At 10 am, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
will hold a public meeting at which time it is anticipated that it will release
proposed rules that will govern the sale of securities in businesses via
crowdfunding. In 2012 Congress passed the JOBS Act that had as one of its
provision legalizing businesses to solicit and receive investments of as little
as $100 from all citizens through online portals popularized by donation
crowdfunding firms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
(SCSBCC) and the American Sustainable Business Council’s (ASBC) support for
security (or equity) crowdfunding dates back to 2010 when the concept was
originally proposed in a petition to the SEC. The SEC has come under pressure
to promulgate regulations that will govern how security crowdfunding is carried
out. Just yesterday a group of U.S. Senators including those who were critical
to the passage of the law, including Senators Jeff Merkley and Mary Landrieu,
sent a letter to the SEC calling on the agency to complete its security
crowdfunding regulations.
If the SEC does release its proposed regulations tomorrow it
will begin a public comment period enabling those with an interest to critique
the rules and possibly influence the final regulations. But more importantly it
will give business organizations like the SCSBCC and ASBC a clearer timeline for
incorporating security crowdfunding in our portal platforms. It will truly be a
revolutionary opportunity for everyday citizens to invest small amounts of money
into growing their local economies by providing capital to locally-owned
businesses.
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