> How would this even work? A good question that I don't have a good answer for. I don't have anything really against individual investors taking a risk on a

> How would this even work? A good question that I don't have a good answer for. I don't have anything really against individual investors taking a risk on a private business. However, I have big issues with there being a large market for these risks to be traded, swapped, and financialized. That's where I see most of the danger, it isn't the first hand selling of equity but rather having a literal market for such equity. I shouldn't be able to short kim's coffee shop. > it's far less clear why institutions can't be trusted to do their own due diligence before engaging in a trade. Because they, frankly, aren't trustworthy. How much money by VC firms has been dumped into obvious ponzi schemes such as FTX? The issue I have with institutions is they aren't concerned with due diligence, they are concerned with turning a profit. That means they are more than happy to turn a blind eye to obvious company problems if they think they can get in and out before a meltdown (IE, pump and dump).