as a software developer myself, I have to ask how do you know?
Hi. I’m a software developer too, snap! There doesn’t seem much to crowdfunding technically from looking at the backend of crowdcube and seedrs - you need listings per company, docs on a company, and the mechanics to allow buying/allocating shares in a company (most of which freetrade already have), the difficult parts would probably more be dealing with legal obligations and attracting the two sides of a two-sided market, but freetrade already have one side (investors) and will be somewhat familiar with the entities that regulate issuing and holding shares in companies (though obviously they handle public companies not private at the moment). Crowdfunding startups, secondary markets for shares, and IPOs for startups are all related areas that would be interesting for them to explore given they are growing a large market of investors looking for things to invest in. I’m not suggesting a full crowdfunding platform, just offering participation in crowdfunding rounds for established companies/startups, and administration of shares for the companies (if it really is costing £4 per shareholder that would be easy money IMO).
Personally I’d rather they looked at things like that than crypto as it’s more likely to be beneficial for their users IMO, however I doubt freetrade would be interested in other markets for some time (at least until they have ISAs and SIPPs, so a couple of years perhaps)…
[EDIT] When first posting I’d missed this post from Cal about secondary markets and how difficult that would be, which is good reading if you’re interested in this stuff - the hurdles seem mostly regulatory but being an exchange (as opposed to a broker) sounds much more difficult legally.