Ten years! In February 2013, some 20 representatives of crowdfunding platforms met in Brussels to formalise the European Crowdfunding Network. Since then, we have worked to help create a professional pan-European Crowdfunding market. Our goal remains to enable professional private cross-border fund allocation into creative, innovative, and sustainable businesses and ideas, to support job creation and economic impact across the European Union.  

We have organised 18 European conferences to network the crowdfunding sector, our Crowdfunding Convention 11 times and our CrowdCamp 7 times. We organised over 100 local and online network events, including our CrowdTuesdays, to foster knowledge exchange. We published numerous independent research studies, setting standards and discussions. For example, through our work and publications, we launched the discussion around match-funding with ESIF funds (2018 and 2021). And with the support of many law firms across the EU, we reviewed national and EU laws (2013, 2014 and 2017) applicable to crowdfunding in all EU member states.  

We also provided guidance and input into policy discussions and ensured that crowdfunding was considered within the EU Prospectus Regulation ((EU) 2017/1129) regarding the thresholds of public offerings and ECSPR ((EU) 2020/1503) via bespoke research and further policy work. We have also engaged and monitored other policy developments linked to the Capital Market Union and the FinTech Action Plan to ensure our market can develop professionally. These include the Consumer Credit Directive dealing with crowdfunding credit services to consumers, the Regulation on Digital Operational Resilience for the Financial Sector and the developments on Markets in Crypto Assets.  

We have worked with many local governments, research institutes and other organisations to help understand and implement crowdfunding meaningfully and professionally. We will continue to provide our services to relevant stakeholders in the future. We believe that the first 10 years were only the beginning and that the market will re-invent itself under the new professional framework, increased acceptance by public institutions and broader application and support of social entrepreneurship, sustainability and citizen involvement. 

After ten years, we would like to thank the many members that have supported our work over the years, individuals that provided their time and knowledge to support our efforts and policymakers and stakeholders that have lent us their credibility in our maybe sometimes-unconventional path. We believe that crowdfunding has not lost any of its appeal, that is has benefited from the mainstream always moving to the next exciting topic, be it ICOs, NFTs or DeFI. Unlike any other innovative sector in the financial markets, crowdfunding has achieved real economy accomplishments and gained trust and widespread support. It has remained comparably small and can now grow within a clear framework into a professional and sustainable market.  

Thank you for joining us on this path and for your support and interest in this market.