MEMX Group has launched MX2 Options, its second US listed-options exchange, adding a customer-priority, pro-rata market model as the exchange operator continues to broaden its footprint in options and build towards its planned combination with BOX.
MX2 began trading on 14 September, processing more than 1,500 contracts across an initial 10 symbols on its first day, with 19 member firms participating. MEMX plans to expand the number of available symbols progressively over the coming weeks.
The new exchange complements MEMX Options, launched in 2023, which operates a price-time priority model. MX2 instead uses customer priority followed by pro-rata allocation, giving participants a size-based approach to execution and another mechanism for accessing and providing liquidity.Both venues run on MEMX’s existing infrastructure. MX2 is connected to the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) and Options Price Reporting Authority (OPRA) from MEMX’s production infrastructure at the Equinix NY4 facility in Secaucus, New Jersey. The launch followed three rounds of industry user acceptance testing, covering customer-priority and pro-rata allocations as well as Lead Market Maker and Preferred Market Maker executions.
“Today’s successful launch of MX2 Options marks an important milestone for MEMX and reflects the tremendous work of our team and the support shown to us from our members and the broader options community,” says MEMX Group CEO Jonathan Kellner. “From the outset, our goal has been to build markets around the needs of participants. By adding a customer priority, pro-rata model alongside our existing price-time options exchange, we can serve an even broader range of trading strategies and provide market participants with greater choice in how they provide and access liquidity.”
Building out the options franchise
The launch follows regulatory approval for MX2 Options from the US Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2025. MEMX had initially targeted the second quarter of 2026, subsequently setting a September launch date and adopting a staged deployment programme.
MX2 arrives as options become an increasingly important part of MEMX’s business. MEMX Options increased its share of total US listed-options volume to 3.8% during 2025 and reached 6.9% of regular electronic volume, according to the company. Customer activity, covering both retail and institutional order flow, accounted for 43% of its added volume during the year. The second venue gives MEMX the ability to address different types of options flow without attempting to accommodate competing allocation methodologies within a single market.Under MEMX’s proposed combination with BOX, announced in July, TMX Group will invest approximately US$800 million and contribute its existing interest in BOX, giving it an approximately 59% stake in the enlarged MEMX Group. The transaction values the combined business at approximately US$2.3 billion and is expected to close in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
The combination is intended to give MEMX a much broader set of options-market models. Its existing MEMX Options venue provides price-time trading, MX2 adds pro-rata allocation, while BOX brings electronic and open-outcry capabilities. Together, MEMX and BOX represented around 10% of US listed-options volume when the transaction was announced.
Broader technology ambitions
MX2 also fits into MEMX’s wider strategy of using a common technology base to support a growing range of markets rather than building separate infrastructure for each new venue.
The group now operates six markets and has been expanding its third-party technology business alongside its own exchanges. Its technology has been selected to support external trading venues, while MEMX has also filed with the SEC to introduce securities-based exchange prediction contracts linked to objective corporate metrics such as earnings and revenues.
The immediate focus for MX2 will be completing the staged rollout and building liquidity across the new venue. Longer term, the combination of MEMX Options, MX2 and BOX would leave the group operating across three distinct options-market structures, backed by a technology platform that MEMX increasingly sees as an asset in its own right.
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