I hate that this rule exists in the form it does, but changing it is potentially difficult. Accredited investors and the offerings they invest in are largely o

I hate that this rule exists in the form it does, but changing it is potentially difficult. Accredited investors and the offerings they invest in are largely outside the regulatory system, and it's ripe for fraud. The whole idea is that accredited investors are (hopefully) sophisticated enough to avoid most of the fraud on their own, without the SEC's help, and have enough resources to absorb the losses when they get it wrong. With a low-dollar exemption, even if an individual may not suffer significant hardship if they make a few investments and it goes badly, it can still make it easier for fraudsters (or just careless buffoons) to make off with/waste large amounts of money from a lot of individuals. I agree that there needs to be a middle ground between accredited investors and the fully-regulated system, but getting the rules right without making enforcement mechanisms either toothless or too expensive is going to be hard.