ABSTRACT
Crowdfunding is an important financing tool for new businesses and a source of national economic and technological development. However, some countries benefit more than others from crowdfunding. Lending crowdfunding is the most popular crowdfunding investment model in Europe. An important factor that is promoting the continuous development of crowdfunding is the adoption of a specific legal framework at the European and country level. The most frequent crowdfunding model is lending crowdfunding. In the UK, Funding Circle and LendInvest are the biggest P2P lending platform; the two main equity crowdfunding players are Seedrs and Crowdcube. In 2016, the Netherlands introduced a specific regime for P2P lending and equity investment models to reduce uncertainty among investors and promote adoption of crowdfunding. Crowdfunding has become a viable funding option for entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises, which, traditionally, have reduced access to finance, especially in Asia.
