Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Set Fees for the Purchase of Field-Programmable Gate Array Technology

<NOTICE> SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION <DEPDOC>[Release No. 34-104066; File No. SR-GEMX-2025-25]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq GEMX, LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To Set Fees for the Purchase of Field-Programmable Gate Array Technology</SUBJECT> <DATE>September 25, 2025.</DATE> Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”), <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> notice is hereby given that on September 22, 2025, Nasdaq GEMX, LLC (“GEMX” or “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III, below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  17 CFR 240.19b-4. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change</HD> The Exchange proposes to set fees for the purchase of field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) technology as an optional delivery mechanism for the Nasdaq GEMX Depth of Market Data Feed. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's website at <E T="03">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/rulebook/gemx/rulefilings,</E> and at the principal office of the Exchange. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change</HD> In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD3">1. Purpose</HD> The purpose of the proposed rule change is to establish a fee schedule for the purchase of field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) technology as an optional delivery mechanism for the Nasdaq GEMX Depth of Market Data Feed (“Depth of Market Feed”). <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The same FPGA technology has been offered on the Nasdaq Options Market for over a decade, <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> and is well-established in equity markets. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> Nasdaq is expanding the availability of this optional delivery mechanism for depth of market information among its options exchanges, and is submitting proposals for Nasdaq MRX, LLC (“MRX”) and Nasdaq ISE, LLC (“ISE”), along with GEMX. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Securities Exchange Act Release No. 103037 (May 13, 2025), 90 FR 21353 (May 19, 2025 (SR-GEMX-2025-10) (proposing to offer FPGA technology as an optional delivery mechanism for the Nasdaq GEMX Depth of Market Data Feed). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Securities Exchange Act Release Nol 67539 (July 30, 2012), 77 FR 46535 (August 3. 2012) (SR-Nasdaq-2012-088) (establishing a fee for the use of field-programmable gate array (“FPGA”) technology for the Nasdaq Options Market); Securities Exchange Act release No 74745 (April 16, 2015), 80 FR 22588 (April 22, 2015) (SR-Nasdaq-2015-035) (amending fees for FPGA technology on the Nasdaq Options Market). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g.,</E> Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67297 (June 28, 2012), 77 FR 39752 (July 5, 2012) (SR-Nasdaq-2012-063) (introducing FPGA technology); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 97541 (May 22, 2023), 88 FR 34201 (May 26, 2023) (SR-BX-2023-012) (introducing FPGA technology for BX TotalView); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98158 (August 17, 2023), 88 FR 57505 (August 23, 2023) (SR-BX-2023-020) (establishing FPGA fees for BX TotalView); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 97542 (May 22, 2023), 88 FR 34199 (May 26, 2023) (SR-Phlx-2023-18) (introducing FPGA technology for PSX TotalView); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98185 (August 21, 2023), 88 FR 58324 (August 25, 2023) (SR-Phlx-2023-37) (SR-PHLX-2023-37) (establishing FPGA fees for PSX TotalView). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> SR-MRX-2025-09 (April 30, 2025) (proposing to offer FPGA technology as an optional delivery mechanism for the Nasdaq MRX Depth of Market Data Feed.”), available at <E T="03">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/rulebook/mrx/filings/SR-MRX-2025-09.pdf</E> ; SR-ISE-2025-14 (April 30, 2025 (Proposing to offer FPGA technology as an optional delivery mechanism for the Nasdaq ISE Depth of Market Data Feed), available at <E T="03">https://listingcenter.nasdaq.com/assets/rulebook/ise/filings/SR-ISE-2025-14.pdf</E> . </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD3">FPGA</HD> FPGA is a hardware-based delivery mechanism that utilizes an integrated circuit that is programmed to reduce “jitter”—a technical term of art referring to the deviation in amplitude, phase timing or width of a signal pulse in a digital signal—that will allow data to be processed in a more predictable, or “deterministic,” fashion. Reducing jitter can be useful for certain customers due to the variability in the timing of market data packets transmitted by an exchange over the course of the trading day. Orders, and therefore market data packets, typically accumulate in larger numbers at the beginning and end of the trading day, as well as during the peaks of activity that occur at random intervals during the day. These bursts of activity may alter the time interval between the delivery of data packets because software processes information at variable rates depending on load to the system. Processing times may increase at higher loads, and decrease during periods of lesser activity. FPGA technology processes data packets at a constant time interval, without regard to the number of packets processed. Higher levels of determinism means less variable queuing, which improves the predictability of data transfer, particularly during times of peak market activity. The benefits of determinism depend on the use case of the customer, as well as the customer's specific system architecture. Higher determinism does not necessarily mean lower latency. The concepts of determinism and latency are related, but distinct. Determinism refers to predictability in the rate of data transmission; latency refers to the time required to process data or transport it from one location to another. Low latency is not necessarily deterministic, and higher determinism does not necessarily mean low latency. As such, use of FPGA technology will increase determinism, but does not guarantee lower latency. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  Because software can be impacted by workload, FPGA technology in general can provide lower latency during periods of peak activity. The same FPGA technology that will support the GEMX FPGA service is also broadly commercially available for purchase from third-party sellers unrelated to the Exchange. </FTNT> Among customers that seek a higher degree of determinism, the benefits of FPGA technology vary, as FPGA technology is one possible solution, among a catalog of possible solutions, for increasing the consistency and predictability of message throughput over the course of the trading day. Some customers are able to adequately control jitter without using FPGA technology; other customers address jitter using specialized software, coding or other design solutions in conjunction with FPGA; still others use FPGA alone. The specific choice depends on a complex analysis of the customer's information technology systems in the context of their particular use cases. FPGA is a broadly available, commonly used type of programmable circuit that can be modified to suit different use cases. It is used in a wide spectrum of industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, and aerospace, as well as in a variety of industrial applications. It is not unique to the financial services industry, <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> or to the Exchange. <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g.,</E> Contrive Datum Insights, “Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) Market is expected to reach around USD 22.10 Billion by 2030, Grow at a CAGR of 15.12% during Forecast Period 2023 to 2030,” (February 21, 2023), available at <E T="03">https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/02/21/2612772/0/en/Field-Programmable-Gate-Array-FPGA-Market-Is-Expected-To-Reach-around-USD-22-10-Billion-by-2030-Grow-at-a-CAGR-Of-15-12-during-Forecast-Period-2023-To-2030-Data-By-Contrive-Datum-I.html</E> (describing the general size and state of the FPGA market in 2023). </FTNT> FPGA technology has been offered by both the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Options Market for over a decade, <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> and has been cited by the SEC as an example of a technology useful in the distribution of market data products. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Securities Exchange Act Release No. 67297 (June 28, 2012), 77 FR 39752 (July 5, 2012) (SR-Nasdaq-2012-063) (introducing FPGA technology); <E T="03">see also</E> Nasdaq Data News 2012-13, available at <E T="03">http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/TraderNews.aspx?id=dn2012-13</E> (introducing TotalView FPGA service as of August 1, 2012); Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74745 (April 16, 2015), 80 FR 22588 (April 22, 2015) (SR-Nasdaq-2015-035) (establishing FPGA for the Nasdaq Options Market); The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC Rules, Equity 7, Section 126(c) (Hardware-Based Delivery of Nasdaq Depth ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 26k characters. 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