Austria Fines Bitpanda €70,000 for Crypto Rule Breaches

Austria's Financial Market Authority (FMA) has issued its first public penalty under the European Union's crypto rulebook, MiCA. The Bitpanda fine comes in at €70,000 (approximately $82,000), marking a significant milestone for regulators across the EU.

The FMA fined Bitpanda GmbH for breaching provisions of MiCA, specifically for failing to submit a cryptocurrency white paper 20 working days before publication. Additionally, a marketing communication was circulated before the white paper's public release, and another notice lacked mandatory disclaimers and contact details.

Bitpanda has pushed back on the idea that the findings point to deeper compliance failures, framing the episode as a procedural misstep rather than a substantive one. The company stated that it fixed the issues after the FMA raised them and described opting for a 'swift, consensual conclusion' to the proceedings.