Before being the popular investment venue that is now, online future trading traces its humble beginnings to eighteenth century Japan with the trade of rice and silk. This same concept was also started in America by farmers who would bring their produce, such as oil, root crops and wheat to the market in the hopes of selling all their goods.
However, since a system to determine supply and demand was not established yet, excess supply of commodities led to waste, and shortage of supplies drove prices up.
