TLDR
- Austria fines Bitpanda €70,000 over multiple MiCA compliance rule violations.
- Bitpanda missed the required 20-day deadline for its crypto whitepaper filing.
- Marketing material appeared before Bitpanda published its required whitepaper.
- FMA found missing regulatory disclaimers and contact details in promotions.
- Bitpanda retains MiCA authorization despite Austria’s finalized €70,000 penalty.
Austria’s Financial Market Authority fined Bitpanda €70,000 for several breaches of the European Union’s MiCA regulatory framework. The violations involved whitepaper submission deadlines, marketing communications, and mandatory disclosures required under the bloc’s crypto rules. The regulator completed the case through an expedited procedure, and the penalty decision has become final.
Bitpanda Breached MiCA Whitepaper Requirements
The FMA found that Bitpanda failed to submit a required crypto-asset whitepaper before its planned publication. MiCA requires companies to notify the responsible authority at least 20 working days before publishing covered whitepapers. The regulator did not publicly identify the specific crypto asset connected with the compliance breaches.
The authority also found that Bitpanda distributed marketing material before publishing the required crypto-asset whitepaper. MiCA links promotional communications with disclosure obligations designed to provide consistent information about crypto products. Therefore, companies must complete required publication steps before distributing related promotional material to the public.
Another marketing communication also lacked several disclosures required under Article 7 of the MiCA regulation. The communication omitted wording explaining that a competent authority had not reviewed or approved the promotional document. It also failed to state that the provider carried sole responsibility for the communication’s contents.
FMA Flags Missing Marketing Disclosures
The Austrian regulator identified further problems with contact information included within the relevant marketing material. Bitpanda failed to provide both a telephone number and an email address required under applicable disclosure standards. These omissions formed part of the violations supporting the regulator’s €70,000 financial sanction.
Bitpanda said the findings concerned timing and formal requirements surrounding its whitepaper and accompanying information materials. The company had prepared and submitted the relevant documentation while communicating with the Austrian financial regulator. It later corrected the identified issues and accepted an expedited process to resolve the regulatory proceedings.
The FMA used Section 22 Paragraph 2b of Austria’s Financial Market Authority Act to conclude the case. The expedited procedure allowed the regulator to complete the enforcement action without extending the proceedings unnecessarily. The final decision also demonstrates Austria’s growing enforcement activity under the European Union’s unified crypto regulatory system.
Bitpanda Maintains MiCA Authorization Across Europe
The penalty does not remove Bitpanda’s existing authorization to provide regulated crypto services within the European market. German regulator BaFin granted the company a MiCA license in January 2025 for services across the European Economic Area. Austria’s FMA separately authorized the Vienna-based company to provide several regulated crypto services during April 2025.
Those authorized services include crypto custody, exchange activities, order execution, and other services covered by the European framework. Bitpanda can also use MiCA passporting rules to provide authorized services across participating European Union markets. The system allows licensed companies to operate across borders without securing separate crypto authorizations in every member state.
The case comes after Europe completed its transition toward the common MiCA authorization framework on July 1. The rules establish shared standards covering governance, client asset protection, operational controls, disclosures, and crypto marketing practices. Austria’s action against Bitpanda shows that regulators can pursue disclosure breaches even when companies already hold MiCA authorization.
