As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moves to revamp its accredited investor rules, Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert (배리 실버트) revisited a tokenisation outlook he set out in 2011.

On Oct. 5, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that Silbert assessed the SEC's new concept as echoing issues he raised in the past.

The core of the overhaul is shifting the criteria for participation in private investments from asset size to financial understanding. Under the current standard, only people with net worth of at least $1 million excluding home value are allowed to take part in private transactions. Silbert publicly criticised this standard as "absurd" when he was leading SecondMarket in 2011.

He said at the time that many wealthy people in the market do not properly understand investment structures, while professionals with financial knowledge remain outside the market. His proposal was to judge investment qualification through a government-administered exam rather than account balances. The SEC concept effectively points in the same direction as that model.

The SEC is pushing a plan to set up public qualification exams under the system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a U.S. financial industry regulator. If they pass, ordinary investors would be able to participate in venture investments on the same terms as millionaires. The plan also includes granting automatic access to holders of professional credentials such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Silbert went further, arguing that tokenisation is changing corporate capital structures themselves. He forecast 15 years ago that the strict divide between public and private companies would disappear and be reorganised into a single digital space with only different trading rules. As of October 2026, he sees stakes in private companies and interests in investment funds moving onto blockchains, with seamless liquidity attaching even to the private sector.

He also cited the spread of 24-hour trading platforms as evidence supporting this trend. Of the current market trend, Silbert said, "When I see the move to tokenisation and 24-hour trading, I think I got that right, too." He added that secondary trading of tokens is making the investment process continuous, reducing issuers' need to rely on traditional exchange listings.

The remarks focus on private-market access regulation and digital asset infrastructure moving in the same direction. As qualification criteria shift from assets to knowledge and trading structures move to blockchains and always-on trading systems, he said the boundary between unlisted startups and large listed companies is also becoming blurred.

Separately, Silbert referenced a 2011 Wall Street Journal (WSJ) interview and argued that Wall Street has, in effect, capitulated to his long-term forecast 15 years later. With the SEC's rule changes and the on-chain shift of private assets reinforcing each other, the thrust of his remarks is read as private-market barriers and an exchange-centred structure being shaken at the same time.