The Rise of Fintech - Foreword

Abstract

This foreword introduces "The Rise of Fintech," a series of essays published in a symposium issue of the Washington University Journal of Law & Policy. The contributions examine the structure of firms and markets, considering fintech activities occurring within existing firms and regulatory perimeters and activities that spill over the boundaries we currently take for granted. The contributors examine the emerging regulatory responses to fintech, taxonomizing them. They consider which regulatory approaches, or ecosystems, will best help fintech to develop. They examine how fintech applies to fundraising, examining initial coin offerings (ICOs) and equity crowdfunding, techniques that attract attention for different reasons – ICOs because they occur so frequently beyond existing regulatory perimeters when they should not and equity crowdfunding because it occurs so infrequently despite enjoying regulatory accommodations. The authors also examine the promise and limits of “smart” contracts in consumer finance.