"There's not going to be a concept of public versus private, " Mr. Silbert says.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
Does Mr. Silbert really support fixes to the public markets, given SecondMarket's private-market business niche?
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
"I'm happy you asked that, " Mr. Silbert says, adding that mutual funds like T.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
"It was like a Wall Street version of a Silicon Valley garage start-up, " says Mr. Silbert.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
Investors Silbert and Ver also participated in the April 2012 funding round for mining pool operator CoinLab.
FORBES: Largest Bitcoin Payment Processor Raises $510,000 Angel Round
Founder Alan Silbert saw the Bitcoin market expanding little by little at first, and then in big chunks.
" And Mr. Silbert has an even bigger idea: to lobby the SEC to change its definition of "sophisticated investor.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
Silbert believes that Bitcoins, or something like them, are here to stay.
Silbert suggests using his platform as a different way to compensate employees.
Mr. Silbert says he's not building a business by evading regulators, although there's always a risk that they will still come after him.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
Which raises a broader question: Is Mr. Silbert creating a market open only to the sophisticated, a club that shuts out ordinary Americans?
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
"It was interesting to us to see these institutions were willing to buy the stock without having access to management, without having information, " Mr. Silbert recalls.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
Investors participating in the seed round include SecondMarket founder Barry Silbert, Spotify investor Shakil Khan, Jimmy Furland, Roger Ver, and other Internet entrepreneurs.
FORBES: Largest Bitcoin Payment Processor Raises $510,000 Angel Round
Silbert sent a similar letter to Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, where Lay was scheduled to testify before a subcommittee on Tuesday.
"Car companies can advertise on TV to 15-year-olds, and drug companies can advertise drugs to people who don't have a prescription, " but start-ups can't advertise to potential investors, Mr. Silbert says.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
SecondMarket is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an "alternative trading system, " its compliance staff communicates regularly with its Washington minders, and Mr. Silbert hired a former SEC lawyer to be his general counsel.
WSJ: The Weekend Interview With Barry Silbert: So Who Needs Wall Street?
It was unique mix: Virgin billionaire Richard Branson, Russell Simmons, author Tim Ferriss, Chip Conley of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, SecondMarket chief Barry Silbert, plus big shots from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Facebook and a slew of up and coming tech titans.
FORBES: Summit Series, Tim Ferriss and Toms Shoes Fight For Sharks
应用推荐