Futures
Futures standardize forwards and settle gains and losses daily through margin, making them the deepest listed derivatives market.
A futures contract is a forward rebuilt for the exchange: standardized terms, a central counterparty, and daily mark-to-market through margin. Standardization (contract size, delivery months, grade) creates deep liquidity in a handful of benchmarks, from SOFR and Treasury futures to equity index and oil. Daily settlement resets counterparty risk every day: losers pay winners through margin accounts, so exposure cannot snowball, and the clearinghouse stands between both sides. Because gains and losses move in cash daily, futures prices differ from forwards by the financing of interim cashflows, a distinction that vanishes at constant rates and matters when they move. Understanding margining here makes the swaps and options nodes easier.