Chapter 1
Definitions And Interpretations
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Rule 101: Definitions
The following terms as used in the Rules have the meanings set forth in this Chapter, unless otherwise specifically provided elsewhere in the Rules or required by the context.
- Account Administrator: means an officer or employee of a Participant appointed pursuant to Rule 310.
- Affiliate: means a Person who directly or indirectly, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another Person.
- Affiliate Participants and Clearing Members: has a meaning set forth in Rule 1012.
- API: means Application Programming Interface, a programmatic software interface.
- Applicable Law: means, with respect to any Person, any statute, law, regulation, rule or ordinance of any governmental or self-regulatory authority applicable to such Person, including the CEA and CFTC Rules.
- Approved Financial Institution: has the meaning set forth in Rule 803.2.7.
- Audit Trail: has the meaning set forth in Rule 510.
- Authorized User: means a natural person, authorized by the Exchange as an Authorized User in accordance with Rule 306, who is either employed by or is an agent of a Clearing Member or a Participant.
- Bankruptcy Code: means Title 11 of the U.S. Code.
- Bankruptcy Event: has the meaning set forth in Rule 818.
- Block Trade: means a privately negotiated transaction in a Contract that meets certain quantity thresholds and that is permitted to occur away from the Exchange and reported in accordance with Rule 505.
- Board: means the Board of Directors.
- Board of Appeals: means a panel comprised of a chair and two individuals appointed by the Board to consider appeals under Chapter 6.
- Business Day: means any day on which the Exchange and Clearinghouse are open for trading and clearing.
- CEA: means the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended from time to time.
- CFTC: means the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission or any successor agency.
- CFTC Rules: means the rules, regulations and orders of the CFTC, as amended from time to time.
- CPT: means Central Prevailing Time.
- Chairman: means the Chairman of the Board.
- Chief Executive Officer: means the individual appointed by the Board to serve as the chief executive officer.
- Chief Regulatory Officer: means the individual appointed by the Board to serve as the chief regulatory officer.
- Clearinghouse: means Bitnomial Clearinghouse, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company registered by the CFTC as a derivatives clearing organization that is designated by the Exchange to provide clearing services with respect to any or all of the Contracts.
- Clearinghouse Official: means any Officer or Employee of the Clearinghouse and any member of the Board, a committee established by the Board, a Hearing Panel or Board of Appeals.
- Clearing Member: means an entity meeting the requirements of, and approved for, clearing membership at the Clearinghouse that is authorized pursuant to the Rules to clear trades in any or all Contracts. Except for those Clearing Members that clear solely for their own proprietary accounts (each, an Individual Clearing Member), all other Clearing Members must be registered with the CFTC as FCMs (each, an FCM Clearing Member).
- Clearing Member Agreement: means an agreement between the Clearinghouse and a Clearing Member which must be signed in order for a Clearing Member to have access to the Clearinghouse for clearing services with respect to any or all of the Contracts.
- Close-Out Value: has the meaning set forth in Rule 818.
- Collateral: means such property as may be delivered by a Clearing Member to the Clearinghouse as collateral for the obligations of such Clearing Member to the Clearinghouse (including but not limited to Initial Margin and Variation Margin), and all proceeds of the foregoing and all proceeds of any of the foregoing, held in or for the accounts of a Clearing Member in connection with the financial obligations of such Clearing Member, however created, arising or evidenced, whether direct or indirect, absolute or contingent, existing, due or to become due.
- Compliance Department: has the meaning set forth in Rule 602.
- Contract: means any contract, agreement, or transaction approved for trading on the Exchange and pursuant to the Rules.
- Contract Specifications: means the descriptions of the contractual items for each Contract as set forth in the document available on the Website.
- Customer: means any Person for whom a Participant carries an account (other than such Participant or any of its affiliates) or from whom a Participant solicits or accepts an order.
- Customer Account: means an account established by a Clearing Member with the Clearinghouse in which the Clearing Member maintains trades, positions and Margin solely for Customers of the Clearing Member.
- Daily Settlement Price: has the meaning set forth in Rule 509.
- Director: means an individual serving on the Board.
- Disciplinary Action: has the meaning set forth in Rule 601.
- Disciplinary Committee: means a function of the Compliance Department to fulfill various adjudicative responsibilities and duties described in Rule 602.
- Emergency: means the occurrences or circumstances which, in the opinion of the Board, require immediate action to be taken in accordance with Rule 501, and which threaten, or may threaten, the fair and orderly trading in, or the settlement or integrity of, any Contract, including, without limitation, the following: any circumstance that may materially affect the performance of a Contract, including failure of the Clearinghouse system; any action taken by any United States or foreign regulatory, self-regulatory, judicial, arbitral, or governmental (whether national, state or municipal) or quasi-governmental authority, or any agency, department, instrumentality, or sub-division thereof; or other Person exercising, or entitled to exercise any administrative, executive, judicial, legislative, police, regulatory or taxing authority or power; or any other contract market, clearinghouse, board of trade, or other exchange or trade association (foreign or domestic) that may have a direct impact on trading on the Exchange or the settlement legality or enforceability of any Contract; any actual, attempted or threatened corner, squeeze, congestion, manipulative activity or undue concentration of positions in a Contract; any circumstance that may have a severe, adverse effect upon the functions and facilities of the Exchange, including, but not limited to, acts of God, fire, flood or other natural disasters, bomb threats, acts of terrorism or war, severely inclement weather, or failure or malfunction of all or a portion of the Trading Platform, or other system breakdowns or interruptions such as power, computer, communication or transportation systems or the Internet; the bankruptcy or insolvency of any Clearing Member or the imposition of any injunction or other restraint by any government agency, clearinghouse, court or arbitrator upon a Clearing Member which may affect the ability of a Clearing Member to trade in or perform on a Contract; any circumstance in which it appears to the Board that a Clearing Member or any other Person: has failed to perform on a Contract; is insolvent; or is in a financial or operational condition or is conducting business such that the Clearing Member or Person cannot be permitted to continue in business without jeopardizing the safety of Participants, other Clearing Members, the Exchange or the Clearinghouse; or any other unusual, unforeseeable or adverse circumstance as determined by the Exchange
- Exchange: means Bitnomial Exchange, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company designated by the CFTC as a designated contract market.
- Exchange Official: means any Officer or employee of the Exchange and any member of the Board, a committee established by the Board, a Hearing Panel or Board of Appeals.
- Exchange Transaction: means a Contract executed through the Trade Matching Engine.
- Expiry: means the Contract date of expiration.
- FDICIA: has the meaning set forth in Rule 818.
- Final Settlement Price: means the price for each Contract supplied by the Exchange to the Clearinghouse as the final Settlement Price for the Expiry as specified in Rule 517.
- FCM: means a futures commission merchant as defined in the CEA and CFTC Rules and registered with the CFTC as such.
- Governmental Authority: means any domestic or foreign government (or political subdivision), governmental or regulatory authority, agency, court, commission or other governmental or regulatory entity (including any Self-Regulatory Organization).
- Guaranty Fund: means fund comprising the monies, securities and instruments capitalized by Clearinghouse, which fund shall be used as provided in Rule 815 to reimburse the Clearinghouse for losses sustained by the Clearinghouse as a result of the failure of any Clearing Member to discharge its financial obligations in accordance with the Rules.
- House Account: has the meaning set forth in CFTC Rule 39.2.
- Initial Margin: means the initial amount of Collateral that must be deposited with or paid to the Clearinghouse by Clearing Members in accordance with the Rules as a performance bond in respect of the Contracts held in any house account and customer accounts of such Clearing Members.
- Investigation Team: means a group within the Compliance Department, whose function is to fulfill the investigative and enforcement responsibilities described in Rule 602.
- Insolvency: means the occurrence of any of the following events with respect to a Person: the Person is determined to be insolvent by a Government Agency or Self-Regulatory Organization; if the Person is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, a court of competent jurisdiction finds that the Person meets any one of the conditions set forth in clauses (A), (B), (C) or (D) of Section 5(b)(1) of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970; in the event of the entry or the making of a decree or order by a court, Government Agency or other supervisory authority of competent jurisdiction: adjudging the Person as bankrupt or insolvent, approving as properly filed a petition seeking reorganization, arrangement, liquidation, dissolution, adjustment or composition of or in respect of the Person under the Bankruptcy Code or any other applicable federal, state or other U.S. or non-U.S. law, including any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, liquidation, dissolution or similar law, appointing a receiver, custodian, liquidator, provisional liquidator, administrator, provisional administrator, assignee, trustee, sequestrator or other similar official for the Person or for any substantial part of its property, ordering the winding up or liquidation of the Person's affairs or (iv) consenting to the institution by the Person of proceedings to be adjudicated as a bankrupt or insolvent; the filing by the Person of a petition, or any case or proceeding, seeking reorganization or relief under the Bankruptcy Code or any other applicable federal, state or other U.S. or non-U.S. law, including any bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, liquidation, dissolution or similar law, or the consent by the Person to the filing of any such petition, case or proceeding or to the appointment of a receiver, custodian, liquidator, provisional liquidator, administrator, provisional administrator, assignee, trustee, sequestrator or other similar official for the Person or for any substantial part of its property, or the making by the Person of an assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or the admission by the Person in writing of its inability to pay its debts generally as they become due, or the taking of corporate or similar action by the Person in furtherance of the foregoing.
- Last Trading Day: is the last day a Contract may be traded and is defined in Rule 509.
- Liquidity Event: has the meaning given to it in Rule 809.
- LLC Agreement: means the Limited Liability Company Agreement of the Exchange and Clearinghouse as amended or restated from time to time.
- Margin: means Initial Margin and Variation Margin or either of them.
- NFA: means the National Futures Association.
- Official: means an Exchange Official and a Clearinghouse Official.
- Officer: has the meaning given to it in Rule 203.
- Order: means any order to buy or sell a Contract on or subject to the Rules of the Exchange.
- Participant: means an entity that has signed the Participant Agreement for purposes of entering into Transactions for its own account or accesses the Exchange on behalf of a Customer. In addition, a Clearing Member who does not enter into Transactions for its own account shall be deemed to be a Participant hereunder solely for the purpose of accessing the Exchange in order to liquidate Transactions and any resulting positions previously submitted to the Clearinghouse for the account of such Clearing Member on behalf of a Participant that is in default for failure to perform its obligations to the Exchange or such Clearing Member (to the extent applicable).
- Participant Agreement: means an agreement between the Exchange and a Participant which must be signed in order for a Participant to have access to the Exchange for the execution of trades involving commodity derivative products and related financial instruments.
- Perpetual Futures: means a futures contract with a quarter-century expiration that is perpetually priced, margined, and settled every eight (8) hours based on the implied spot price of the settlement price futures contract, as specified in the product specifications.
- Person: means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, association, firm, trust, corporation or other entity, as the context may require.
- Position Transfer: means a transaction in a Contract(s) that is executed by the Exchange or the Clearinghouse personnel for administrative purposes outlined in Rule 507.
- Price Bands: mean a per-product price range for aggressive orders based on the latest top-of-book price. The initial Price Bands are based on the previous day settlement price +/- the Price Band variation which is set by the Bitnomial Market Operations & Risk Team. The Price Band variation range is continuously re-calculated from top-of-book. Calendar spread Price Band variation shall be one-half the Price Band variation listed in the Contract Rules.
- Price Limits: mean a per product price range based on a percentage of the previous day settlement price. If a trade occurs at the Price Limit for a side, the matching engine triggers a timer. If the timer elapses and no trades occur inside of the Price Limit, the Price Limits are re-calculated and reset. The resultant Price Limits are outside the original Price Limits to allow for additional price movement. The Exchange Market Operations & Risk Team may adjust the daily Price Limits at its sole discretion based on market conditions. Price Limits for futures products shall be the greater of 50% or the price listed in the relevant Product Specifications. Price Limits for options products shall be the greater of 100% or the price listed in the relevant Product Specifications. Calendar spread Price Limits shall be on-half the Price Limit listed in the Contract Rules.
- Public Director: means a Director having the qualifications set out in Rule 202.
- Regulatory Services Agreement: means the agreement(s) between the Exchange or the Clearinghouse and the Regulatory Service Provider(s) whereby certain functions mandated under the CEA, such as market monitoring and trade practice surveillance, are delegated to the Regulatory Services Provider(s).
- Regulatory Services Provider: means NFA and such other organizations, if any, that provide regulatory services to the Exchange or the Clearinghouse, together with any such organization's employees and agents.
- Requirements: means the Rules; other requirements implemented by the Exchange or the Clearinghouse pursuant to the Rules; each term of a Contract; and the documentation and other contractual obligations between a Participant (including its Authorized Users) and the Exchange or a Clearing Member and the Clearinghouse.
- Respondent: means a Participant under investigation for alleged Rule violation(s) or against which charges have been filed.
- Rule: means any rule, interpretation, stated policy, or instrument corresponding to any of the foregoing, including these Rules, in each case as adopted from time to time by the Exchange or the Clearinghouse.
- Self-Regulatory Organization: has the meaning given to such term in CFTC Rule 1.3(ee) and includes a derivatives clearing organization that is registered as such with the CFTC.
- Settlement Bank: means a bank that maintains an account either for the Clearinghouse or for any of its Clearing Members, which is used for the purpose of any settlement activity described in 17 CFR § 39.14.
- Settlement Price: means the price for each Contract supplied by the Exchange to the Clearinghouse at the end of each trading day (Daily Settlement Price).
- Surveillance Team: means the group within the Compliance Department that is responsible for real-time and post-trade surveillance of the Exchange's trading systems, as described in Rule 602.
- Trade Matching Engine: means the set of algorithms through which orders are matched.
- Trading Account: means a trading account to be separately tracked and margined by a Participant's Clearing Member.
- Trading Account ID: means an Exchange assigned ID that represents a Trading Account for use by the Clearinghouse and its Clearing Members.
- Trading Platform: means the electronic trading facility operated by the Exchange to provide Participants with the ability to execute Exchange Transactions from the interaction of multiple bids and multiple offers within a predetermined, nondiscretionary automated trade matching and execution algorithm.
- Transaction: means an Exchange Transaction.
- Trade Risk Limit: has the meaning set forth in Rule 504 of these Rules.
- Trading Hours: means, for any Business Day, the hours specified on the trading calendar at the Website.
- Variation Margin: means on the Business Day a Contract has been accepted for clearing by the Clearinghouse, the difference between the price at which such Contract was bought or sold and the Settlement Price for such Contract; and thereafter, the difference, as applicable, between: the Settlement Price on a given Business Day and the preceding Settlement Price for such Contract, or the price at which such Contract was closed on the books of the Clearinghouse and the preceding Settlement Price for such Contract.
- Website: means bitnomial.com/exchange.
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Rule 102: Scope and Interpretation
As used in any Rule, terms in the singular include the plural and vice versa and references to the masculine, feminine or neuter gender includes each other gender, unless the context expresses a clear contrary intention. As used in any Rule, time references are to Central Prevailing Time.
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Signing up with Bitnomial, Inc. requires additional verification with an FCM to trade futures. Futures accounts are offered by Bitnomial Clearing, LLC, a CFTC-registered FCM and NFA member. Trading in futures involves substantial risks. You should only trade in financial products that you are familiar with and understand the associated risks, and after carefully considering whether such trading is suitable in light of your investment experience, financial position, and investment objectives. Leverage in futures trading can work for you or against you. The risk of loss using leverage can exceed your initial investment amount. See Bitnomial entity affiliation and registration disclosures and FCM financial and risk disclosures.