>Regulations that limit the ability of investors to invest in private companies, although these have been weakened in recent decades, which helps fuel the growth of private credit markets that allow private companies to stay private.
Which regulations are these?
SEC 12(g). The cap was raised by the JOBS act.
It's not that you couldn't stay private before, but there wasn't much benefit because after crossing that cap you had reporting obligations comparable to public companies anyways.