By Anastasia Samaras
This week we announced Sara Hanks, securities law attorney, and CEO of CrowdCheck is working with Upstream to help bring secondary market liquidity to the $1B equity crowdfunding market.¹ Sara Hanks will work to introduce Upstream to equity crowdfunding issuers seeking the exit-liquidity potential for investors.
Welcome, Sara Hanks!
Sara Hanks is a well-known securities law attorney with over 30 years of experience in the corporate and securities field. As the co-founder and CEO of CrowdCheck, she has been a pioneer and leader in the crowdfunding space. Sara’s legal expertise in securities law and start-ups is extensive, making her a valuable addition to the team.
“Investors have been backing crowdfunded companies without a clear exit strategy for years,” says CrowdCheck CEO Sara Hanks. “Upstream’s innovative blockchain-based trading app offers a unique solution to this challenge, and I’m thrilled to help usher in a future of equity crowdfunding that includes access to a diverse investor pool and real-time secondary trading.”
Current Equity Crowdfunding Obstacles
Equity crowdfunding has become a popular way for early-stage companies to raise capital from everyday investors. However, liquidity has long been an obstacle for the equity crowdfunding industry. $1B has been invested in early-stage companies in 2022 with limited venues for liquidity available.
Once shares have been purchased, there are limited venues for investors to sell their shares and for issuers to provide exit options for their initial shareholders. This has resulted in a primarily illiquid market, making it difficult for investors to realize returns and for issuers to attract new investors.
Upstream offers a solution for investors to have liquidity potential
Upstream, a MERJ Exchange market, is uniquely positioned to provide the equity crowdfunding market with a next-generation secondary trading venue.
Upstream is a blockchain-powered market offering digital-first investors direct access to equities from all over the world with digital currency, credit, debit, PayPal, and fiat.
Upstream keeps the values of equity crowdfunding in place with accessibility, transparency, and community engagement opportunities such as digital coupon NFTs and other Web3 perks.
The user-friendly trading app features real-time trading using on-chain orderbooks with smart-contract prevention of predatory market practices, instant settlement, and Upstream maintains certain insurances and bankruptcy protections for cash and securities held by Upstream Members. Details of the Upstream investor protections may be found at https://upstream.exchange/bankruptcyprotection.
Upstream is accepting listing applications from issuers who have completed offerings on crowdfunding platforms around the world that are looking to provide exit liquidity to their shareholders on a real-time secondary market and trading app. This means that initial shareholders who have invested in crowdfunded companies can now gain the opportunity to exit their positions in a more liquid market.
“We are pleased to add Sara Hanks to our team as we welcome equity crowdfunding issuers from the U.S. and internationally to apply to list on Upstream,” says Upstream Co-Creator Mark Elenowitz. “Sara is a pioneer and leader in the crowdfunding space. Her 30-plus years’ experience working directly with issuers on online capital formation will be invaluable in our efforts to make Upstream the select secondary market for crowdfunded securities.”
On Upstream, initial shareholders gain the opportunity to exit their positions in what has primarily been an illiquid market, while issuers have the opportunity to introduce their shares to a whole new set of global investors who can trade early-stage opportunities using digital currency and USD on a user-friendly app.
Conclusion
With the support of Sara, Upstream is set to provide a unique solution to the challenge of illiquidity in the equity crowdfunding market. By unlocking liquidity and providing a real-time secondary market, Upstream is helping to enable investors to exit their positions and providing issuers with the opportunity to introduce their shares to a global investor pool.
Upstream is accepting listing applications from existing issuers who have completed their offerings on crowdfunding platforms around the world, and who are looking to provide exit liquidity to their shareholders and offer their shares to a whole new set of fans, investors, and traders. Register interest at https://upstream.exchange/getlisted/.
Sources
| 1 Crowdwise |
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Upstream is a MERJ Exchange market. MERJ Exchange is a licensed Securities Exchange, an affiliate of the World Federation of Exchanges, and a full member of ANNA. MERJ supports global issuers of traditional and digital securities through the entire asset life cycle from issuance to trading, clearing, settlement, and registry. It operates a fair and transparent marketplace in line with international best practices and principles of operations of financial markets. Upstream does not endorse or recommend any public or private securities bought or sold on its app. Upstream does not offer investment advice or recommendations of any kind. All services offered by Upstream are intended for self-directed clients who make their own investment decisions without aid or assistance from Upstream. All customers are subject to the rules and regulations of their jurisdiction. By accessing the site or app, you agreed to be bound by its terms of use and privacy policy. Company and security listings on Upstream are only suitable for investors who are familiar with and willing to accept the high risk associated with speculative investments, often in early and development stage companies. There can be no assurance the valuation of any particular company’s securities is accurate or in agreement with the market or industry comparative valuations. Investors must be able to afford market volatility and afford the loss of their investment. Companies listed on Upstream are subject to significant ongoing corporate obligations including, but not limited to disclosure, filings, and notification requirements, as well as compliance with applicable quantitative and qualitative listing standards.
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