Those "shares in companies" or stock makes you part owner. As part owner you may get a share of the profits in the form of dividends and voting rights. When y

Those "shares in companies" or stock makes you part owner. As part owner you may get a share of the profits in the form of dividends and voting rights. When you buy stock in a company whether is in during an IPO or new issue of stock that money is used to hire employees or build a new factory and make even more profit. That can increase your dividend and make the stock go higher. The same thing can happen when you buy the stock on the open market but the connection isn't as direct. Companies with good stock performance are able to attract better employees which will increase their profits which benefits the stock holder. None of this happens when you buy bitcoin or ethereum. Some crypto exchanges make up their own crypto currency and offer high interest rates on those but as we are seeing most of those are turning out to be scams.