> Can you point to any other security where there was no contract signed and the issuer promised no profits or dividends or upside or equity whatsoever? Isn't

> Can you point to any other security where there was no contract signed and the issuer promised no profits or dividends or upside or equity whatsoever? Isn't that every security? You hope that the companies in which take an equity stake does will, but who is promising (guaranteeing?) such a thing. That's why investors ask for returns: they are risking their money and want to be rewarded. The riskier the investment, generally the more reward is asked for. And as a technicality: in the US, per the Commodity Exchange Act, cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin) are commodities (like oil, wheat, frozen concentrated orange juice, etc): * https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/oceo_bitcoinbasics0218.pdf https://www.cftc.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/oceo_bitcoi... * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Exchange_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Exchange_Act Do you expect profits, dividends, etc on eggs, potatoes, onions, cheese, wheat, corn, soybeans, lean hogs, gold, silver, aluminium, iron? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Mercantile_Exchange https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Mercantile_Exchange * https://www.cmegroup.com/markets.html https://www.cmegroup.com/markets.html You buy on one price and sell on another, and there are futures and derivative markets as well. Soybeans have no dividends.