Key Takeaways
- • The SEC's 45th Annual Small Business Forum (held March 9, 2026) generated policy recommendations to Congress targeting expansion of capital-raising exemptions, with participants voting to increase Regulation Crowdfunding limits from $5 million to $20 million annually per company.
- • Forum participants prioritized modernizing cryptocurrency asset regulation for securities-classified tokens, expanding accredited investor definitions to include additional sophistication measures, and creating a federal friends-and-family exemption that would preempt state blue sky laws.
- • For growth-stage companies, recommendations include establishing new private fund exemptions for small/regional community-based funds, streamlining private-to-public market transitions, easing compliance burdens for smaller emerging fund managers, and advancing the INVEST Act for improved capital formation.
- • The crowdfunding proposal represents a four-fold increase from the current $5 million cap, signaling institutional push to unlock capital access for early-stage ventures competing in modernized funding ecosystems.
Summary
The Securities and Exchange Commission released a congressional report on July 27, 2026, synthesizing policy recommendations from the 45th Annual Small Business Forum held on March 9. The forum convened public and private sector participants alongside federal and state agency representatives to identify capital-raising policy improvements. Attendees voted on submitted recommendations across two distinct company lifecycle stages, generating a detailed regulatory agenda that addresses foundational market structure concerns.
For early-stage capital raising, forum participants identified five priority recommendations. Most significantly, they voted to revise Regulation Crowdfunding by increasing the annual cap companies may raise from $5 million to $20 million—a fourfold expansion. Complementary proposals include modernizing the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets classified as securities, establishing a new federal friends-and-family exemption that would supersede state blue sky law requirements, broadening the accredited investor definition to incorporate additional sophistication measures beyond net worth and income thresholds, and expanding funding support resources dedicated to small business capital access.
Growth-stage companies and smaller fund managers represent a second focal point. Recommendations here center on creating dedicated private fund exemptions to catalyze small and regional funds focused on community-based investing, preempting blue sky laws for off-exchange secondary trading in companies maintaining robust disclosure practices, reducing compliance and regulatory burdens for emerging fund managers, and advancing passage of the INVEST Act. Additionally, participants advocated streamlining pathways from private to public markets by making previously restricted shares available for public trading.
These recommendations reflect institutional recognition that current regulatory frameworks may constrain capital formation efficiency. The $20 million crowdfunding proposal directly addresses liquidity constraints for emerging companies, while modernized crypto asset regulation acknowledges the securities classification framework established through recent SEC interpretations. The federal friends-and-family exemption would eliminate state-level coordination barriers, and expanded accredited investor definitions signal movement toward alternative qualification mechanisms beyond traditional wealth metrics. Collectively, the recommendations constitute a comprehensive regulatory modernization agenda submitted to Congress for legislative consideration.
For early-stage capital raising, forum participants identified five priority recommendations. Most significantly, they voted to revise Regulation Crowdfunding by increasing the annual cap companies may raise from $5 million to $20 million—a fourfold expansion. Complementary proposals include modernizing the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency assets classified as securities, establishing a new federal friends-and-family exemption that would supersede state blue sky law requirements, broadening the accredited investor definition to incorporate additional sophistication measures beyond net worth and income thresholds, and expanding funding support resources dedicated to small business capital access.
Growth-stage companies and smaller fund managers represent a second focal point. Recommendations here center on creating dedicated private fund exemptions to catalyze small and regional funds focused on community-based investing, preempting blue sky laws for off-exchange secondary trading in companies maintaining robust disclosure practices, reducing compliance and regulatory burdens for emerging fund managers, and advancing passage of the INVEST Act. Additionally, participants advocated streamlining pathways from private to public markets by making previously restricted shares available for public trading.
These recommendations reflect institutional recognition that current regulatory frameworks may constrain capital formation efficiency. The $20 million crowdfunding proposal directly addresses liquidity constraints for emerging companies, while modernized crypto asset regulation acknowledges the securities classification framework established through recent SEC interpretations. The federal friends-and-family exemption would eliminate state-level coordination barriers, and expanded accredited investor definitions signal movement toward alternative qualification mechanisms beyond traditional wealth metrics. Collectively, the recommendations constitute a comprehensive regulatory modernization agenda submitted to Congress for legislative consideration.
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