A closer look
Nothing screams late-stage capitalism quite like hedge funds shorting the rain. The Nasdaq Veles California Water Index futures market formally turned the essential building block of life into a tradable financial asset. While almond farmers and municipalities desperately fight over disappearing reservoirs, Wall Street algorithms rapidly trade contracts based on the spot price of Californian water rights. If you’ve ever wanted to financially benefit from a horrific, society-collapsing drought, the commodities market finally has a ticker symbol just for you.
