Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has imposed a €70,000 fine on Bitpanda for breaches of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). According to the FMA's announcement on August 14, this penalty represents the regulator's first published legally binding MiCA penalty decision and was completed through an expedited procedure under Section 22(2b) of the Financial Market Authority Act. The case highlights the enforcement of MiCA disclosure and marketing rules that require companies to provide prescribed information about crypto assets and follow specific advertising standards. The FMA stated that MiCA has moved from mere regulation to the enforcement phase, emphasizing that even though Bitpanda is the first publicly penalized case, it will not receive special treatment. FMA Director Markus Miller emphasized that "a license can only build trust if the relevant rules are continuously complied with."
The FMA found that Bitpanda failed to submit a required crypto asset white paper at least 20 working days before publication, as required under MiCA regulations. The company also distributed marketing material before the required white paper was published and omitted mandatory disclosures and contact details. As reported by the FMA, the marketing communication failed to contain mandatory wording making clear that the material had not been reviewed or approved by a competent authority, and it also failed to state that the crypto-asset provider was solely responsible for its contents. Required contact information was incomplete, with both a telephone number and email address missing. The FMA cited Articles 8(1) and 8(5) of MiCA in its decision, though it did not identify the specific crypto-asset involved or disclose publication dates. Bitpanda characterized the violations as "timing and formal specifications" and stated that for the token launch in question, they prepared a comprehensive whitepaper in accordance with MiCAR requirements, submitted it to the FMA, and continuously coordinated the entire process with the authority. The white paper was submitted early last year, according to the company's statement to CoinDesk.
Industry experts view the €70,000 fine as a significant warning signal rather than a punitive measure. Holger Kuhlmann, a member of the BeInCrypto Legal & Regulatory Council, reads the MiCA fine as a "change in supervisory temperature." As reported by BeInCrypto, Kuhlmann states that "The €70,000 fine sends a clear message: MiCA is not a box-ticking exercise or a set of guidelines to be taken lightly. Crypto firms are now being scrutinized for compliance with the same seriousness traditionally applied to established financial institutions." The timing of the penalty is particularly significant, as the transition period for older national crypto licenses ended on July 1, 2026. Europe's licensed crypto market now runs on MiCA alone, giving supervisors both the mandate and the case files to act. Kuhlmann emphasizes that "What makes this case significant is not the size of the penalty, but what it signals about enforcement. Under MiCA, deadlines, disclosures and marketing requirements are being examined with real regulatory sharpness, and crypto companies are expected to meet the same standards of precision as the rest of the financial sector."
Bitpanda has acknowledged the regulatory findings and taken corrective action. The company told CoinDesk in an emailed statement that the regulator's findings "related exclusively to timing and formal specifications surrounding the publication of the whitepaper and an accompanying information document." The firm fixed the issues after the FMA raised them and chose a "swift, consensual conclusion" to the proceedings. The regulator concluded the proceedings through an expedited process under Austria's Financial Market Authority Act, and the penalty is final. This resolution demonstrates the company's commitment to regulatory compliance while maintaining its operational continuity.
The penalty comes after Bitpanda had already secured regulatory approvals that allow it to provide crypto services across the European Union. Austria's FMA authorized Bitpanda GmbH as a crypto-asset service provider on April 9, 2025, with listed permissions covering custody, crypto-asset exchange, order execution, placement, reception and transmission of orders, and transfers. The company obtained MiCA authorization from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in January 2025, giving the Vienna-founded company access to the EU passporting system. As of August 17, 2026, the FMA continued to list Bitpanda as an authorized crypto-asset service provider in Austria. The company's regulatory position was cited when IG planned to use Bitpanda for liquidity, trading connectivity and market data as part of its European crypto expansion. The action targets one of Europe's largest crypto brokers, with Bitpanda ending 2025 with 7.4 million registered users, up 25% from a year earlier, and €371 million in adjusted revenue. The Vienna-based company has been expanding outside Europe by providing trading, custody and tokenization infrastructure to banks and fintech companies.
