This is how many intermediaries there can be between the issuer of a security and you. - Issuer (Company that issued the security, e.g. Apple) - Transfer agent - Cede & Co. (DTC nominee - registered holder on the issuer’s books for most street name/beneficial ownership shares, by far the most common) - DTC (Depository Trust Company) - DTC participant (usually a large broker-dealer or custody bank with a DTC account) - Clearing broker / carrying broker (if separate from the DTC participant) - Introducing broker / retail platform / correspondent broker (optional) - Custodian bank / RIA custodian platform (optional, common for advisers and institutions) - Prime broker (optional, for hedge funds) - Fund / pooled vehicle (optional: hedge fund, mutual fund, ETF, pension) - Fund administrator / transfer agent for the fund (optional, at the fund layer) - Retirement wrapper intermediary - Sub custodian / global custodian chain - End user / beneficial owner (retail investor, institution, YOU) Ethereum changes this, it compresses the stack.