In early May, the Ministry of Finance presented a draft law on crowdfunding for business ventures. The aim is to adjust the national law to new European regulations regarding the functioning of the so-called crowdfunding platforms.
A crowdfunding platform is a kind of financial support for entrepreneurs provided by society. Anyone can take part in it, and the contributions are voluntary and take place via the Internet. Thanks to such an initiative – if enough capital is collected – the originator can make his project a reality. No wonder that platforms are becoming more and more popular.
There is no doubt that the coming into force of the Ministry’s regulations will mean a revolution for the crowdfunding market.
The most important of the proposed solutions is that crowdfunding platforms will be supervised by the Financial Supervision Authority, which will involve in particular the obligation for crowdfunding platforms to obtain a relevant permit.
In addition, according to the provisions of the draft of the aforementioned act:
- certain information requirements for issuers of securities will be simplified,
- appropriate regulations will be introduced to protect retail investors,
- administrative and criminal sanctions will be established for violations of the Act.
The bill also provides that for the first 2 years of its application, the maximum threshold for a single offering by an entity will be €2.5 million. After this period it will reach the target limit of 5 million euro.
New legal regulations are certainly a challenge for the entire crowdfunding industry. On the other hand, comprehensive regulation of crowdfunding will finally settle legal doubts about the status of crowdfunding platforms and the scope of regulations that should apply to their operations.