After Over Four Years of ‘Anxious Waiting’, Equity Crowdfunding Goes Live

After over four years of “anxious waiting,” equity crowdfunding is now legal across the U.S. allowing non-accredited investors to make equity investment in startups through a registered online portal. With the adoption of the final rules for Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow startups to raise up to $1 million over a 12-month period through public solicitation without having to register its securities. To help investors and startups understand the new rules, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance also released a new set of Regulation Crowdfunding Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) addressing, among other topics: public communications; investment limitations; and, balance sheet disclosures. In an article for PitchBook, George Gaprindashvili also provides an overview that highlights key aspects of the new regulations for each  stakeholder group impacted by the equity crowdfunding – potential investors, startups, and crowdfunding platform.