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Austria’s Financial Market Authority has fined Bitpanda €70,000 for breaching disclosure and marketing requirements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The regulator published the legally binding decision on August 14.
The FMA described it as the first legally binding MiCAR penalty decision the Austrian regulator has published. It did not claim the case was the first MiCA fine across the European Union.
Bitpanda Missed MiCA’s 20-Working-Day Whitepaper Deadline
The FMA found that Bitpanda failed to notify it of a crypto-asset whitepaper at least 20 working days before publication, breaching Article 8 of MiCA. The regulator did not identify the crypto asset covered by the whitepaper.
Bitpanda also distributed marketing material before publishing the required whitepaper. MiCA prohibits related marketing communications from being distributed before a required crypto-asset whitepaper has been published.
Marketing Communication Omitted MiCA Disclaimer and Contact Details
The FMA identified two additional breaches in Bitpanda’s marketing material. One communication omitted the required statement that it had not been reviewed or approved by a competent authority and that the provider remained responsible for its contents.
The same communication also lacked a telephone number and email address required under MiCA’s marketing rules. The regulator resolved the case through an accelerated procedure. The €70,000 penalty is legally binding.
€70K Penalty Leaves Bitpanda’s MiCA License Unchanged
The FMA granted Bitpanda authorization as a crypto-asset service provider in April 2025. The license covers custody, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, order execution, placement, order transmission and crypto-asset transfers.
The August 14 sanction notice did not announce any suspension or modification of that authorization. The violations identified by the regulator concerned Bitpanda’s whitepaper notification and marketing obligations under Articles 7 and 8 of MiCA.
In a separate notice, the FMA said publication of its first final MiCAR penalty demonstrates that the regulation has moved beyond licensing and supervision into enforcement. It said publishing sanctions also gives investors and market participants greater visibility into how the framework is being applied.
