What you are describing is a decoupling between the price of shares sand their intrinsic value. The share "certificate" itself becomes the commodity, rather than its share of the company. Hundreds of years ago, you could make a fortune in an investment of tulip bulbs - until you couldn't.

In a technical context (currently far from reality), a broker generally doesn't own the commodity they are assisting the seller to unload to the buyer, so they are not affected (other than buy proportionally lower commission) when the commodity drops in price. Today however, they are frequently the source of the shares. The system is becoming ever more fragile as those involved in the system have figured out ways to pump their profit.

During World War II, food rationing was tight across the home front, and everyone was looking for any extra bit of luxury or sustenance they could get their hands on.

A man in a small European town heard whispers about a shady character down by the docks who was dealing in rare, high-grade imported canned fish on the black market—goods you couldn't find anywhere else. Intrigued, he tracked the dealer down in a dimly lit alleyway and whispered the secret password.

The dealer looked around nervously, popped open his trench coat, and revealed a crate stacked high with small, unassuming silver tins.

"Look," the dealer whispered, leaning in close. "I've got the good stuff. Imported straight from Portugal. Real delicacies."

The customer picked up a tin, turned it over, and squinted at the faded label. "Wait a minute," he said, frowning. "These look like ordinary canned sardines. Can you actually eat these?"

The dealer snatched the tin back out of his hands, clutching it to his chest as if he had been insulted.

"Eat them?!" the dealer hissed in disbelief. "Are you crazy? These aren’t eating sardines—these are trading sardines!"

Jeff