August was busier than a northern-hemisphere summer month has any right to be. Norway brought its new crowdfunding regime into force, Azerbaijan’s newly adopted law put another jurisdiction on the map for January 2027, the United States opened a consultation that touches the edges of investment crowdfunding, New Zealand extended a review of its crowdfunding limits, and the first hard European market data of the second half landed. Here is what mattered, and what it means for platforms operating under regulated regimes.
Norway is inside the ECSPR perimeter
Norway’s Crowdfunding Act (folkefinansieringsloven) applies from 1 August 2026, implementing the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation through the EEA framework. Licensing is now mandatory for loan- and investment-based business crowdfunding, with existing platforms given a transition window.
The practical effect is a wider passporting footprint. Norway is not an EU member state, but it is now operating the same rulebook, which is exactly the kind of extension that makes the case for a common supervisory approach rather than 30 national interpretations of one regulation.
Azerbaijan adopts a first crowdfunding law
Azerbaijan’s Law on Crowdfunding was adopted in July and published on 24 July 2026. It enters into force six months after publication, which puts commencement at 24 January 2027.
Worth being precise about this one, because it has been reported loosely elsewhere: the law is adopted, not yet in force. It covers both equity- and debt-based crowdfunding, sets platform-operator licensing requirements, and gives the Central Bank rulemaking powers over capital requirements and investment limits. For anyone maintaining a map of regulated crowdfunding jurisdictions, this is a new entry with a known start date.
Brazil moves on Resolution 88
Brazil’s securities regulator continues work on reforming Resolution CVM 88, the rule that governs investment crowdfunding. The reform was formally consulted on in September 2025, with the comment period subsequently extended from 23 December to 23 January 2026, and CVM representatives gave a public update in August.
The proposed caps are a meaningful loosening. Ordinary companies and agricultural cooperatives move from R$15 million to R$25 million. Registered securitisation companies get R$50 million. Rural producers get R$2.5 million per harvest. The proposal also converts the global investor limit into a per-platform limit and allows reinvestment within the same calendar year without counting against the annual cap.
The driver is visible in the numbers: securitisation volumes through Brazilian crowdfunding platforms rose from around R$220 million in 2023 to roughly R$1.5 billion in 2024, with securitisation offerings accounting for about 70% of operations and 76% of the amount raised. If adopted, the reform would represent a substantial expansion of Brazil’s investment crowdfunding regime.
The United States proposes a new exemption
On 18 August the SEC proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, creating two exemptions from Securities Act registration for certain crypto offerings: one up to $5 million over four years with principles-based disclosure, and one up to $75 million per 12 months with financial statements and ongoing reporting. The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbour and pre-emption of state securities registration and qualification requirements.
The reason this belongs in a crowdfunding round-up rather than a crypto one is structural. The shape of the exemptions – an aggregate cap over a defined window, tiered disclosure obligations – closely resembles the architecture of Regulation Crowdfunding and Regulation A. Whether existing funding portals adopt these exemptions is speculation at this stage, but the proposal materially blurs a line the industry has treated as firm.
The proposal was published in the Federal Register on 21 August, starting the 60-day clock. Comments close on 20 October 2026.
New Zealand reviews its crowdfunding limits
New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment opened Phase Two of its capital markets reform consultation on 14 July, and it now closes on 15 September after an extension from the original 25 August date. Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending limits are one of eight specific areas under review, alongside product disclosure statements, wholesale investor settings and director liability.
New Zealand’s crowdfunding regime has been largely untouched since it was introduced, so any movement on those limits would be the first substantive change in over a decade.
Malaysia frames crowdfunding as capital-formation infrastructure
At a semiconductor financing event on 19 August, the Securities Commission Malaysia named equity crowdfunding and P2P financing as capital-raising routes for early-stage firms in a strategic industrial sector, alongside a co-investment fund structure splitting roughly 70/30 between government and private capital.
The language is the notable part. A regulator describing crowdfunding as part of the national capital-formation toolkit, rather than as a permitted exception to retail investor protection, is a markedly different starting position from the one the sector is used to.
The numbers
Europe. ESMA’s market report remains the authoritative baseline: 181 authorised crowdfunding service providers reported activity across 21 member states, raising €4.25 billion during 2024. Real estate crowdfunding accounted for roughly 1.45 million investors.
Italy. The most significant European datapoint of the month. The Politecnico di Milano’s eleventh Italian Crowdinvesting Report, presented on 21 July, records €164.19 million raised between July 2025 and June 2026 – down 36.8% year on year and back to 2020 levels. More striking than the volume is the platform count: 37 authorised portals as at 30 June 2026, five fewer than a year earlier, and only around 30 that published a single campaign in twelve months.
The report attributes the contraction partly to ECSPR compliance costs falling disproportionately on smaller operators, alongside a confidence problem created by fluctuating default rates in lending and delays in equity exits.
United States. July was soft. Regulation Crowdfunding raised approximately $22.89 million, down 19.1% on June and 34.2% year on year, with DealMaker Securities and Wefunder together accounting for over half the total. Regulation A added $43.04 million, down 4.4% month on month. Mid-year data shows 15 tracked failures, down 57% year on year, against 11 exits, eight of which came through IPO or direct listing.
P2P lending. P2P-Banking’s tracked international platforms reported €194 million of originations in July, with Mintos leading ahead of Bondora and Loanch. That sits below June’s €203 million and roughly 16% below July 2025, so a soft month rather than a stable one.
Indonesia. Securities crowdfunding has now raised a cumulative Rp 2.01 trillion. A new centralised incidental-reporting regime, which explicitly includes crowdfunding service providers, takes effect on 1 October 2026.
Saudi Arabia. Sukuk Capital reports SR11.6 billion facilitated across roughly 800,000 investors and more than 600 companies over five years. These are company-reported figures rather than regulator data, but they indicate the scale debt crowdfunding has reached in the Gulf.
Platform and market moves
Triodos Bank UK and Ethex announced a distribution partnership in early August. All future Triodos UK crowdfunding offers will be hosted on the Ethex platform, with registered users transferring in September and the Triodos platform closing once the migration completes. Both organisations remain independent and will continue to originate separately. The joint release cites a combined track record of over £330 million raised for more than 300 projects.
Ener2Crowd in Italy passed €58.7 million funded across 253 sustainability projects, with 99 completing full repayment cycles, returning over €27 million of capital and more than €5 million in gross interest. Alongside the milestone it published updated performance and risk indicators aligned to ECSPR disclosure standards – a useful reference point for other debt-based platforms working out what good disclosure looks like under Article 20.
GECA
GECA has passed 100 member organisations and launched the Future of Crowdfunding Initiative 2026-2027, comprising a global roundtable series, the industry’s largest supporter survey, and a flagship report publishing in early 2027.
Kieron O’Brien, Managing Director of Republic Europe, has joined the GECA Steering Committee as Strategic Advisor for Ireland.
Coming up
| Date | Item |
|---|---|
| 15 September 2026 | New Zealand MBIE Phase Two consultation closes |
| 21 September 2026 | Eurosystem Pontes tokenised-securities launch |
| 30 September 2026 | EU MiCA targeted industry consultation closes |
| 20 October 2026 | US SEC Regulation Crypto Assets comment period closes |
| 20-21 October 2026 | CfPA Regulated Investment Crowdfunding Summit, Washington DC |
| 24 January 2027 | Azerbaijan Crowdfunding Law enters into force |
Frequently asked questions
What is GECA? The Global Equity Crowdfunding Alliance is a neutral, industry-led network bringing together platforms, investors, founders, national associations, regulators, policymakers and technology providers working in investment crowdfunding.
Why does a global alliance exist for this? Crowdfunding is already global in practice but fragmented in regulation, infrastructure and coordination. A business raising across borders faces multiple regulatory systems, overlapping compliance regimes and different technology standards, while investors struggle to access opportunities outside their home market.
Is GECA a lobbying organisation? No. GECA does not promote one regulatory regime over another. It acts as a neutral convening layer for dialogue, alignment and practical pathways to cross-border collaboration.
Who can join? Equity crowdfunding platforms, national and regional crowdfunding associations, regulators and policymakers, technology providers, investor associations, researchers and academics.
Does this round-up only cover equity crowdfunding? No. It covers regulated crowdfunding across equity, real estate, debt and bonds, and peer-to-peer lending, which is where much of the current regulatory movement sits.
How often is it published? Monthly.
Join GECA
GECA has passed 100 member organisations across four continents. If your work touches regulated crowdfunding, whether you run a platform, build the infrastructure, set the rules or study the market, there is a place for you in the alliance.
Compiled from primary regulator sources and dated industry publications. Where figures are company-reported rather than regulator-published, this is noted in the text.
