The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency of the United States government that monitors and regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, encompassing futures, swaps, and specific types of options.

An entity known as a Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) allows individuals involved in an agreement, contract, or transaction to replace the credit of the parties with the credit of the DCO. Furthermore, the DCO provides multilateral settlement or netting of obligations and other services to mutualize or transfer credit risk among participants.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) defines and maintains Special Drawing Rights (SDRs, code XDR) as supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets.

A Central Clearing Counterparty (CCP), otherwise known as a Central Counterparty, is a highly regulated financial institution that is responsible for managing counterparty credit risk between parties in a transaction. This institution also provides clearing and settlement services for trades in foreign exchange, securities, options, and derivative contracts.