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that article is suspiciously quiet on commodities (and their derivatives, in case you don't want to sign up for storage/delivery/etc etc).

commodity derivatives are kind of a debt of a physical operator though

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How are commodities not ownership? Derivatives etc notwithstanding, if you buy gold you become the owner of said amount of gold, doesn't matter if you physically hold it yourself or someone else stores it for you.

Perishable gold lol

Commodities don't need to be perishable, I don't see how this comment makes sense?

the proper term is "screen gold"

Try taking delivery of any gold bought on Comex and you'll get to know the difference.

Most "gold" people trade are derivatives.

The article is really talking about equity, rather than ownership. The point is, do you have some preferential claim to be paid a stated amount, or do you have residual rights to the value of an asset. In that sense, buying an "interest" in gold, whatever form that may entail, is closer to "ownership" than debt. Just like if you have a 5% equity stake in a company you can't actually take delivery of 5% of its assets. (Fun fact, you likely don't even "own" the shares themselves.)

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