and reduced depth at the inside quotation.
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