With all the many threads discussing the legality of the current available Exchanges/Crowdfunding platforms/OTC or whatever you might want to call it, lets use this threads to capture fact on how this could possibly be addressed in a legal way (US,UK,Europe)
From the experience of GLBSE we know that there is an abundance of interest for equity crowdfunding using only bitcoins -- regardless of whether or not a platform to provide that is in compliance with securities laws of any jurisdictions.
There's really a stake in the ground that needs to be addressed in this discussion though. Can (or should) a platform serve more than one jurisdiction?
In the U.S. the eagerly awaited crowdfunding bill is being castrated:
the JOBS Act is headed toward disappointment. I expect the average deal size will be around $500,000. This is not bad in itself, but it leaves out in the cold most startups.
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http://www.cringely.com/2012/11/17/jobs-act-crowdfunding-is-unlikely-to-help-most-startupsSo sure, a broker that is fully compliant could accept bitcoins from an investor just as that broker can accept cash / paper money. But that broker would still need to do all the other legwork involved, and thus still does not serve the low end -- there will not be someone using crowdfunding under the new U.S. JOBS act to get their first $10K, for instance.
But maybe there are other jurisdictions that a platform could be registered in where there is no violation of securities laws there.
If the asset issuer does its entire financial dealings in bitcoin then there's no need for involvement of banks. This asset issuer could register and operate in nearly any jurisdiction -- particularly one in which equity crowdfunding is not in violation of any securities laws there.
But there's a problem -- if that issuer accepts investment from investors from the U.S., that issuer is likely in violation of U.S. securities law. Does that mean the equity crowdfunding platform must request (and verify) the identity of each investor in order to ensure that those from the U.S. are not becoming investors? Or is it as simple as notifying the investor that the service is not offered to those in certain jurisdictions and then the investor must assert (e.g., marking a checkbox) that the investment is not coming from any of those jurisdictions?
