EuroCrowd, a pan-European organization that advocates for online capital formation in the EU, says that crowdfunding under ECSPR [European Crowdfunding Service Provider regulation] remains, at best, partially realized in Germany.
While Germany is home to the largest Economy in Europe, the success of securities crowdfunding has been muted by member state rules that subvert the intention of ECSPR.
EuroCrowd states that the “continued reliance on the Vermögensanlagengesetz (VermAnlG) to structure crowdfunding investments via Nachrangdarlehen (subordinated loans) has created a parallel regulatory channel that operates alongside, and often instead of ECSPR. This is not a marginal legal curiosity, but a structural divergence that undermines both the Regulation’s harmonisation objectives and its core investor-protection logic.”
VermAnlG is the German Capital Investment Act, a federal law designed to regulate the “gray capital market“—investments that are not structured as traditional securities, such as those issued under crowdfunding rules. The workaround is a form of regulatory arbitrage involving subordinated loans. While several German crowdfunding platforms operate under ECSPR, others have opted out of ECSPR, remained on national models, or returned their licenses.
EuroCrowd states that, due to the member-state approach, Germany is now at odds with the goal of EU harmonisation, and the market remains fragmented. Meanwhile, in other EU member states, investment crowdfunding is in a period of transition, with scale being pursued and mergers taking place as the market adjusts and evolves.
Eurocrowd adds:
“ECSPR was designed to balance investor protection with cross-border scalability. Its requirements were and remain proportionate. The low uptake in Germany, with only three of the six platforms initially licensed under ECSPR remaining active as of early 2026, suggests that the issue is not ECSPR’s burden, but the availability of a lighter and cheaper alternative. In France, by contrast, some 50 platforms operate under ECSPR, demonstrating that the regime is workable for a range of business models.”
Further, the group explains that Stärkung des Finanzmarktintegritätsgesetzes (StoFöG), rules adopted following the Wirecard debacle, which boost BaFin‘s regulatory oversight and increase compliance burdens for investment crowdfunding, further stifles the development of online capital formation.
EuroCrowd believes that Germany undermines the entire premise of pan-European harmonisation while creating a precedent for other member states to deviate from EU rules.
The group recommends that the European Commission should “escalate the issue,” and a discussion with BaFin should take place to support ECSPR.
“The stakes are high. If left unaddressed, the German exception will not only undermine ECSPR’s effectiveness but also erode trust in the EU’s ability to deliver on its harmonisation agenda. The credibility of the single market, and the trust of investors, depends on decisive action now.”
