Crowdfunding Democratizes Finance
Free Speech Needs Fundraising, Censorship-Resistant Social Media
This is Chapter 14 of Financial Sovereignty for Canadians: Untether Yourself from the Ottawa Leviathan.
When fundraising garnered leftover crumbs, the gatekeepers of finance barely cared to notice. Now digitized, it is garnering a growing portion of the financial pie and running into regulatory barriers and legal limbo in Canada.
Rent seekers and cronies of many stripes are resisting crowdfunding precisely because it promotes innovation and is disruptive. Crowdfunding, by circumventing the conventional financial sector, will be a key way to dislodge barriers to entry and make markets more open and accessible.
Not only are crowdfunding bans and licenses largely unenforceable—as platforms defy borders and learn to use alternative currencies—they impede innovation and push out entrepreneurs. Crowdfunding is opening up the financial sector, serving acute needs, and transforming how businesses raise capital and movements raise donations.
Between 2012 and 2015, crowdfunding grew worldwide by 1,200 percent to $44.8 billion per year. Fundly, a crowdfunding platform, estimates this will rise to $390.8 billion by 2025. This projection makes sense, given few barriers to entry, spreading internet and cell-phone coverage, and hunger for startup cash. KickStarter alone has generated funds for 151,000 projects.
The average crowdfunding campaign raises $9,237—a nod to the technology’s inclusivity. Niche platforms are serving different needs and cultures. Patreon, for example, enables incomes for content producers (musicians, writers, podcasters), and Ideame tailors its platform to Spanish speakers. BnkToTheFuture, a Cayman Islands company endorsed by Richard Branson, disrupts the financial sector and connects investors with fintech innovations.
Reconciling the Regulators
