15 December 2000: Congress passes the Commodity Futures Modernization Act

Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which largely exempted over-the-counter derivatives such as credit default swaps from federal regulation. It also included a provision critics later nicknamed the Enron loophole, easing oversight of electronic energy trading. The law encouraged explosive growth in derivatives that later sat at the heart of AIG's collapse and the 2008 crisis.

The lesson: Unregulated markets tend to grow fastest in exactly the products that blow up later.