The Legal Status of Crowdfunding Investors: Attuning Protection and Opportunity Seizure
Crowdfunding has transformed how businesses raise capital, offering an accessible alternative to traditional financing. Equity crowdfunding, in particular, allows individuals to invest in ventures with potential financial returns. While this model fosters innovation and democratizes investment opportunities, it exposes investors to significant risks, such as inaccurate stock valuation, misleading advertising, capital dilution, and limited regulatory oversight. The lack of robust legal protections can leave investors vulnerable to fraud and financial losses.
This project explores the legal and regulatory challenges of equity crowdfunding, aiming to strike a balance between investor protection and market growth. By examining regulatory frameworks in Poland, the EU, and major global markets, it seeks to identify legal solutions that enhance security without stifling innovation. The findings will contribute to shaping policies that safeguard investors while allowing crowdfunding to remain a viable tool for entrepreneurship and economic development.
Project description
The research focuses on the legal status of crowdfunding investors, particularly within the equity crowdfunding framework. While crowdfunding has gained recognition as an alternative financing method, the legal classification and investor protection mechanisms remain underdeveloped, especially in Poland. The study aims to bridge this gap by analyzing regulatory approaches, investor rights, and potential risks associated with crowdfunding investments. While international literature provides fragmented insights, a comprehensive legal framework balancing investor protection and financial opportunity remains absent in Polish literature.
The project seeks to determine whether the current Polish legal framework adequately defines the legal status of crowdfunding investors. Since equity crowdfunding does not fit neatly into traditional contract classifications, its legal treatment remains uncertain. Investors operate in a regulatory grey area, leading to ambiguity regarding their rights and obligations. The study will explore how other jurisdictions classify crowdfunding investments and whether their approaches can inform a clearer legal standing in Poland.
Equity crowdfunding democratizes investment opportunities, but it also exposes investors to unique risks, such as misleading advertising, lack of exit strategies, and fraudulent activities. Without a well-defined regulatory framework, investors may find themselves inadequately protected in case of legal disputes. This research will assess how current regulations (or lack thereof) impact investor security and whether additional safeguards are necessary to ensure fair treatment and risk mitigation.
Scheduled events related to the realisation of the project
The list of publications will be supplemented on an ongoing basis.
Project publications
A. Szczęsna, A.-M. Weber, Is the Law of Donations Fit for the Digital Age? A Comparative Study of Donation-Based Crowdfunding in the EU, Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht [The Rabel Journal of Comparative and International Private Law], forthcoming (2025/2026).
A. Szczęsna, Crowdfunding: A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Approaches in the Republic of Korea and the European Union, The International Review of Financial Consumers, forthcoming (2026).
The list of publications will be supplemented on an ongoing basis.
Conferences
On 22nd August 2025, Aleksandra Szczęsna presented a paper titled “Strengthening Investor Protection in Crowdfunding: A Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Approaches in the Republic of Korea and the European Union” at the 2025 Global Forum for Financial Consumers – Innovations in Financial Consumer Protection and ESG, hosted by Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
On 18th October 2024, Aleksandra Szczęsna presented a paper titled “Instrumenty ochrony pożyczkodawców crowdfundingowych – wnioski na tle studium przypadku kampanii pożyczkowej ‘Skarbiec Palikota’” [Instruments for the Protection of Lending-Based Crowdfunding Investors – Lessons from the Case Study of the ‘Skarbiec Palikota’ Loan Campaign] at the 5th Scientific Conference on Alternative Investments, organized by the Faculty of Economics of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) in Lublin.
On 26th April 2024, Aleksandra Szczęsna presented a paper titled “Crowdfunding inwestycyjny a ochrona prawna inwestora” [Investment Crowdfunding and the Legal Protection of Investors] at the 1st International Scientific Conference “Finance and New Technologies – Legal and Economic Aspects”, hosted by the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Opole, in cooperation with the Scientific Circle of Financial Markets, the Foundation of the University of Opole, the Faculty of Economics, and the SKN Aurum Scientific Circle.
On 16th April 2024, Aleksandra Szczęsna presented a paper titled “Interakcja prawa UE i prawa polskiego a crowdfunding inwestycyjny: szkic mapy regulacyjnej” [The Interaction between EU Law and Polish Law in the Area of Investment Crowdfunding: A Regulatory Mapping Sketch] at the doctoral seminar “EU Law and Its Impact on the Formation and Application of Polish Law – Current Legal Issues”, held in Warsaw in conjunction with the anniversary conference “20 Years Gone by Like a Day? Legal Aspects of Poland’s Membership in the European Union on the 20th Anniversary of Accession”, organized by the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (INP PAN) on 15 April 2024.
Project Team
Aleksandra Szczęsna
Principial Investigator
Aleksandra Szczęsna is currently a PhD candidate at the Chair of Commercial Law at the University of Warsaw. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Warsaw and holds a Master's degree in Business Law, with a specialisation in French and European Business Law from the University of Poitiers. Her academic research concentrates on the influence of technological advancements, climate change, and social issues on various facets of the legal system.
Anne-Marie Weber
Mentor
Anne-Marie Weber holds the position of Assistant Professor at the Chair of Commercial Law of the University of Warsaw, where she has defended her doctoral thesis, which was then awarded by the Chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority in the competition for the best doctoral thesis in the field of the financial market and published as a monograph entitled ‘Wpływ instytucji prawnych rynku kapitałowego na efektywność spółek Skarbu Państwa’ (‘The influence of capital market institutions on state-controlled companies’ efficiency’). She is a graduate of Master's studies (LL.M.) at the Berkeley School of Law. She teaches company law and financial market law and is a lecturer at the School of German Law operating at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. Dr. Anne-Marie Weber is a frequent Visiting Scholar of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg . She also was a Visiting Professor at the Berkeley School of Law and the University of Mainz. She has been awarded with several scholarships and research grants, amongst others, by the French Government (Campus France), the Max Planck Gesellschaft and the Polish National Science Center. Her habilitation thesis, which is currently in preparation, concerns the issue of implementing and enforcing climate policy goals by means of private law institutions, primarily company law.