Eli5: It’s said that the derivatives market is worth over $1,000,000,000,000,000. Where did all of this money come from?

Question

Eli5: It’s said that the derivatives market is worth over $1,000,000,000,000,000. Where did all of this money come from?

In: 5

Answer 1

That’s money from the future.

People basically trying to predict the future and betting on happening of some of the events. When the times are good, betting is easier, because everything is predictable. In unpredictable times it is impossible to predict the future and derivatives market crashes