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FollowingDigital Group founder Barry Silbert responded to the SEC's new rules on qualified investors and reiterated the call for reforms made ten years ago.
Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert recently responded to the latest proposed reform plan for qualified investors by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He reviewed the reform initiatives he proposed more than a decade ago and compared recent developments with the views he expressed in an interview in 2011, pointing out that Wall Street has now embraced the tokenization trend he predicted many years ago.
SEC focuses on knowledge-based investment qualifications
The SEC announced plans to expand opportunities for retail investors to participate in private equity rounds by piloting a new financial knowledge-based model. The agency no longer limits access based solely on net assets or income, but aims to allow investors to qualify by taking government-backed exams to prove their financial understanding.
Currently, U.S. law limits participation in private investment transactions to individuals with a net asset of at least US$1 million (excluding primary residence). During his leadership of SecondMarket in 2011, Silbert pointed out that these requirements were outdated. He claims that many high-net-worth investors lack investment acumen, while professionals with professional skills but limited personal wealth are unfairly excluded from these opportunities.
Silbert recently pointed out that there are many wealthy participants in the market who lack true financial understanding, while capable professionals miss opportunities simply because of existing net-equity rules. He advocates a shift to a knowledge-centered accreditation process, which foreshadows the SEC's current approach. As part of the proposal, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will provide public examinations and those who pass will be eligible for admission. Retail investors who successfully pass will be eligible to participate with traditional qualified investors. In addition, professionals with professional qualifications such as CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) or CPA (Certified Public Accountant) will also automatically qualify.
Tokenization reshapes capital markets
Silbert's second major prediction concerns the evolution of corporate capital markets. He predicted the end of rigid boundaries between public and private companies and foresaw their integration into a unified digital market. According to him, companies in the future will be distinguished only based on their respective transaction frameworks.
As of October 2026, the move to relocate private company stock shares and investment fund units to blockchain brings this vision closer to reality. The shift to tokenized assets aims to make private markets more liquid and remove long-standing barriers between the traditional public and private sectors. With the rise of all-weather digital trading infrastructure, market participants are no longer limited by traditional exchange hours and can buy and sell assets anytime, anywhere, regardless of their listing status.
Technology and transparency are crucial in tracking these rapid developments. A single central bank's decision or an unexpected altcoin listing can cause sharp market fluctuations, so investors believe that comprehensive monitoring tools are valuable. Many have adopted privacy-focused solutions such as CryptoApps, which integrate real-time charts, price alerts, project news and macroeconomic data on one screen without requiring an account registration.
Reflecting on the current situation, Silbert pointed to the continued shift towards tokenization and round-the-clock trading, which he believed further confirmed his predictions. He believes that secondary market trading of tokens makes investment a continuous process, eliminating the line between traditional start-ups and large publicly traded companies.
