Vlad Tenev just dropped some truth about America's investment problem, and it all has to do with access to opportunity. 

When companies like OpenAI hit $157 billion valuations and SpaceX tops $350 billion, regular folks are the last to get in.

But tokenization has the potential to change everything.

Why Rich Get Richer

The elephant in the room is the fact that 80% of U.S. households can't touch private market investments. 

Want early SpaceX shares? Better be "accredited" – meaning very wealthy. 

We’re talking $250,000 per year and a liquid net worth of $1 million, sort of wealthy. 

Tenev's not sold on this being a good idea for your average person and thinks blockchain rails can help ease the pain and broaden access for your everyday investor. 

Imagine if you could have bought a slice of OpenAI before it hit $157 billion. 

That's what tokenization offers – the ability to take real-world assets, turn them into tradable tokens, and suddenly give everyone access to what were previously private markets. 

No more having to wait for the expensive and frothy IPO to join the party.

Beyond Access And Into Efficiency

This is about more than just democratizing investments. 

Tokenization also allows for the 24/7 trading of private shares.

It enables expensive assets like fine art and collectible wine to be fractionalized into smaller digital shares.

It provides global access to U.S. private markets 

It leverages smart contracts to handle dividends and reporting automatically.

There are countless reasons to bring existing financial tools and instruments onto the blockchain.

The SEC Situation

But there's a catch. 

The SEC is still figuring out how to handle this nascent technology. 

Just ask Coinbase – they got charged for running an unregistered exchange.

The rules weren't built for tokens, or the digital economy for that matter, and it's starting to really show.

Modern problems require modern solutions, and fixing the investment availability gap with blockchain should come with a few additional housekeeping changes: 

• Make the "accredited investor" designation about knowledge, not wealth
• Offer clear rules for registering tokenized securities
• Update existing regulations for crypto exchanges, making it clear how to operate 

While these aren’t silver bullets, they’ll no doubt go a long way in fixing what’s become a clearly outdated and unfair system. 

And as regulators catch up, institutions aren't waiting. 

They're tokenizing everything from real estate to carbon credits. 

The Security Stack

Companies like Republic are already building the infrastructure. 

Coinbase Wallet is showing how self-custody works. 

The tools are here – we just need the green light for tokenization to change the investment landscape forever.