This dissertation was written as part of the Master of laws (LLM) in Transnational and
European Commercial Law, Arbitration/Mediation at the International Hellenic
University.
The aim of this thesis is to explore the reasoning behind the choice of the EU legislator
to explicitly distinguish between crowdfunding and ICOs. A divergent legislative
approach may give rise to adverse effects in competition. Undoubtedly, the EU
Legislator identified different concerns and attempted to provide sustainable solutions
towards the welfare of the financial markets. A comparative analysis will be conducted
between these tools, to unveil whether their differences impose as well a different
legal treatment. ICO is a scheme of crowdfunding, however, it operates within the
promising yet nascent cryptocurrency and Blockchain environment. The novelties of
this environment troubled the EU Legislator as many ICO projects may fall outside of
the EU Financial Regulation. It seems that the negative attitude of states and policy
makers concerning ICOs as well, have influenced his decision to exclude ICO projects
from the Crowdfunding Regulation. This thesis concludes, that the existent different
issues between these tools justify at a certain degree the diverse approach, but the
common objectives and similar procedural mechanisms could uphold a common
regulatory framework.
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