The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed eliminating the Order Protection Rule in June 2026. This 2005 regulation requires brokers to execute investor trades at the best available price across all public exchanges. The agency argues the trade-through rule increases costs and complexity while remaining no longer essential.
Citadel Securities urged the SEC to reconsider the plan and labeled the agency's economic analysis fatally flawed. The market maker warns that removing the protection could harm retail investors and reduce market liquidity. The firm also claims the move would push trading away from transparent public exchanges and impair price discovery.
The Blockchain Association supports the repeal of the decades-old regulation. The group argues the rule has imposed unnecessary costs on market participants for decades.