It's true that the history of innovation in finance is more expansive than simply exchanging future money for money, but that doesn't make it any less significant. After all, without this initial concept of selling future money for money, none of the other innovations you mention would have been possible. In other words, without selling future money for money, the stock exchange, derivatives, online banking, cryptocurrency, and the like would never have been invented! So it's clear that this basic concept of exchanging future money for money is still at the heart of innovation in finance and should be taken seriously. UrRong!