Today's market takes root in the agriculture markets of the 19th century, when farmers began to sell contracts to deliver their crops at a later date. This was done to anticipate the needs of the market and stabilize supply and demand during poor crop seasons. Like goods and services, the contracts themselves soon became seen as valuable. A grocery store chain, for example, might want to bid on such a contract to ensure that they, and not their competitors, have fresh strawberries during the winter.
