TL;DR:
- The SEC proposal seeks to replace the $1 million net worth requirement with an examination administered under FINRA supervision.
- In 2011, while leading SecondMarket, Barry Silbert formulated the thesis of convergence between public and private companies through continuous digital markets.
- The regulatory initiative includes direct access to private investment rounds for professional credentials such as CFA and CPA.
Barry Silbert, founder of Digital Currency Group, highlighted on October 5 how the advancement of tokenization and SEC reforms align with the market views he outlined to The Wall Street Journal back in 2011.
Accredited Investor Reform and the End of the Wealth Filter
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced an initiative to overhaul access criteria for private funding rounds. Historical regulations reserved these offerings for individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 million, excluding their primary residence, or sustained annual income above $200,000.
Under the newly proposed framework, the agency plans to validate retail participation through a financial knowledge evaluation supervised by FINRA. According to market reporting, this regulatory shift aligns with the critique Silbert voiced fifteen years ago while running the secondary asset marketplace SecondMarket. At the time, the executive argued that financial wealth does not correlate with an understanding of financial risk.
The proposed framework provides direct accreditation for professionals holding designations such as CFA or CPA. Based on preliminary regulatory data, this technical pathway seeks to broaden the investor base without requiring substantial bank balances.
Evolution Toward Continuous Asset Trading
The second thesis outlined by Silbert in 2011 anticipated that the divide between public and private companies would blur within a unified digital landscape. In October 2026, the migration of private equity shares and fund vehicles onto blockchain networks is showing tangible progress in generating secondary liquidity.
“Looking at tokenization and the transition toward 24/7 trading today, I believe I nailed that one too,” Silbert posted this Monday, October 5, on his X account.
In the same WSJ interview, I also said there wouldn't be "public" and "private" companies in a decade, just companies trading on markets with different rules.
Looking at tokenization and the move toward 24/7 trading today, I think I nailed that one too. https://t.co/74NqUfXl5m
— Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) October 5, 2026
Decentralized infrastructure platforms operate continuously, seven days a week. According to industry estimates cited by a source, digital issuance on distributed ledgers facilitates around-the-clock secondary transfers, lowering the market’s exclusive dependence on traditional Wall Street opening bells and conventional public exchange listings.
The formal implementation of the SEC proposal will require a sixty-day public comment period prior to a final vote in Washington.
