I completely agree with everything you've said. My original point was that the finance whizzes aren't creating money. Your gain/loss from a derivative contrac

I completely agree with everything you've said. My original point was that the finance whizzes aren't creating money. Your gain/loss from a derivative contract is paid by/to your counterparty. As opposed to a stock, which is a legal claim on the assets of an enterprise. When an IPO happens there is no magic in which wealth is being created -- rights to the enterprise are being sold. (This is distinction with a typical ICO, in which what is being sold is often unclear or simply worthless. That is seigniorage -- or simply a scam.)