Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has fined Bitpanda GmbH €70,000 for breaches of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), the bloc-wide rulebook for crypto-assets that has applied across the EU since December 30, 2024, replacing a patchwork of national regimes. The penalty, announced on August 14, covers violations of the rules governing crypto-asset white papers and marketing communications, and the FMA has confirmed that the penalty order is final. The decision marks Austria's first published, legally binding MiCA sanction.

Bitpanda Missed the MiCA White Paper Deadline

Under MiCA, crypto-asset service providers are required to file the relevant white paper with the authority before its release. The submission must take place at least 20 working days prior to the date of publication. According to the FMA, Bitpanda violated this deadline under Articles 8(1) and 8(5) of the regulation.

The MiCA Crypto Alliance reported the decision on X:

🇦🇹 Austria's FMA has issued a sanction decision against Bitpanda: a €70,000 fine for breaches of MiCA white paper requirements. The @FMA_AT found that @Bitpanda failed to notify a crypto-asset white paper to the authority at least 20 working days before publication, contrary to… pic.twitter.com/hgCECzUkuM

— MiCA Crypto Alliance (@MiCA_Alliance) August 17, 2026

A second violation concerns the timing of promotional material. Bitpanda issued marketing material before releasing the relevant crypto-asset white paper. The FMA did not mention the specific digital asset involved, did not disclose the publication dates of either document, and provided no timeline in its announcement.

Missing Mandatory Disclosures and Contact Details

The marketing content also lacked several mandatory disclosures. It did not state that a competent authority had not reviewed or approved it, and it failed to clarify that the provider itself was responsible for the content.

Required contact information was missing as well. The material did not include a telephone number or an email address — details MiCA requires to accompany marketing communications and to identify the responsible provider.

These are baseline requirements under MiCA's marketing-communication rules, which apply to promotional material from any provider operating in the EU, so the breach type is not specific to this case.

Scope of the €70,000 Penalty

The fine concerns disclosure and advertising obligations. The FMA did not report investor losses, custody failures, or withdrawal problems, and it did not suspend or restrict Bitpanda's authorization.

MiCA's penalty framework allows for far heavier sanctions: for the most serious infringements by legal persons, regulators may impose fines of up to the higher of €5 million or 5% of total annual turnover. The €70,000 order sits at the modest end of that statutory range.

The regulator described the ruling as its first published, legally binding MiCA penalty decision. That wording does not confirm that it was the company's first EU financial penalty involving related conduct; earlier cases could have involved other rules or activity before MiCA authorization.

The decision shows that Austrian oversight now extends beyond the licensing stage. Regulators are also examining white-paper deadlines, promotional timing, required notices, and provider contact details. The action covers duties that continue after approval has been granted.

Authorization Status and the Wider MiCA Landscape in Austria

Bitpanda, a crypto broker founded in Vienna in 2014, received its MiCA authorization from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in January 2025. Under MiCA's passporting rules, an authorization from one EU regulator permits a provider to offer services across the bloc, which is why the firm holds authorized status in Austria. As of August 17, 2026, the firm remained marked by the FMA as an authorized crypto-asset service provider in Austria, and the penalty did not remove that status.

Other exchanges are progressing through the MiCA process in Austria. WhiteBIT EU received a license in Austria on June 20, while Bitget EU advanced the process of its MiCAR application in Austria on June 17.

The FMA processed the case through its fast-track procedure under Section 22(2b) of the Financial Market Authority Act, a route for concluding comparatively straightforward matters without full administrative proceedings, and the final decision concludes the procedure.

Bitpanda continues to be liable for fulfilling the continuous requirements of the EU MiCA framework. These include compliance with disclosure and marketing practices in the provision of regulated crypto services. The completed case does not change the company's broader obligations under MiCA. Further conduct-focused decisions from the FMA and other EU supervisors will indicate how consistently these disclosure and marketing standards are enforced across the bloc.