[clay_to_n]

Maybe I'm wrong here, but doesn't investing in normal startups require being an accredited investor?

I see ICO's as marketing investment opportunities to unaccredited investors. I thought unacreddited investors in the U.S. are legally allowed to invest in public stock, and approved securities (like bonds, precious metals, etc) and only a handful of other things.

The notion of accredited investors legal requirement to invest in tech startups is that tech startups are inherently very risky, and the average person shouldn't be allowed to put their life savings behind something so risky. By this logic, it strikes me as very odd that ICO's are legal for U.S. citizens to invest in, and my guess is it's because the SEC hasn't come around to regulating them yet.

Does that sound correct, or is there reason to believe the SEC (in the long-term) will be okay with unaccredited investors investing in ICO's of tech companies? Are there other things with a similar risk profile that unaccredited investors can invest in?