Show HN: Onionfutures.com: transferable contracts for future delivery of onions
onionfutures.com
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Can anyone explain this for those not involved in the West Coast allium trade ?
Sure! In 1955, two traders very aggressively cornered then shorted the onion futures market, bankrupting a bunch of onion farmers. This led to the passing of the Onion Futures Act[1], banning the sale of onion futures. This has become something of a financial meme.
OnionFutures.com sells 'private, transferable contracts for the future physical delivery of onions'. This, by my reading of the Onion Futures Act, is legal! So the site is a joke about the OFA (hence the first FAQ question being 'Is this legal?') but also you can actually buy a contract for the future delivery of an onion (and receive a UUID that you can privately resell).