He was about to buy ten shares of a burgeoning tech startup, a move he’d researched for weeks. In his mind, he was already calculating the gains, but a small, nagging voice—the ghost of 1990s brokerage fees—made him hesitate. He remembered his father complaining about thirty-dollar commissions just to move a few shares of a railroad company.

He leaned back in his chair, a small smile playing on his lips. The only thing it had cost him was the courage to press the button.

Taking a breath, Arthur looked at the order summary. Under the "Estimated Commission" line, he expected to see a bite taken out of his capital. Instead, it read: .