As the name suggests, the stock market is a marketplace for trading stocks or shares. There are many stock markets worldwide.
To create a market index, company shares are grouped together, and their values are combined into a weighted average (the larger the company, the greater its influence on the index's value). Generally, companies of similar size and value are categorized together. You often hear people say the market is "up" or "down," which refers to changes in stock market indices.
“If a company you own shares in pays dividends, you’ll receive dividend payments. If the company performs well and increases its profits over time, the dividends can also increase.”Cryptocurrency, often called "crypto," is a digital asset intended to function as a medium of exchange. Individual coin ownership records are stored in a ledger, which exists as a computerized database. Strong cryptography secures transaction records, controls the creation of additional coins, and verifies coin ownership transfers. Typically, cryptocurrencies do not exist in physical form (like paper money) and are not issued by a central authority. They usually operate with decentralized control rather than through centralized digital currencies and banking systems. When a cryptocurrency is created and issued by a single entity, it is generally considered centralized. With decentralized control, most cryptocurrencies use distributed ledger technology, often a blockchain, to serve as a public database for financial transactions.