Crowdfunding is no ordinary industry. It's become clear that it has the power to re-make the economy in a new, more democratic, image. Less like the predatory capitalism of the last three decades. More open and collaborative. More conducive for entrepreneurs and the innovation we need to dig us out of the hole that predatory capitalism has put us all in.
As Crowdfunding starts to take off and get taken seriously little wonder that some of those at the top of the current tree - VCs (or Vulture Capitalists as they are often known to entrepreneurs, on whom they prey) are now prepared to break out the scare tactics - much as the top bankers have done in recent days.
"It was only a matter of time before some journalist fell for a cheap 'fears are growing' scare story" says Barry James of The Social Foundation, champions of Crowdfunding and the new, open, economy. "We predicted this would happen last year - despite the fact that all the evidence runs clean to the contrary. That in seven years, worldwide, there has been basically zero fraud for a very good reason: It's all in the open. When you're Crowdfunding the crowd is watching, so it's not worth taking the risk".
Which is why the effect of this new openness, made possible by the Internet and social media, is being closely studied by regulators and authorities in the UK and around the world. Including the Bank of England who are preparing to publish their first research on the subject in July.
Andy Haldane, Executive Director for Financial Stability at the Bank of England and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee, well known to be an advocate of Crowdfunding and the New Economy, is on record saying that the Internet and 'the eBay factor' should not be underestimated, having changed the economic ground rules at least once already.
Perhaps no one should be surprised that some of those with most to gain from the status quo, such as Simon Clarke, chairman of the British Venture Capital Association, who's quoted as saying "There can be a problem if a firm has previously received equity funding through a crowdfunding platform" would put their names to such obvious scare tactics. Suggesting that using Crowdfunding will make firms uninvestable in the future if they fail to avoid basic errors that, as it turns out on examination, apply to any investment at any stage - whether by a VC, Angel or Crowdfunding.
Or the suggestion that they are the ones who will keep us 'safe', saying they're "more concerned about fraud and the risk this could pose to investment in shares and companies overall". After all we have been constantly told by leading bankers how much we need them and their talents since 2008 when it was their greed and recklessness which crashed the world economy.
So as battle is joined between those who prefer business as usual and those ready for a change to a more open and collaborative economy the stakes are high. Not just for those who gain most from the status quo, but for us all.