I don't get it. A company _is_ a fiction, too. And that fictional nature is very close to the surface in a startup. Especially when you add in vesting schedules, dilution, getting squeezed out, etc.
(For more established companies, their equity's value works more like bitcoin: they might still go bankrupt and be worthless in eg thirty years, but they are unlikely to totally crash in the next few months.)
(For more established companies, their equity's value works more like bitcoin: they might still go bankrupt and be worthless in eg thirty years, but they are unlikely to totally crash in the next few months.)