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The top 5 reasons futures contracts succeed: 1. A commercial need to hedge risk 2. A deep pool of speculators 3. Goldilocks regulation 4. Competition 5. Volatility

1 - Successful markets are built around reducing price risk. Groups like farmers, banks, oil drillers & airlines need to lock in input costs to do business profitably. Futures solve this. Before a market flourishes, there needs to be a non-speculative use case for the asset.

2 - Contrary to popular belief, markets NEED a deep pool of speculators. They take the other side of the commercial's trade, and are paid for offsetting price risk related to real business activity. Markets die without speculation.

3 - Regulators have huge influence over a market's success. It could be deregulation - loosening rules allowing markets to form. Or more regulation - requiring banks or businesses to use compliant exchanges to take prudent risk.

4 - Competition breeds innovation. If incumbent exchanges aren't challenged there's less of a need to listen to the needs of a market. New technology & lower prices bred through competition help traders and exchanges in the long run.