Also in 1848, the first derivatives exchange was created in Chicago, United States. It is the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the oldest organized futures market still operating in the world. However, it merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2007 to become the CME Group.

Chicago, thanks to the Midwestern grain and its strategic location, was developing as a major center for the storage, sale, and distribution of grain. A group of Jewish merchants who owned the plantations and farms in the South and Midwest formed the CBOT originally as a centralized marketplace for exchanging grain. Forward contracts, so-called “to-arrive” contracts, were soon negotiated. These allowed farmers to lock in the price and later deliver the crop.

Due to the seasonality of grain, Chicago’s storage facilities were unable to absorb the increase in supply that followed the harvest, but the same facilities were underused during the low season. Prices of grain were very volatile, and when fluctuations were too great, parties to deals often backed out. Counterparty risks were significant. Moreover, these contracts were not standardized in terms of quality or delivery time.

One of the first improvements undertaken by the CBOT was to establish a department in 1858, which was in charge of classifying and certifying grades of grain. It developed a system in which one of the grades was designated as the “standard.” This created confidence for buyers and laid the foundation for the market's development.