I am a little surprised that most Freepers do not understand how the financial markets work in the real world in 2021.
This article explains it:
Bottom line—_everything_ is on credit all the way up and down the chain. You don’t own _anything_ unless you possess it in your hands.
You do _not_ own stock unless you hold the certificate in your hand—otherwise you have purchased a promise from someone (your broker) to deliver a stock. It is a promise that _can_ be broken, and then you are just a creditor fighting it out in bankruptcy court.
That is the truth . . that we can’t handle. The House of Cards has been exposed.