Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has imposed a €70,000 fine on Bitpanda GmbH for breaches of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), making it the country's first publication of a legally binding MiCA penalty.

The enforcement decision, dated August 14, concerns failures involving a crypto-asset white paper and related marketing communications. The proceeding was completed through an expedited procedure under Austria's Financial Market Authority Act, and the penalty is final.

White Paper Filed Late

Bitpanda failed to submit a required crypto-asset white paper to the FMA at least 20 working days before publishing it, breaching Article 8, paragraphs 1 and 5 of MiCA. The regulator did not identify the crypto asset involved in the enforcement notice.

A separate violation occurred when Bitpanda distributed a marketing communication before publishing the required white paper. MiCA's Article 7 requires marketing for covered crypto assets to follow prescribed disclosure rules, and in this case prohibited distribution before the white paper was available. As MiCA compliance becomes part of normal operating practice across the EU, this case shows how regulators are beginning to enforce not only substantive requirements but also the sequencing and disclosure steps around public promotions.

The case arrives shortly after the EU's MiCA transition period reached its July 1 deadline. Binance entered that deadline without a confirmed EU-wide CASP authorization, while assuring affected European users that withdrawals would remain available.

Marketing Material Lacked Required Disclosures

The FMA also identified missing information in one of Bitpanda's marketing communications. The material did not include the required statement explaining that no competent authority had reviewed or approved the crypto-asset white paper and that the provider remained solely responsible for its contents.

Bitpanda also omitted a telephone number and email address required under Article 7 of MiCA. The regulator's findings concern disclosure and publication requirements rather than allegations involving customer losses or asset custody.

Bitpanda told CoinDesk that the issues concerned timing and formal publication requirements, and that it corrected them after discussions with the regulator. The company described the proceeding as having reached a consensual conclusion.

MiCA Moves Into Enforcement in Austria

The FMA separately confirmed that this is the first legally binding MiCA penalty it has published. The regulator said publication of sanctions forms part of the transparency framework applied to market participants and investors.

MiCA licensing has already expanded across Europe, with Germany leading the EU in authorizations earlier this year as national regulators moved from transitional registration regimes toward the common European framework.

The FMA stressed that being the first published MiCA case does not give Bitpanda or the violations any special status. The €70,000 sanction is legally final.

Source: Crypto Adventure