Cboe BZX adopts fees for new clock service

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Cboe BZX clock service fees

Highlights

Cboe BZX Exchange filed on May 28, 2026, to implement immediate monthly fees of $7,500 for its new optional Clock Service.
Subscribers must pay a one-time $5,000 High-Accuracy Timing IP Core (HATI) licensing setup fee per physical connection for the service.
The service targets trading firms needing synchronized latency measurements, with a free trial available to encourage adoption ahead of recurring costs.

Fee structure and service rollout

As reported by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cboe BZX Exchange filed on May 28, 2026 a proposed rule change to adopt fees for its new Clock Service, with immediate effectiveness under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The optional service is available to both members and non-members and allows subscribers to synchronize their time-recording systems with the exchange for correlated latency measurements tied to the same message or order.

The exchange says the service delivers White Rabbit time signals through a 1 gigabit per second physical port, allowing participants to synchronize their primary clock devices with BZX's primary clock device at a more granular level. Cboe BZX proposes a fee of $7,500 per month for the core Clock Service.

The filing also says customers are required to procure licensing where applicable and pay a one-time High-Accuracy Timing IP Core, or HATI, licensing setup fee of $5,000 for each physical connection. In addition, the exchange proposes an optional extra connection that includes a 1 Gbps physical port and can be used as a backup path for receiving the exchange's time signal.

Market context and participant impact

The exchange argues the new pricing is reasonable because market participants can choose whether to subscribe based on their own business needs. It also says the Clock Service is not new to securities markets and is similar to a network time-synchronization service offered by MIAX Emerald, LLC.

For trading firms and other users that rely on precise latency analysis, the service could provide a more detailed way to compare internal system timing with exchange timestamps. The proposed free trial for new subscribers is intended to encourage testing before firms commit to the recurring monthly fee and related setup costs.

Our earlier article on the UK consolidated equities tape explained how the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed design—potentially combining pre- and post-trade data in real time—has sparked pushback from London Stock Exchange Group. It outlined the stakes around market transparency and the commercial impact on exchange market-data revenues, as regulators weigh how best to strengthen visible trading ahead of a final decision.

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