---
title: Funding portal
url: "https://www.unknowngravity.com/en/glosario/funding-portal"
site: Unknown Gravity
published: "2026-10-13T18:59:50+00:00"
modified: "2026-10-13T18:59:50+00:00"
language: en-US
description: "A funding portal is an intermediary registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA that can act only in Regulation Crowdfunding offerings and that does not give advice, solicit investments, pay for…"
section: "Home > Funding portal"
---

# Funding portal

**A funding portal is an intermediary registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA that can act only in Regulation Crowdfunding offerings and that does not give advice, solicit investments, pay for that solicitation or based on sales, or handle investors' money or securities (Exchange Act §3(a)(80), 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(80); 17 CFR 227.300(c)(2)).** It is one of the two possible routes for a Reg CF offering; the other is a [broker-dealer](/en/glosario/broker-dealer).

**A required intermediary.** A [Reg CF](/en/glosario/regulation-crowdfunding) offering must be conducted through an intermediary and exclusively on its platform, and the issuer may not use more than one per offering (17 CFR 227.100(a)(3) and its instruction). That intermediary must be registered as a broker or as a funding portal and be a member of a national securities association (227.300(a)). Among other things, the statute requires it to have investors review educational material and affirm that they could lose their entire investment, to run background checks on the issuer's officers, directors and holders of more than 20% of its equity, to make the issuer's information available at least 21 days before the first sale, and to police investment limits (Securities Act §4A(a), 15 U.S.C. 77d-1(a)).

**Registration.** The portal files Form Funding Portal with the SEC and applies for membership in a national securities association (FINRA, as its own website states). Registration becomes effective on the later of 30 calendar days after the SEC receives it or the date of admission to the association (227.400(a)), and information that becomes inaccurate must be corrected within 30 days (227.400(b)). A nonresident portal, organized or with its principal place of business outside the U.S., needs an information-sharing arrangement between the SEC and its home regulator, and an agent in the U.S. for service of process (227.400(f)). A registered funding portal is exempt from broker registration for its funding portal activities (17 CFR 227.401, implementing Exchange Act §3(h)). FINRA applies its own rulebook, the Funding Portal Rules, and publishes a list of its members: the version updated on September 29, 2026 listed 73 funding portals, some with a suspension noted.

**What it can and cannot do.**

- **It cannot** offer advice or recommendations; solicit purchases, sales or offers to buy the securities on its platform; compensate employees or others for that solicitation or based on sales; or hold, manage or otherwise handle investor funds or securities (227.300(c)(2)). It must direct investors to send their money to a qualified third party, such as a bank, which transmits it to the issuer once the target is reached and the cancellation period has ended (227.303(e)).
- **It can**, subject to conditions (safe harbor in 227.402): decide which issuers to admit and on what terms, highlight offerings using objective criteria without extra pay, provide search tools and communication channels between investors and issuers, advise the issuer on the structure and content of the offering, and advertise its existence.
- **Conflicts:** its directors and officers may not hold financial interests in issuers on its platform; the portal may only receive them as compensation for its services and in securities identical to those offered (227.300(b)).

**In a tokenized offering.** An example on EDGAR: United States Property Inc. offered under Reg CF common shares convertible 1:1 into a token on Ethereum, through the funding portal OpenDeal Portal LLC (Republic), according to its Form C dated March 15, 2024. For Reg CF holders not to count toward the Section 12(g) threshold, the issuer needs, among other conditions, a registered [transfer agent](/en/glosario/transfer-agent) (17 CFR 240.12g-6(a)(3)). Resale is locked for 1 year, with exceptions (227.501), and can then go through an [ATS](/en/glosario/alternative-trading-system-ats).

**Why the technology provider does not do it.** The offering must be conducted exclusively on the platform of a registered intermediary (227.100(a)(3)); a developer that posted Reg CF offerings on its own website, without registration, would not meet that requirement. A technology provider can build the software, but the offering platform and the statutory obligations belong to the funding portal or the broker-dealer. If the offering exceeds the Reg CF cap or targets only accredited investors, the alternatives are [Reg A+](/en/glosario/regulation-a-plus) and [Reg D](/en/glosario/regulation-d); see the comparison in the [guide to tokenization in the U.S.](/en/articulos/asset-tokenization-in-the-united-states)

**Official sources:** [15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(80) and (h)](https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/119-120/t15/s78c/); [15 U.S.C. 77d-1 (Section 4A)](https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/119-120/t15/s77d-1/); [17 CFR 227.300](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-227.300); [17 CFR 227.400](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-227.400); [17 CFR 227.402](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-17/section-227.402); [Funding Portals We Regulate (FINRA)](https://www.finra.org/about/funding-portals-we-regulate); [United States Property Form C on EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1999378/000199937824000001/uspcformc.pdf).

*Framework verified as of October 13, 2026.* At Unknown Gravity we build the platform, the smart contracts and the integrations with the client's funding portal or broker-dealer, working alongside the client's U.S. securities counsel. We are not a funding portal, broker-dealer, transfer agent, ATS, investment adviser or law firm. [Talk to us](/en/meeting).