UK Government Ups Crowdfunding without Prospectus to €8 Million – Matching Germany
Crowdfund Insider | | Jul 2, 2018
In a significant policy move by the UK government, the threshold for investment crowdfunding has been upped to €8 million thus matching the recent change by Germany which announced the same funding limit. This increase is due to a change in the Prospectus Directive.
In the UK, there is no limit on how much a crowdfunding platform may raise online. But a rule requiring a full blown prospectus at €5 million has, in effect, created a significant speed bump for investment crowdfunding platforms – one that has rarely been breached due to the cost of creating and complying with a prospectus requirement.
The change announced today, should have an important impact on UK crowdfunding platforms as it will help make the online capital formation industry far more viable as issuers seek larger funding amounts raised via the issuance of securities online. In the early days of UK crowdfunding most issuers raised smaller seed round amounts. Today, issuers span a far wider range of funding requirements from seed stage to scale up. Frequently, these offerings are done in partnership with professional investors such as VCs or experienced angels.
See:
-
Competition Bureau weighs in on fintech: urgent action required
-
NCFA Canada’s submission to Finance Canada (March 2018): Urgent Need for Regulatory Change and Government Support
The industry leadership organization, the UK Crowdfunding Association (UKCFA), welcomed the UK government’s decision to change the rule – a change that becomes actionable almost immediately – on July 21st.
Investment crowdfunding platforms, both debt and equity, have been increasing the scale and scope of investment offers with many platforms already consistently raising the maximum €5 million for SME’s and infrastructure projects in the UK. The extension is said to enable a new age of crowdfunding for larger businesses and tackle more significant infrastructure projects in a diverse sector of industry.
A spokesperson for the UKCFA shared a statement with CI:
“Our members are already working now on investment offers which could take advantage of this opportunity for larger, more efficient capital raising through investment based crowdfunding without compromising on levels of due diligence. The economics of the previous threshold no longer added up, creating a distortion in the market which has now been addressed. This means that a new sector of ‘scale up’ businesses will be able to benefit from the option of choosing crowdfunding as a route to funding their growth and success. It also helps maintain the UK’s competitive position as a great place to start and scale a business.”
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Read More
Read More
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Sifted | Nicolas Colin | Apr 14, 2021 The Greensill debacle shows that startups have a lot to learn when it comes to winning friends and influencing people. Startups are getting stuck into some highly-regulated industries — and they need to start taking those regulations seriously. Long gone are the days when founders could “move fast and break things”, to echo Mark Zuckerberg’s famous words. Now startups are handling people’s money; they’re responsible for children’s education; and some of them are even taking our lives in their (healthtech) hands. But staying on the right side of regulation is not easy. Most rules were designed a long time ago, well before the internet came about and made it possible to solve old problems with new solutions. Many things that are now possible don’t exactly fit in the old regulatory boxes that we inherit from the past — whether it’s rules that relate to taxi medallions or the 1835 Highways Act that effectively prohibits anyone in the UK from riding an electric scooter on the road. For some startups to take off while strictly complying with existing regulations in sectors such as transportation, financial services or healthcare, the sequence would have to ...
Read More
Read More
MarketWatch | Mark DeCambre | Apr 14, 2021 Coinbase is the talk of Wall Street on Wednesday, as the largest crypto platform in the U.S. gears up for its public debut on a traditional exchange, arriving via a direct listing rather than a more traditional initial public offering. The arrival on the public markets of Coinbase COIN, 34.38% is a big moment in the world of cryptocurrencies. The company was created just over a decade ago with the genesis of bitcoin BTCUSD, -2.43% and today stands at what many in the industry have described as a tipping point. There are few ways to secure direct ownership of crypto currencies, outside of buying them directly, a service that Coinbase provides for a fee, and which investors appear willing to pay for. Coinbase, whose users primarily deal in bitcoin and ethereum, reported last week that its revenue soared 847% in the first quarter to $1.8 billion, and that it now has 56 million verified users. See: ETF investors say Coinbase listing will cause explosion in crypto investing Leeor Shimron, an analyst at FundStrat Global Advisors, described the Coinbase listing as seminal. “Coinbase’s direct listing is a watershed moment for the crypto industry.” ...
Read More
Read More
Yahoo Finance | Release | April 13, 2021 LONDON, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Emerging technology research company D-Core released its latest analysis reviewing the future of the cryptocurrency landscape, calling for CoinPayments to remain the leading crypto payments processor in 2026. D-Core's report surveyed 161 experts, asking them: "Which crypto payment processor will definitely be operating in five years time?" Of those surveyed, 37% picked CoinPayments, giving it the top spot. The other crypto payment processors included in the report were Bitpay (29%), BTCpay (19%), SpicePay (13%), CoinGate (1%), among others. "It is great to be recognized as a top crypto payment processor among experts in the industry," noted Jason Butcher, CEO of CoinPayments. "Since 2013, our aim has always been to fuel crypto adoption and the most effective way to give digital assets their rightful place as mediums of exchange is by enabling businesses and consumers to use them for everyday purchases." See: Jason Butcher, CEO Coinpayments speak at the 7th Fintech & Financing conference: FFCON21 Breaking Barriers May 11-13 The report's timely release comes as notable companies like Paypal and Tesla announce that they will be facilitating crypto payments for customers. Crypto adoption is steadily on the ...
Read More
Read More
Montreal in Tech | Joseph Czikk | Apr 2, 2021 Sam Presti made a risky bet in the summer of 2018. The general manager of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder traded for star player Paul George. There was just one problem. George had one year left on his contract before he was free to sign with whomever he wanted, and he made it clear he wanted to return home to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers. Presti made a bet on an asset that would probably skip town in a year’s time. In doing so, he risked his job in Oklahoma City, a small market team that doesn’t often lure high-end free agent players. See: 4 Ways the Startup Landscape Will Shift in 2021 “Scared money don’t make none,” Presti famously remarked at the press conference, referencing a lyric from Midnight, by A Tribe Called Quest. Presti’s big bet paid off. George liked it so much in the midwest that he spurned the Lakers and signed on for another year with the Thunder, shocking many. Montreal’s next tech unicorn? Like Presti’s gamble, risk-taking is sometimes necessary in life. And for so long it felt like Canadian tech markets like ...
Read More
Read More
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with cryptocurrency, blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, fintech, P2P, ICO, STO, and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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