Coordinates: 41°52′40″N 87°37′56″W / 41.877821°N 87.632285°W / 41.877821; -87.632285

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established in 1848, is the world's oldest futures and options exchange. More than 50 different options and futures contracts are traded by over 3,600 CBOT members through open outcry and eTrading. Volumes at the exchange in 2003 were a record breaking 454 million contracts. On 12 July 2007, the CBOT merged with the CME under the CME Group holding company and ceased to exist as an independent entity.

The concerns of U.S. merchants to ensure that there were buyers and sellers for commodities have resulted into forward contracts to sell and buy commodities. Still, credit risk remained a serious problem. The CBOT took shape to provide a centralized location, where buyers and sellers may meet and negotiate and formalize forward contracts.