Crypto -ELI5

I’ve done some very basic research. I vaguely understand the blockchain mechanism and understand that the benefit of crypto is that it is decentralized (for now..).What I’m failing to understand is how crypto is at all functionally different than stock. From my objective point of view (I have no skin in the game yet, hence the post) it seems that it functions the same as stock, driven by its perceived value causing the price of a coin to rise and fall. Can someone explain how crypto functions different than stock as an investment? Also, I don’t quite understand how countries are adopting crypto as a currency. How can we use crypto as currency on a national level with the price fluctuation. The whole point of having a national currency is that it is stable and continues to hold the same value over time and space. It’s hard for me to see that happening to crypto in the near future without some regulation or some physical backing. I understand we have inflation and the dollar isn’t backed by anything but the dollar doesn’t swing from being worth $0.1 to $1.20 over the course of a few weeks.I also understand the usefulness of using crypto as a digital currency that doesn’t require a third party transaction between banks. But how is it any different than the “digital” money we already have? Like using Venmo, for example. Or looking at your bank account balance, which are just numbers in an account. The physical money isn’t there until you go ask for it. And even then, it’s not like you have a vault with your name on it that they take physical money out of. So what makes crypto unique in the digital currency sense?Lastly, it seems that the biggest draw to crypto is that it isn’t lorded over by the “big banks”. It’s “open source” and “free”. And that the goal of using crypto is to cripple the current monopoly of financial institutions. Although, I’ve been reading quite a few articles lately, posted on this sub, that detail how big banks and other wealthy individuals are participating in crypto. And scooping up vast quantities of coin. Also that there will likely be some regulation that comes down in the next couple years to regulate the markets. How does this play into the goals, the essence, of utilizing crypto? Is this a good thing? Please, ELI5.Thank you for taking the time to read. via /r/CryptoCurrency https://ift.tt/3dwukPs