The foreign exchange market is the largest and most liquid in the world, and has grown to turn over more than USD 3 trillion per day. It was born of necessity, and its beginnings can be traced back to ancient times, when gold and silver-smiths had to facilitate barter between industries and lands. There are records of so-called money-changers from well over a millennium ago. It wasn't until the medieval period and early modern times however that the foreign exchange market began to become what it is today. As powers became more firmly established, and economies tied more to money rather than the exchange of goods, there became a need to convert one currency into another