Well in the past ownership in shares were linked to pieces of paper. So moving everything around in a 1:1 relation with the real trades is annoying. Much easier to just move things in bulk at the end of the day.<p>The ownership layer mechanisms are not ways to make more money, but ways to spend less money. It&#x27;s like how if we&#x27;re both using the same broker to buy&#x2F;sell the same stock, the broker could just... Change his records and not actually do any trading.<p>Though now some layers could be simplified, at one point they stop being middlemen and start being offerers of liquidity. Or something. Is your bank a middleman for mixing your dollars with other people&#x27;s dollars?