The underlying financial instrument of a forward or futures contract can be any asset, such as equity, a commodity, a currency, an interest payment or even a bond.

Although primitive forms of futures markets were created in Europe during the 17th century, the Dōjima Rice Exchange (Japan) is regarded as the first futures exchange to be established. In early 18th-century Japan, most payments were made in rice, so futures contracts started to be used as a way to hedge against the risks associated with unstable rice prices.

With the emergence of electronic trading systems, the popularity of forward contracts, along with a range of use-cases, became widespread across the entire financial industry.