Montreal Exchange employees responsible for the technical operations of Boston Options Exchange (BOX) officially opened the market at 9:30 ET this morning.

With the launch, the ME becomes the first foreign exchange to be responsible for the day-to-day technical operations of an American exchange. All contracts traded on BOX will pass through systems operated by Montréal Exchange personnel.

The ME oversees all technical operations of BOX. Approximately sixty information technology specialists are involved in the management and development of the Boston exchange.

The opening makes the ME a major player in the growing U.S. equity options market, which trades more than 700 million contracts annually.