New Delhi, March 1 -- Wall Street was born out of crisis.

It has walked the knife's edge between riches and ruin ever since William Duer's insider-trading scheme caused the Panic of 1792, threatening to bankrupt the U.S. government and convincing traders they needed some regulation.

Two months after Duer was thrown into prison, 24 of his victims signed the Buttonwood Agreement. It established a trading association that would evolve into the New York Stock Exchange.

Named for a favorite buttonwood tree on Wall Street, the agreement pledged the signers to trade only with one another, and at set rates. Their goal was to eliminate speculators like Duer.

Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, a former Wall Street denizen, was a force behin...