metametamind

http://imgur.com/viPhXOX

Robin Williams as Aramaki.

Too bad military spending doesn't get this level of outrage...

A market maker can sell shares they don't possess (sell short) in different ways if they can "reasonably locate" enough shares to cover their margin requirements. There are unsubstantiated claims that some MM were claiming FTX tokens of various stocks as "reasonable locates."

Money laundering. Let's say you run an international cocaine smuggling ring, and you want to re-patriate some of that cash.

1. Buy a storage unit business.
2. Using shell corporations or fake accounts, rent out 90% of your own units.
3. Pay yourself rent in cash from your cocaine smuggling operation.
4. Pay taxes on your fake income.
5. Enjoy your cocaine profits as legal income without the hassle of running a "real" business that has lots of customer service.

You didn't really answer the question - OP is asking about the lack of securities or tokens purchased. That's not really any different than any other MM or arbitrage firm.