The Dutch pioneered several financial instruments and helped lay the foundations of the modern financial system. In Europe, formal futures markets appeared in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century. Among the

To minimize counterparty risk to traders, trades executed on regulated futures exchanges are guaranteed by a clearing house.

When the deliverable asset exists in plentiful supply or may be freely created, then the price of a futures contract is determined via

Contract
There are many different kinds of futures contracts, reflecting the many different kinds of "tradable" assets about which the contract may be based such as commodities, securities (such as single-stock futures),

Although futures contracts are oriented towards a future time point, their main purpose is to mitigate the risk of default by either party in the intervening period. In this vein, the futures exchange requires both parties to put up initial cash, or a performance bond, known

Settlement is the act of consummating the contract, and can be done in one of two ways, as specified per type of futures contract:
• Physical

Futures traders are traditionally placed in one of two groups: hedgers, who have an interest in the underlying asset (which could include an intangible such as an index or interest rate) and are seeking to hedge out the risk of price changes; and speculators,