Chicago, United States
Abbreviation
USFE
Location
Chicago, United States
Region
Americas
Product Types
Energy
The U.S. Futures Exchange (USFE) was a Chicago-based electronic futures exchange founded in 2004 by a consortium including Goldman Sachs, Man Financial, and others, with the goal of introducing competition into the US Treasury and energy futures markets dominated by the CME and CBOT. Despite significant backing and low-cost trading incentives, USFE failed to attract sufficient liquidity from established market participants and closed operations in December 2007 after roughly three years of trading.
Flett Exchange was a New Jersey-based electronic exchange for environmental commodity credits, established around 2004. Flett specialised in US environmental market instruments including NOx (nitrogen oxide) allowances under the EPA SIP Call, SO2 (sulphur dioxide) allowances under the Acid Rain Program, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon allowances, and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). The exchange served power generators, utilities, and compliance buyers navigating the complex US state and federal cap-and-trade regulatory frameworks for air emissions.
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges, established in 1848 in Chicago, Illinois. Originally founded to address supply and demand challenges in the grain industry, CBOT grew to offer contracts across agricultural commodities, CBOT U.S. Treasury bonds, equity indexes, and metals. CME Group merged with CBOT in 2007, making it one of four Designated Contract Markets within the CME Group family.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) was founded in 2000 to digitize the energy markets and provide greater pricing transparency. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, ICE has grown into a global network of exchanges, clearing houses, and data services spanning energy, agricultural, financial, and emissions markets. ICE operates multiple regulated markets including ICE Futures U.S., ICE Futures Europe, and the NYSE, serving participants in over 100 countries.
Nodal Exchange is the world's largest power futures exchange by number of listed contracts, offering US electricity futures for over 1,000 delivery points across all major North American power grids. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Nodal also offers natural gas and environmental credit contracts. Acquired by EEX Group (a subsidiary of Deutsche Börse) in 2021, Nodal provides critical risk management tools for electricity generators, utilities, and energy traders across the US National Electricity Markets.