Crowdfunding in Latin America versus tokenization: each country's framework and when to issue

Investment crowdfunding is regulated in the six major Spanish-speaking markets in Latin America, each with its own legal figure and caps: IFC in Mexico, collaborative financing in Colombia, participatory financing in Peru, and authorized platforms in Chile, Argentina and Ecuador. It works for modest amounts and local audiences; above that, an issuance of securities, tokenized or not, fits better.

The framework, country by country

Mexico. Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera (DOF of March 9, 2018) created the instituciones de financiamiento colectivo (IFC), which are authorized and supervised by the CNBV. They allow debt (personal, business or real estate development loans), equity and co-ownership or royalties. The CNBV's rules set a maximum of 1,670,000 UDI per operation, extendable to 6,700,000 with authorization, and 7,370,000 UDI per applicant across all IFCs. In addition, what an individual commits to a project cannot exceed 15 % of the total they have invested and committed on that platform, according to the CNBV formula (20 % for a legal entity), with exceptions for small amounts and experienced investors. We cover it in more detail in Mexico's Fintech Law and tokenization.

Colombia. Collaborative financing is regulated in Book 41 of Part 2 of Decreto 2555 de 2010, introduced by Decreto 1357 de 2018 and amended by Decreto 1235 de 2020 and Decreto 34 de 2025. It is carried out by special-purpose corporations, exchanges and trading systems authorized by the Superintendencia Financiera, through debt or equity securities. Each recipient can raise up to 58,000 minimum wages (SMMLV), or 19,000 if all the money comes from non-qualified contributors, and a non-qualified contributor cannot invest more than 20 % of their annual income or net worth, whichever is greater.

Peru. Decreto de Urgencia 013-2020 and the SMV regulation (Resolución 045-2021-SMV/02, amended in November 2025 by Resolución SMV 019-2025-SMV/01) regulate participatory financing, whether securities or loans, through management companies authorized by the SMV. A business project can reach 500 UIT (1,000 if the platform applies an enhanced methodology) and a legal entity, 750 UIT in twelve months (1,500 with that methodology). Non-institutional investors cannot put more than 20 % of a project, nor, in twelve months, more than 20 % of their income or net worth.

Chile. Ley 21.521, or Ley Fintec (Diario Oficial of January 4, 2023), requires crowdfunding platforms to register with the CMF and obtain authorization, developed by NCG 502 of 2024. The law does not set a cap per project or per investor in its text; if what is offered are public offering securities, Ley 18.045 de Mercado de Valores also applies. We analyze it in Fintech Law Chile.

Argentina. Ley 27.349 de 2017 created the crowdfunding system, with platforms registered with the CNV (RG 717-E/2017, amended by RG 942/2022). The investor participates through shares of an SA or SAS, loans convertible into shares, or interests in a trust. Each project can issue up to 1,500,000 UVA in twelve months, must have at least five investors, and none can exceed 10 % of the subscription or 150,000 UVA, whichever is lower (20 % if a qualified investor). In 2026, RG 1125 also opened collective placements within the automatic public offering regimes, without touching that of the platforms.

Ecuador. Ley Orgánica de Emprendimiento e Innovación (Registro Oficial of February 28, 2020) regulates collaborative fund platforms, companies under the control of the Superintendencia de Compañías, Valores y Seguros, in donation, reward, pre-sale, equity investment and repayable financing modalities. A project cannot be financed on two platforms at the same time. The specific caps depend on the Superintendencia's regulations, which should be consulted in their current version.

Comparison table

As a reference, in Spain and the rest of the EU the investment crowdfunding has a cap of 5 million euros per promoter in twelve months (Regulation (EU) 2020/1503).

When is a tokenized issuance worthwhile?

Crowdfunding and securities issuance do not compete for the same project. The deciding questions are four:

• How much do you need? If the amount fits within the local cap, the platform is usually the fastest and cheapest route. If it does not fit, you have to go to an issuance: local public offering, simplified regime, or issuance in another jurisdiction.
• Who do you want to reach? Crowdfunding raises funds in the country, in local currency or dollars. For European investors in euros, the route is a Spanish vehicle company whose securities are registered by an ERIR under Article 8 of Ley 6/2023, with a prospectus exemption up to 12 million euros from June 5, 2026, and outside MiCA because these are transferable securities.
• What instrument do you need? Tranches with different ranking, payments linked to revenue, or several series fit poorly on a platform and well in a transferable security with programmed rules.
• Does transfer matter? A tokenized security records every change of holder, while resale on Latin American platforms is usually limited.

Within the region, Argentina has its own CNV tokenization regime, in a sandbox until December 31, 2027, which began with the tokenized financial trust. In other countries, a tokenized issuance goes through general securities regulations, the regulator's testing environments, or a jurisdiction with its own framework, such as Spain. The two routes can coexist: a local campaign for the customer community and a European issuance for the rest, as summarized by the hub for Latin American issuers.

This content is informative and educational. It does not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice. Check the current version of each regulation in the BOE and on EUR-Lex.

HokenFi is a software and infrastructure provider; it does not provide regulated services (CASP, ESI, EAF, or ERIR). This article is informative and does not constitute financial or legal advice.