Along with the CFTC, the CME Group is also having an anniversary in 2025. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the demutualization of the CME Group from a member-owned non-profit into a shareholder-owned corporation.
In light of this, I recently added the book ‘Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the World’s Largest Derivatives Exchange’ by Erika Olson to my summer reading list. As I dive into this page-turner I thought it might be interesting to walk back through the chronology and evolution of the futures markets over the last 25 years to see how the CME Group set itself up for its current success.
The Futures Market in 2000
In 2000, there were eleven separate domestic futures exchanges listed in the US and each was focused on a specific commodity or asset class.
The CME group was focused on short-term interest rate products, equity indices, and meat-based ag products. The CBOT had long-term interest rates and the grains, NYMEX had crude oil, etc.
List of US Futures Exchanges in 2000
What the CME had that the others did not was GLOBEX, an electronic trading platform for CME Group futures that originally launched in 1992[1], and the E-mini S&P 500 contract, which launched in September 1997 on the GLOBEX platform.
Prior to the launch of the e-mini, traders were limited to trading the S&P 500 contract – a behemoth of a contract at $500,000 in notional value that required roughly $25,000 in margin to trade even a 1 lot[2]. Not to mention it was only available for trading via the pits, which meant anyone who wanted to trade it needed a broker with ‘pit’ access.
Additionally, in late 2000 and conveniently around the exact time the CME chose to transition to a for-profit corporation, CME Group leadership implemented an ‘open access’ policy for GLOBEX, which meant that brokers were no longer required to route their orders to a broker, but could instead send their orders directly to GLOBEX provided they were guaranteed by their FCM or broker[3].
Evolution post-2000
As these innovations took hold, CME Group’s volume and stock price began to rise accordingly. In 2002, CME average daily volume exceeded 1 million contracts for the first time, while in 2004 GLOBEX volume exceeded pit-traded volume for the first time[4].
The CBOT, while older, more established and larger[5], consistently fell behind the CME in the early years of electronic trading. They announced their own platform, Project A, in 1994, but ultimately migrated their electronic markets to a platform supplied by the German EUREX Exchange in 1999[6], then scrapped that agreement and migrated to a platform (labelled e-CBOT) supplied by the British-based LIFFE Exchange in 2003[7].
Crucially, at the same time, the CBOT also made the decision to migrate its clearing away from its own Clearing Corporation to the CME’s facilities via a Common Clearing Link[8]. Thus, while CME enjoyed (and profited from) its own electronic trading and clearing house facilities, the CBOT didn’t enjoy the same profitability from its associated growth, as it had to pay outside parties for crucial services.
NYMEX also quickly fell behind CME Group and struggled with the launch of its own electronic trading platform – NYMEX ACCESS – in the early 2000s. ACCESS was a broker-based platform only available when the trading pits were closed, was not widely used and did not significantly increase the accessibility of NYMEX markets.
In 2006 NYMEX partnered with CME Group to allow its products to be traded electronically on GLOBEX during market hours, and volume migrated quickly away from the trading pits and onto the platform[9].
CME Dominance
A key factor in CME Group’s rapid growth over this time was the decision to demutualize, become a for-profit corporation, and eventually go public before its peers. Both CBOT and NYMEX remained privately-held by members for far longer, and the members, being mostly current or ex- floor traders and brokers, had no interest in migrating their business away from what they knew.
The influx of cash provided by going public allowed the CME to further invest in its infrastructure, while neither CBOT nor NYMEX adequately invested in their own internal platforms and systems. They therefore had to play catch-up later by implementing third-party (and competitor) solutions that limited their profitability and growth.
Meanwhile CME and GLOBEX continued to attract partnerships and volume, with the GLOBEX volume exceeding 1 billion contracts per year by 2007[10].
Ultimately, the CBOT and CME announced a merger in 2007[11] (which the Common Clearing Link had already paved the way for back in 2003), and CME Group integrated order routing via GLOBEX for the Kansas City Board of Trade and Minneapolis Grain Exchange around the same time.
The CME Group then acquired NYMEX in early 2008, completing a round of acquisitions and partnerships that cemented its place in the forefront of US futures trading and clearing.
Looking Back to Move Ahead
What began as a scattered network of regional exchanges has, in just 25 years, consolidated into a single, dominant force – the CME Group – thanks to a series of strategic bets on technology, access, and structural change. From GLOBEX to demutualization, each step forward helped define not just the future of the CME, but of futures trading as a whole.
As we mark these milestones in 2025, it’s worth remembering that the market didn’t get here by accident. Innovation, timing, and a willingness to break from tradition were the driving forces then, and they still are today.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globex_Trading_System
[3] https://www.cmegroup.com/education/files/globex-retrospective-2012-06-12.pdf
[4] https://www.cmegroup.com/education/files/globex-retrospective-2012-06-12.pdf
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Board_of_Trade
[6] https://money.cnn.com/1999/06/24/markets/cbot/
[9]https://www.cmegroup.com/media-room/press-releases/2006/7/13/nymex_access_to_migratetocmeglobex.html