Industry Leaders Chart the Path to Borderless Capital Markets Through Cross-Platform Collaboration and Technological Innovation
The equity crowdfunding industry stands at a critical inflection point. While regulatory frameworks have matured and technological capabilities have advanced, the promise of truly global capital access remains largely unrealized. A recent GECA Architects of Change panel discussion brought together platform leaders from three continents to examine why cross-border investment remains constrained and what strategic interventions could unlock borderless capital flow.
The findings reveal both the scope of untapped opportunity and the complexity of barriers preventing its realization. More significantly, they point toward a coordinated path forward that could transform equity crowdfunding from a collection of national markets into an integrated global ecosystem.
The Scale of Market Fragmentation
The numbers define the challenge with stark clarity. In the United States, over 90 FINRA-regulated portals exist, yet only 10-20 actively facilitate meaningful capital raises. Europe presents an even more fragmented picture: despite the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation creating unified licensing, over 200 ECSP-licensed platforms operate with limited cross-border activity.
This fragmentation extends beyond platform proliferation to fundamental market access inequities. Less than 1% of global investors qualify as accredited under current frameworks -a dramatic constraint compared to 3-9% in the United States alone. The implications are profound: vast pools of capital remain disconnected from promising entrepreneurial opportunities simply due to jurisdictional boundaries.
Eric A Cox II, COO of Netcapital, articulated the global opportunity: “If we talk about accredited investors, that’s only three to nine percent of the United States. But globally it’s less than 1% of investors globally are accredited. We really need to think more than just the United States investor, but the global investor participating in these deals.”
Regulatory Architecture: Barriers Disguised as Protection
The panel revealed how regulatory frameworks, designed to protect investors, have inadvertently created systematic barriers to capital formation. The U.S. Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) framework restricts offerings to domestic entities, effectively excluding international companies from America’s largest retail investment market. European platforms, while benefiting from passport arrangements, face language requirements and local approval processes that create friction for truly pan-European campaigns.
These regulatory silos reflect a fundamental misalignment between global capital needs and national regulatory approaches. Jānis Blaževičs, CEO of CrowdedHero observed the practical implications: “You cannot target the German market once you haven’t received approval from Bafin. There are some specifics on marketing, and I think it’s more related to MiFID.”
The fragmentation extends to operational infrastructure. Each platform requires separate KYC procedures, creating abandonment points for international investors. Payment processing limitations add additional layers of complexity, with currency conversion fees and settlement delays making small international investments economically unviable.
The Technology-Trust Paradox
Perhaps most striking was the panel’s discussion of how technology could simultaneously solve and complicate cross-border investment. Blockchain technology offers compelling solutions for attribution, settlement, and compliance automation. Several European countries -including Germany, Luxembourg, and France – already approve distributed ledger technology for shareholder registries, providing regulatory precedent for broader adoption.
Yet implementation reveals nuanced challenges. Jason Fishman, CEO of Digital Niche Agency (DNA), highlighted the communication imperative: “The end audience, the perspective investor, needs to not only understand the company, the team, the deal – they have to be able to market it themselves. These are crowd campaigns; you’re playing for the crowd effect.”
This insight reveals a fundamental tension: while sophisticated technology can eliminate operational barriers, it must remain accessible to retail investors who drive crowdfunding success. The solution requires not just technical innovation but communication design that enables investor advocacy.
Secondary Market Liquidity: The Critical Infrastructure Gap
All panelists identified liquidity as the primary barrier preventing mainstream adoption of equity crowdfunding. The absence of viable exit mechanisms creates a structural disincentive for investor participation, particularly for international investments where due diligence and legal recourse may be more complex.
Cox outlined Netcapital’s approach to this challenge: “We know that the true value for the investor would come from selling those shares. Companies are staying private longer, if not forever. So one thing that we’ve really always built our technology around was the ability to do the primary offering and then list those shares for trade on secondaries.”
The secondary market opportunity extends beyond individual investor needs to industry sustainability. Platforms that can offer liquidity mechanisms will likely capture disproportionate market share as investors migrate toward more complete investment experiences.
Platform Collaboration: From Competition to Ecosystem Growth
The discussion revealed a sophisticated understanding of industry dynamics that transcends traditional competitive thinking. Rather than viewing other platforms as competitors for a fixed pool of capital, leading operators recognize that market expansion requires collaborative approaches.
Konstantin Boyko CEO of LenderKit, moderating the discussion, captured this strategic shift: “You need to collaborate. You need to share and grow the industry together because otherwise you are just competing for a small pie rather than making it bigger and then having the share.”
This collaborative mindset creates opportunities for revenue-sharing arrangements, cross-platform deal syndication, and shared infrastructure development. The regulatory framework already supports such arrangements under Reg D in the United States, where multiple broker-dealers can collaborate on single offerings.
Market Education: The Awareness Imperative
Despite technological capabilities and regulatory frameworks, awareness remains a fundamental constraint. Fishman’s observation that he has “had to explain to people roughly every day what equity crowdfunding is” since 2016 illustrates the education challenge facing the industry.
This awareness gap extends beyond retail investors to entrepreneurs and intermediaries who could benefit from crowdfunding but remain unfamiliar with available options. The education requirement spans multiple constituencies: entrepreneurs who could benefit from crowdfunding, retail investors who could access new asset classes, and institutions who could provide validation and scale.
The panel identified coordinated industry advocacy as essential for addressing awareness limitations. Building relationships with media, lobbying for supportive government partnerships, and creating educational resources require resources and coordination that exceed individual platform capabilities.
Strategic Implications: The Path to Global Integration
The panel discussion illuminates five strategic imperatives for achieving borderless equity crowdfunding:
Regulatory Harmonization Through Mutual Recognition: Rather than pursuing unified global regulation, the industry should advocate for bilateral mutual recognition agreements between compatible jurisdictions. This approach preserves local regulatory authority while enabling cross-border capital flow.
Technology Infrastructure That Enables Rather Than Complicates: Blockchain and digital identity solutions must prioritize accessibility and interoperability over technical sophistication. The goal is invisible infrastructure that eliminates friction without creating new barriers.
Secondary Market Development as Competitive Differentiation: Platforms that successfully implement liquidity mechanisms will capture disproportionate market share. This represents both opportunity and competitive imperative for industry participants.
Collaborative Revenue Models That Expand Market Size: Revenue-sharing arrangements for cross-platform deals can grow total industry volume while maintaining individual platform profitability. This requires sophisticated attribution systems but offers substantial upside potential.
Coordinated Market Education to Drive Mainstream Adoption: Individual platforms cannot efficiently address awareness gaps. Industry-wide education initiatives, potentially coordinated through organizations like GECA, offer better resource utilization and consistent messaging.
The Competitive Dynamics of Global Expansion
The transition to borderless crowdfunding will create both opportunities and risks for existing platforms. Early movers who successfully navigate international expansion will establish network effects and brand recognition that create sustainable competitive advantages. However, the complexity of cross-border operations may overwhelm platforms that lack sufficient scale or expertise.
This dynamic suggests potential industry consolidation, with successful global platforms acquiring or partnering with specialized local providers. The optimal industry structure likely resembles a federation: major platforms providing infrastructure and compliance capabilities while local partners contribute deal flow and cultural expertise.
Timing and Market Readiness
Several factors suggest the industry may be approaching a tipping point for global integration. Regulatory frameworks have stabilized in major markets, providing predictable operating environments. Blockchain infrastructure has matured sufficiently to support practical applications rather than experimental implementations. Most importantly, demographic trends favor adoption: millennial and Gen Z investors demonstrate greater comfort with digital platforms, alternative investments, and global thinking.
The panel’s discussion suggests that platforms implementing cross-border capabilities today are positioning themselves for substantial growth as these trends accelerate. Conversely, platforms that remain domestically focused risk marginalization as more globally-oriented competitors capture the most engaged investors and highest-quality deal flow.
Conclusion: The Strategic Moment
The GECA panel discussion reveals an industry at a strategic inflection point. The technical capabilities, regulatory frameworks, and market infrastructure necessary for borderless equity crowdfunding largely exist. What remains is coordinated execution by industry leaders committed to moving beyond national market limitations.
The opportunity is substantial: democratized access to early-stage investment opportunities, optimized global capital allocation, and expansion of the investor class to include millions who currently lack access to private markets. The path forward requires collaboration rather than competition, patient capital rather than quick returns, and strategic vision rather than tactical optimization.
The platforms and leaders who recognize this moment and act decisively will shape the industry’s evolution. Those who remain committed to domestic market strategies risk irrelevance in an increasingly connected global economy. The choice is clear, even if execution remains complex.
The future of equity crowdfunding will be global or it will be diminished. The strategic question is not whether borderless investment will emerge, but which stakeholders will lead its development and capture its value.
Ready to explore the full discussion? Watch the complete Architects of Change panel where industry leaders examine the future of global equity crowdfunding: Breaking Down Borders – Full Discussion
Join the movement for borderless investment. GECA brings together platforms, regulators, and industry stakeholders to advance global equity crowdfunding. Learn more about membership opportunities and help shape the industry’s future: thegeca.org/membership-app-form
This analysis is based on GECA’s Architects of Change panel discussion featuring Eric Cox (Netcapital), Jānis Blaževičs (CrowdedHero), Jason Fishman (DNA Marketing), and Konstantin Boyko (LenderKit), examining cross-border collaboration in equity crowdfunding.
