Requirements for Participants

A Participant must be admitted to the Exchange and deliver an executed Participant Agreement. To be eligible for admission, the Participant must demonstrate to the Exchange that it:

1. is of good reputation and business integrity;

2. complies with the financial responsibility, recordkeeping and reporting requirements set out in Rule 304;

3. is validly organized, in good standing, and authorized by its governing body and, if relevant, documents of organization, to trade Contracts;

4. is not insolvent;

5. is not prohibited from using the services of the Exchange for any reason whatsoever;

6. holds all registrations required under Applicable Law, if any, including any FCM, Supervisory Person and/or Associated Person registration, as applicable;

7. is not subject to statutory disqualification under Section 8a(2) of the CEA;

8. satisfies any other criteria that the Exchange may require from a Participant.

As part of the application procedure, the Exchange may request such information and documentation as it may reasonably require in order to determine whether the Exchange's eligibility requirements have been satisfied. Any Participant organized or located outside of the United States shall enter into a written agreement acceptable to the Exchange appointing a third party as its U.S. agent for service of process for purposes of CFTC Rule 15.05, and shall provide the Exchange with a copy of the agreement.

The Exchange may deny, condition, suspend, or terminate Participant status of any entity that:

1. is unable to satisfactorily demonstrate its ability to satisfy the eligibility criteria to become or remain compliant as a Participant;

2. is unable to satisfactorily demonstrate its capacity to adhere to all applicable Rules;

3. would bring the Exchange into disrepute as determined by the Exchange in its sole discretion; or

4. shows such other cause as the Exchange may reasonably determine.

If the Exchange decides to deny or condition an applicant's application, the Exchange shall promptly notify the applicant in writing to the address provided by the applicant on the Exchange application form.

If the Participant is not itself a Clearing Member, the Participant must also be party to an agreement with a Clearing Member in accordance with Rule 802.

A person approved as a Participant shall be subject to all of the Rules of the Exchange.

Each applicant and each Participant agrees (i) promptly to provide, or procure the provision of, such information and documents as the Exchange may reasonably request, and (ii) that the Exchange, without being prevented by any duty of confidentiality by any holder of information, may obtain such information and documents from any Clearing Member or from the Clearinghouse.

The Exchange shall grant access to independent software vendors that meet the requirements for Participants set out in this Rule 303.