Regulating Equity Crowdfunding Service Providers - An Innovation-Oriented Approach to Alternative Financing

In recent years the advancements in technology have led to an upheaval in many markets. In the financial sector, technological innovations have led to the emergence of technology-enabled financial services, ranging from new product offerings to new business concepts. In this article, the regulatory challenges facing online intermediary platforms, and in particular equity-based crowdfunding platforms, are discussed more in detail. An integral part of crowdfunding is the prevalence of actors who provide crowdfunding services, operating digital crowdfunding platforms, where the business funding interest of investors and companies is matched. Equity-based digital platforms have over the past few years become an important financing alternative, especially for small and medium-sized growth companies. However, such platforms have only recently attracted the attention of regulators. In this article, the regulatory framework covering equity-based crowdfunding platforms in the Nordic countries is discussed in detail. It is concluded that the Nordic countries have very different approaches to regulating crowdfunding platforms, hindering the development of a pan-Nordic market in equity crowdfunding. The proposal for a pan-European opt-in legislation covering Crowdfunding Service Providers (CSPs) is likely to complicate the regulatory framework in the Nordic countries even further. Although the Nordic countries have chosen different paths in regulating equity-based CSPs, the regulatory regime each country has chosen for the registration or authorization of CSPs does not seem to be decisive of the success of local equity crowdfunding markets. This does not mean that regulation of the sector is irrelevant for the success of an alternative finance market. On the contrary, the regulatory requirements on crowdfunding project owners seem to have a significant effect on the development of the market. It is suggested in the article that the dismal development of equity crowdfunding in Norway and Denmark is likely to be caused by the restrictions on offers in private company shares on online intermediary platforms in the two countries, and not by the admittedly burdensome authorization requirements applicable to CSPs. The legal environment is thus of importance for the development of equity crowdfunding in individual Nordic countries, although not in the way it is usually perceived to be of importance.

近年来，技术革新引发了诸多市场的深刻剧变。在金融领域，技术创新催生了科技赋能型金融服务，其范畴涵盖新型产品供给与全新商业理念。本文将详细探讨在线中介平台，尤其是股权型众筹平台（equity-based crowdfunding platforms）所面临的监管挑战。众筹的核心组成部分之一，是大量提供众筹服务、运营数字众筹平台的市场主体——此类平台旨在撮合投资者与企业的投融资需求。近年间，股权型众筹平台已成为重要的融资渠道，尤其对中小成长型企业而言。然而此类平台直至近年才获得监管机构的关注。本文将详细探讨北欧国家针对股权型众筹平台的监管框架。研究结论显示，北欧各国对众筹平台的监管路径差异显著，这阻碍了泛北欧股权众筹市场的构建。针对众筹服务提供商（Crowdfunding Service Providers, CSPs）的泛欧洲选择性加入立法提案，或将进一步复杂化北欧各国的监管框架。尽管北欧各国在股权型众筹服务提供商的监管路径上各有不同，但各国针对众筹服务提供商的注册或授权监管制度，似乎并未对本地股权众筹市场的成败起到决定性作用。但这并不意味着该领域的监管对另类金融市场的成败无关紧要。恰恰相反，针对众筹项目发起方的监管要求，似乎对市场发展有着显著影响。本文提出，挪威与丹麦股权众筹市场发展疲软，大概率源于两国对在线中介平台上非公开发行公司股份的发售限制，而非众筹服务提供商所面临的、公认较为繁重的授权要求。由此可见，法律环境对北欧各国股权众筹市场的发展至关重要，尽管其影响路径与通常认知有所差异。