Ever notice how the wealthy seem to have access to completely different investment opportunities than the rest of us? Private equity deals, pre-IPO allocations, exclusive hedge funds—these aren't listed on regular platforms. Meanwhile, retail investors are stuck with whatever's available on standard brokers.

The gap isn't just about capital. It's structural. Accredited investors get early access to opportunities that shape market trends, while most people react to moves that already happened. Hedge funds unlock strategies that individual traders can't replicate. Institutional networks provide deal flows that never hit public exchanges.

This two-tier system isn't really a secret anymore. The question is whether decentralized finance and crypto markets can actually level things, or if they'll just recreate the same hierarchies in blockchain form.