Equity Crowdfunding Tracker
The Equity Crowdfunding Tracker at Florida Atlantic University is presented to the community as a resource for monitoring regulated CF securities-based crowdfunding activity within the United States. Learn about the developers.
Crowdfunding is an umbrella term that generally refers to a form of fundraising, whereby a large number of people make (typically) small donations to individuals or firms through an internet portal to support a particular goal.
Securities-based crowdfunding is a subcategory of crowdfunding in which entrepreneurs offer a specified amount of equity or bond-like shares of a private company to a group of people for investment.
Equity crowdfunding is a subcategory securities-based crowdfunding in which investors are entitled to a stake in the entrepreneurial company proportional to their investment. In its purest form, equity crowdfunding securities are stock-based; however, a newer market for hybrid equity securities has also emerged.
Today, equity crowdfunding is rapidly expanding in popularity, especially within the U.S. market. Global equity crowdfunding markets began to emerge in the 2000s; however, the practice did not become fully legal in the U.S. until Title III of the 2012 JOBS Act took effect on May 16, 2016. The Crowdfunding Tracker presents data that spans from 2016 to today. The U.S. equity crowdfunding market has grown in total amount raised per year from $25 million in 2016 to $272 million in 2020.
For more information about equity crowdfunding and the emerging U.S. market, please read the developers' recent papers:
- "COVID-19 Bust, Policy Response, and Rebound: Equity Crowdfunding and P2P vs. Banks," Journal of Technology Transfer.
- "COVID-19 and Entrepreneurial Processes in U.S. Equity Crowdfunding," Journal of Small Business Management.
- "Institutional Quality and Success in U.S. Equity Crowdfunding"
- "Covid-19 and Crowdfunding"
For IPO and SPAC data please see this page from Jay Ritter at the Warrington College of Business.