{"id":74109,"date":"2026-06-16T11:18:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/time-to-revisit-us-accredited-investor-laws\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T11:18:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:18:44","slug":"time-to-revisit-us-accredited-investor-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/time-to-revisit-us-accredited-investor-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Time to Revisit&#8217; US Accredited Investor Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Coinbase\u2019s Brian Armstrong urged revisiting U.S. accredited investor rules that require $200,000 income or $1 million net worth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">He proposed a financial literacy test, echoing a 2025 U.S. House bill on examination-based accreditation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Wider access would expand Coinbase\u2019s addressable market for tokenized and onchain products.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Armstrong Targets the \u2018Accredited Investor\u2019 Gate<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">In a post on X, Armstrong said it was \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">time to revisit the accredited investor laws<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> in the US,\u201d noting that the decades-old framework is a barrier that shields the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. The Coinbase co-founder argued that the current system effectively reserves early-stage returns for people who are already rich, adding:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">\u201cCompanies are staying private longer, where only accredited investors (aka rich people!) can invest. Retail investors can only come in after IPO, when much of the upside has already been captured.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Under current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, an individual generally qualifies as an accredited investor only with annual income above $200,000, or $300,000 jointly, or a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/resources-small-businesses\/capital-raising-building-blocks\/accredited-investors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">net worth exceeding $1 million<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> (excluding a primary residence). Those thresholds gate access to private placements, venture deals and many early <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/what-is-a-token-sale\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">token sales<\/a>, precisely the stage where the steepest gains are made.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">A Financial Literacy Test Instead of a Wealth Test<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Armstrong proposed replacing the wealth-based standard with a merit-based one, suggesting a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">financial literacy test<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> that, if passed, would qualify someone for accreditation based on competency rather than bank balance or income. Alternatively, he floated scrapping the rule entirely while keeping disclosure requirements and fraud enforcement in place to punish bad actors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The idea is not without precedent, as in 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2025\/07\/23\/house-bill-accredited-investor-sec-test.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">passed a bill<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> endorsing an examination-based path to accredited status, letting investors qualify by demonstrating knowledge rather than wealth. Lawmakers and industry groups have argued for years that the income and net-worth tests are a crude proxy for sophistication that bars financially literate people of modest means while waving through wealthy novices.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The argument has gained urgency in light of marquee companies\u2019 delaying their public listings, with SpaceX\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/spacex-ipo-is-4x-oversubscribed-but-what-happens-to-the-rest-of-market\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">record initial public offering<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> (IPO) most recently minting enormous gains for early private backers before retail buyers could even touch the stock (a dynamic Armstrong and others say is becoming the norm rather than the exception).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight:400\">A Familiar Push From Coinbase<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The accredited-investor critique fits a broader narrative for Armstrong, who has repeatedly pressed Washington for clearer and friendlier rules. In this regard, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bitcoin.com<\/a> News has previously reported that Coinbase execs have <\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">met with U.S. lawmakers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> in the past to discuss a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crypto<\/a> regulatory proposal, while <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/coinbase-ceo-confident-of-win-win-win-deal-between-white-house-banks-crypto\/\">Armstrong himself has previously said <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">the more regulation there is for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crypto<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight:400\">, the better it is for Coinbase (owing to the company\u2019s compliance-heavy model).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">He has also struck an optimistic tone on the policy outlook, telling followers the U.S. is closing in on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/coinbase-ceo-very-bullish-on-us-crypto-regulation-as-game-changing-clarity-nears\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">long-awaited regulatory clarity<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\">. Loosening accreditation rules would directly benefit Coinbase, which has expanded into tokenized securities, derivatives and onchain products that could reach a far larger audience if the investor pool widens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Critics, however, counter that the thresholds exist to shield inexperienced investors from illiquid, high-risk and sometimes fraudulent offerings. Private markets carry far less disclosure than public ones, and consumer advocates warn that opening the floodgates could expose retail buyers to losses they cannot absorb. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Armstrong\u2019s view in all of this is one that tries to address that concern by pairing wider access with continued fraud enforcement, though whether that balance satisfies regulators remains to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight:400\">On the other hand, supporters of reform argue the status quo is itself a risk, pushing retail investors toward only the most speculative public-market assets while the steadier compounding of early private growth stays off-limits. They contend a knowledge-based test would expand access without abandoning consumer protection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/brian-armstrong-revisit-us-accredited-investor-laws\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Coinbase\u2019s Brian Armstrong urged revisiting U.S. accredited investor rules that require $200,000 income or $1 million net worth. He proposed a financial literacy test, echoing a 2025 U.S. House bill on examination-based accreditation. Wider access would expand Coinbase\u2019s addressable market for tokenized and onchain products. Armstrong [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3947362404,"featured_media":74110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74109"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3947362404"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}