Equity crowdfunding as a regulatory question

Equity crowdfunding is a regulatory challenge. Although it is a source of hope for entrepreneurship and economic development, it has been severely hampered and constrained by many of the regulations that it has had to face. As the equity crowdfunding model is very dependent on regulation, the “regulatory question” is here of paramount importance. The questions about its regulation have yet to be fully answered, as various approaches and regulatory schemes are to a certain extent mutually contradictory or even mutually exclusive. The present study examines the “regulatory question(s)” in equity crowdfunding, analysing not only the process itself, but also various State regulations, together with the problems that arise as a result of the implementation of available regulatory means. It is addressed to regulators and academics alike, as well as to anyone who is interested in new IT-related developments and the legal challenges that they pose.