Why Kalshi Wants to Repeal a 1958 Law About Onions

A group of University of Chicago students gathered outside the Chicago Mercantile Exchange last week for a small but vocal protest.

One student was dressed in a large red onion outfit. Others held signs that read “Honk if You Want Free Onions” and “One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leek for Mankind.”

The students were calling for the repeal of a law most Americans have probably never heard of: the Onion Futures Act of 1958.

Somehow, it hasn’t shown up in polls of the issues voters care about most. But it seems to matter a lot to Kalshi, the prediction market platform valued at $40 billion, though an amendment added decades later may have a much bigger bearing on Kalshi’s business than onions.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/30/business/kalshi-onion-futures-act-1958.html