The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Rule Changes

Operating six options platforms with divergent fee strategies

Options exchanges are locked in a chaotic race to recalibrate fees as their regulatory costs collide with record trading volumes. Cboe doubled its Options Regulatory Fee to $0.0002 per contract on January 2, 2026, while NYSE slashed its fee from $0.0038 to $0.0026. The whipsaw reflects a deeper crisis: exchanges collect fees based on all customer options trades cleared industrywide, not just trades on their own platforms, creating unpredictable revenue swings.

Updated Jan 31

Money Moves

Hosting when-issued and regular-way trading for Versant Class A

The divorce is final. On January 2, 2026, Comcast completed the pro rata distribution of Versant Media Group shares to its shareholders, and on January 5 the new company began regular-way trading on Nasdaq under ticker VSNT. The market's verdict was swift: Versant opened at $45.17 but closed its first day down 13% at $40.57, then continued falling to around $34.41 by week's end—a 24% drop from its debut price. That gives the cable-network bundle a market value of roughly $5.9 billion, or about 4.5 times projected 2026 EBITDA, well below the $10 billion that early estimates floated.

Updated Jan 11

Money Moves

Listed Medline on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as MDLN

Medline’s Nasdaq arrival as MDLN quickly turned from “biggest IPO of 2025” into a live market verdict: shares jumped roughly 41% in their first session, pushing the company into a roughly $50B+ valuation conversation almost immediately.

Updated Dec 20, 2025