EUROCROWD is pleased to announce its contribution to the 8th edition of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) Key Performance Indicators Report, published by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) in partnership with eleven leading European and international organisations. This collaborative publication assesses the EU’s progress in deepening and integrating its capital markets through a series of nine key indicators.
EUROCROWD contributed to the report alongside: Invest Europe, European Issuers, EFAMA, FESE, EBAN, Business Angels Europe, European Investors, Pensions Europe, the Alternative Credit Council, and the Climate Bonds Initiative.
A snapshot of Europe’s capital-market performance in 2025
Although the report does not focus specifically on crowdfunding, it provides an important overview of the broader financial environment in which alternative finance operates. The findings highlight significant structural shifts impacting how European companies access capital and how investors participate in markets.
Key highlights from the 2025 CMU KPI report include:
- Record bond issuance but historically weak IPO activity. EU corporates relied heavily on bond markets as financing costs fell, while IPO volumes declined by 23%, diverging sharply from strong IPO growth in the US and Asia.
- Shift away from traditional IPOs. Only 49% of new domestic listings in early 2025 were IPOs, down from 79% in 2020, raising concerns about long-term capital formation and investor exit opportunities.
- Private markets gaining prominence. Private credit, private equity, business angels, and equity crowdfunding together rose from 8% to 20% of total corporate financing over the last decade, signalling a major structural change in Europe’s funding ecosystem.
- Unicorns increasingly staying private. 90% of unicorns created in 2021 remain privately financed—supported by deeper late-stage private capital and new technologies such as tokenisation.
- Retail participation strengthens liquidity. A 10% increase in per-person retail investment in capital-market products could reduce bid-ask spreads by around 6%, underlining the value of broader retail engagement.
- ELTIFs continue to grow. Assets under management reached €20.5 billion with 183 active funds, though fund sizes remain well below US and UK equivalents.
- Digitalisation accelerates across markets. The EU and Switzerland lead in DLT-based bond issuance, while the US dominates tokenised funds, stablecoins, and tokenised private credit.
- Mixed picture for ESG financing. ESG bond issuance rose 14%, but its share of total issuance fell as non-ESG issuance grew faster. Adoption of the new EU Green Bond Standard remains modest.
- Intra-EU market integration improves slowly. Cross-border holdings and M&A increased slightly, but cross-border equity issuance remains low at 6%.
Strengthening the role of alternative finance in Europe
These findings underscore the importance of a diversified funding landscape, one in which crowdfunding and other forms of alternative finance offer complementary pathways for early-stage and growth-oriented companies, particularly in light of declining IPO activity and the growing influence of private markets.
Read the full report on AFME’s:
Capital Markets Union Key Performance Indicators – Eighth Edition
EUROCROWD has collaborated with AFME the other contributing European Associations on the Capital Market Union since 2015 in an ongoing joined effort. We remain committed to ensuring that crowdfunding continues to evolve as a transparent, regulated, and accessible financing channel, contributing to a stronger and more inclusive Capital Markets Union. We actively support initiatives that strengthen Europe’s capital markets and ensure that crowdfunding plays its full role in financing innovation, sustainability, and SME growth.
