Cboe Equities Exchanges Announce Release and Weekend Testing Dates for BOEv3 Protocol

The 1.0.0 version of the US Equities BOEv3 specification is available in the Technical Specifications section of the Cboe U.S. Equities Document Library. The specification includes a section highlighting notable differences between BOEv2 and BOEv3.

Members interested in using the BOEv3 protocol are required to formally certify with the Trade Desk using the Certification Tool in the US Customer Web Portal prior to requesting any production BOEv3 ports. Certification ports will be available per the schedule noted below.

There will be no architectural changes or changes to the different port types that are offered. Customers may continue to request BOEv3 order entry sessions with or without a Dedicated Core. BOEv3 Purge sessions will also be available.

Cboe will offer the ability for customers to migrate existing BOEv2 ports to BOEv3 ports as a one-time upgrade. Upgrades may occur starting with the launch date for each market. For example, a BOEv2 port on EDGA may be upgraded to BOEv3 after the close of trading on March 27, 2026, with that port being available as a BOEv3 port on the March 28, 2026 weekend test and the March 30, 2026 trading day. Customers will need to request separate BOEv3 ports for all other weekend tests that occur prior to launch day.

The BOEv3 protocol offers several enhancements over the prior version of BOE. Statically sized messages provide enhanced predictability and consistency while easing development for users. New features like the InFlight field and elimination of certain race conditions provide enhanced value to users. All order activity, including rejections, will be visible on ODROP for easier monitoring and reconciliation by customers. Finally, BOEv3 provides an enhanced performance and reliable order entry experience that has been proven on other global platforms utilizing Cboe Titanium technology.

Please be advised that all Cboe-affiliated U.S. Equities Exchanges plan to decommission the BOEv2 protocol in favor of BOEv3. The BOEv2 protocol will be sunset on October 19, 2026. There are no plans to decommission the U.S. Equities FIX order entry protocol.