The private markets paradox is becoming more acute: while companies increasingly prefer private capital over public markets, the inherent illiquidity of private investments remains a significant friction point for investors. However, the conventional wisdom that tokenization alone would solve this liquidity challenge has proven naive. The private markets ecosystem values quality and risk management far more than immediate liquidity, suggesting the need for a more nuanced approach to secondary market solutions.

The current illiquidity in private markets isn't just a bug - it's a feature that helps maintain pricing power and investment discipline. Yet, this same illiquidity creates significant challenges for founders, employees, and investors who need flexible timing for exits. Traditional secondary markets are often fragmented, relationship-driven, and inefficient, while early attempts at blockchain-based solutions have created more problems than they've solved, particularly around trust and price discovery.

The opportunity lies in building infrastructure that brings greater efficiency to private market secondaries while preserving the fundamental qualities that make private markets attractive. This means creating solutions that focus on standardizing processes, improving price discovery, and enabling controlled liquidity without compromising the governance and risk management frameworks that sophisticated investors require. The key is to view liquidity not as an absolute, but as a carefully managed feature that can be unlocked when appropriate.