Why Forex?: History of Forex

Foreign Exchange Timeline

Click the arrows above to scroll through the timeline of currency trading, from 1944 to now.

Money, in one form or another started with the Pharaohs. Currency exchanging started with Middle Eastern moneychangers, continued in the Middle Ages when multiple currencies in the form of different coins were converted into a single currency consisting of paper bills, and continued very similarly until WWI.

From the Middle Ages to WWI, currency exchanging was extremely stable and involved very little risk. After WWI, the forex markets were extremely volatile and speculative activity increased tenfold. Due to this high-risk, forex was deemed unfavorable by public society and most institutions. The Great Depression and the removal of the gold standard in 1931 again created a lull in activity, similar to that experienced during the Middle Ages. From 1931 – 1973, there were changes to forex that greatly affected the global economies of the time, but did nothing to change the slow pace of activity. It wasn’t until the 1990s when the currency market started buzzing again with activity and the rest, as they say, is history.

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