Brokers are not banks. For real financial systems your stock are held 1:1 in a custody account in a separate company with regulations making sure you get to keep your stock even in the case of bankruptcy of the broker.
You can sell all your holdings at any second during the trading hours, no delay, the only problem you might face is that no buyers exist. That is something completely separate though.
What the crypto exchanges are doing is taking the Apple stock you think you bought and instead buy Wal-Mart. Hoping to pocket the difference when you eventually sell.
This works when the line goes up, or when you are a incredibly tightly regulated bank where the government through FDIC like schemes ensure that you will get your money back, even if the bank screws up.
You can sell all your holdings at any second during the trading hours, no delay, the only problem you might face is that no buyers exist. That is something completely separate though.
What the crypto exchanges are doing is taking the Apple stock you think you bought and instead buy Wal-Mart. Hoping to pocket the difference when you eventually sell.
This works when the line goes up, or when you are a incredibly tightly regulated bank where the government through FDIC like schemes ensure that you will get your money back, even if the bank screws up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_insurance