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Bats Receives SEC Approval to Launch EDGX Options Market

Kansas City, MO. & Chicago, IL & New York, NY -BATS Global Markets (BATS), a leading operator of exchanges and services for financial markets globally, has received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch its second options market – EDGX Options. BATS is planning to open the new market on Monday, November 2, 2015.

“We are pleased to receive approval from the SEC to launch EDGX Options and we are looking forward to making our mark in a new segment of the options market”

EDGX Options will be based on a customer priority/pro rata allocation model and is designed to complement its BZX Options market, the fourth-largest U.S. options market with a record 10.8% market share in July, which is a pure price-time priority market. The launch of EDGX Options will enable BATS to compete for a new segment of order flow that does not trade on the price-time markets that BATS currently operates.

“We are pleased to receive approval from the SEC to launch EDGX Options and we are looking forward to making our mark in a new segment of the options market,” said Bryan Harkins, Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. Markets at BATS. “Two-thirds of U.S. options market volume is executed on exchanges with a pro rata model and we believe we can help make markets better for participants in this segment of the market through our innovative technology, operating efficiency, market-leading pricing, and first-class customer service.”

EDGX Options will be located in the Equinix NY5 data center along with the other BATS U.S. equities and option markets and its newly acquired institutional foreign exchange ECN, Hotspot. The technical specifications for the EDGX Options are available on the EDGX Options information page on the BATS website, and members can begin connecting to the new market on August 17, 2015. BATS will be offering numerous testing opportunities leading up to the planned launch date as outlined in the EDGX Options Roadmap and Schedule.

BATS expects that all of the industry’s multiply-listed options will be available for trading on EDGX Options. EDGX Options will leverage BATS’ state-of-the-art technology, including customer connectivity, messaging protocols, quotation and execution engine, order router, data feeds and infrastructure. This approach will minimize the technology effort required for existing Exchange Members to begin trading on EDGX Options.

About BATS Global Markets

BATS Global Markets, Inc., a leading global operator of exchanges and services for financial markets, is committed to Making Markets Better for traders, investors and issuers. In Europe, BATS operates the largest pan-European equities exchange, offering trading and listing services across 15 major European markets, as well as BXTR, the continent’s largest trade reporting facility. In the U.S., BATS operates four stock exchanges – BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA – and regularly ranks as the top market for ETF and retail-driven liquidity. The company is a listing venue for ETFs and other structured products, also operates a U.S. equity options market, BATS BZX Options, and is launching BATS EDGX Options later in 2015. Globally, BATS serves the foreign exchange (FX) market, the world’s largest asset class, with Hotspot, a leading institutional spot foreign exchange market. With its world-class technology and relentless customer focus, BATS strives to bring efficiency, transparency and fairness to market participants. The company is headquartered in Kansas City with offices in New York, London, Chicago and Singapore. The company is headquartered in Kansas City with offices in New York, London, Chicago and Singapore.

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