Unit 4 · Level 1 · Keeping It Safe
Broker accounts & protection
Unlike crypto, your shares aren't 'held' by your broker like coins in their pocket. They're registered to you through regulated custody chains, and most countries add investor-protection schemes on top (like SIPC in the US or national schemes in the EU) covering brokerage failures up to certain limits.
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What you get asked
Your regulated broker goes bankrupt. Your shares are most likely…
Regulated brokers must segregate client assets. It's the single biggest structural safety difference between stock and crypto markets. (Protection covers broker failure, never market losses!)
What does investor protection (SIPC-style) NOT cover?
No scheme on earth refunds a bad trade. Protection is about the PLUMBING failing, not the market moving.
Before opening a broker account, the one thing to verify is that the broker is ___ in your region.
A licensed broker in your jurisdiction means rules, audits, segregation and a complaints path. An unregulated 'broker' from an ad means none of that.
Why do crypto natives call stock-market custody 'training wheels', and why is that unfair?
Safety nets aren't weakness; they're infrastructure someone had to be burned to invent. Crypto is rebuilding them in real time. Use both worlds with open eyes. 🐜
The rest of this unit
Custody, wallets, broker protection, scams, and what actually moves prices.