The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has put back the launch of a new electronic platform amid regulatory uncertainty, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Initially slated to launch this year, the C2 platform is now expected to go live in the first quarter of 2010 when the exchange hopes it will help entice users from Nasdaq Options Market and Nyse Arca Options.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to grant regulatory approval for the platform, contributing to the launch delay, although CBOE says it should get the go-ahead by the end of the year.
But CBOE vice chairman Ed Tilly told Dow Jones that current SEC deliberations on how options are priced and the way orders are routed between exchanges are also an issue, meaning the the platform's final design has yet to be settled.
Tilly says C2's matching engine design will depend on whether the SEC takes action against step-up orders, which are similar to flash orders in cash equities.
The regulator is currently looking at the practice amid concerns that it could give some traders an unfair advantage by flashing unfilled orders to exchange members before they are routed to other bourses.
CBOE Delays High-Frequency Trade Platform Launch - Dow Jones Newswires