Options Exchange Updates Backup System Test Rules
Published Date: 5/29/2026
Notice
Summary
MX2 LLC is updating its rule to change how it picks certain options traders to join backup system tests during its first year of operation. This means some traders will have to help test disaster recovery plans to keep things running smoothly. The change kicks in right away and helps protect the market without adding extra costs.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Options Firms Required to Join Backup Tests
If you are an Options Member of MX2, the Exchange will designate at least three Options Members who have meaningful options trading on other exchanges to connect to MX2 backup systems and participate in mandatory functional and performance disaster-recovery testing during MX2's first calendar year of operation. MX2 plans to launch MX2 Options in September 2026, will notify designated Options Members no later than September 10, 2026, and the industry-wide test is next scheduled for October 24, 2026.
Preference for Already-Connected Firms
MX2 will, where possible, designate for testing Options Members that already have established connections to MX2's backup systems in order to reduce the burdens associated with being designated for disaster-recovery testing. The Exchange states this approach is intended to address the six-month notice requirement in Rule 2.4(b).
Future Designation Standards Based on Trading Data
For industry-wide disaster-recovery testing in 2026 and beyond, MX2 will issue one or more regulatory circulars that establish the standards for determining which Options Members contribute a meaningful percentage of the Exchange's overall volume; those standards will be informed by MX2's actual market and trading data in accordance with Rule 2.4(b).
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