Austria’s financial regulator fined Bitpanda GmbH €70,000 ($81,000) for breaking the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR). This marks the first published enforcement action under the new rules.
The Financial Market Authority (FMA) stated the penalty resulted from two violations: a delayed submission of a crypto-asset white paper and early promotion of the asset before required disclosures were public.
The FMA’s notice explained Bitpanda did not submit the white paper at least 20 working days before publication, as Article 8 of MiCAR demands. Marketing materials also left out mandatory disclaimers, including a statement that no EU authority had reviewed or approved the offering. Those materials lacked a telephone number and email address, another requirement under the regulation.
The regulator did not reveal the name of the crypto-asset, the content of the marketing communication, or the exact publication dates involved.
The penalty addressed only disclosure and advertising rules. The FMA found no issues with customer asset custody, withdrawal access, or Bitpanda’s operating license.
The case closed through an expedited process under Section 22(2b) of Austria’s Financial Market Authority Act. The FMA did not explain the procedure further. It also noted the “first published” label did not give the company or the violations any special status.
Bitpanda’s authorization in Austria remains valid. The FMA’s public register still lists it as approved to provide crypto-asset services, including custody, exchange, order execution, and transfers.
The company had already obtained a separate MiCAR license from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in January 2025. At the time, Bitpanda called the approval a foundation for operating across the EU. In June 2026, the firm stated strict enforcement was necessary for market protection and confirmed full compliance.
The case comes as the EU’s transition period for MiCAR ended on July 1, extending the regulation’s reach to providers previously operating under national rules. While Austria’s action is the first published MiCAR penalty, earlier fines—such as Malta’s €1.1 million penalty against OKX in 2025—were issued under anti-money laundering rules, not MiCAR.
For crypto firms, the fine highlights that compliance deadlines are now enforceable, even if the asset itself remains untested. The lack of customer losses or license restrictions suggests regulators are focusing on procedural adherence rather than punishment for now.
The FMA’s decision does not bind other EU member states. It does show that national regulators are shifting from licensing to active supervision under the new framework.