Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called for the U.S. to rethink accredited investor rules, arguing that extended private-market timelines mean early-stage investing is largely reserved for wealthy investors while retail buyers often get access only after IPOs, when much of the upside has already been captured. He said policymakers could replace wealth-based eligibility with competency standards such as a financial literacy test, or scrap the rule altogether while preserving disclosure requirements and anti-fraud enforcement. The debate goes to the core of how U.S. capital markets balance investor protection with broader access to private-company growth.