Austria’s Financial Market Authority (FMA) has fined crypto exchange Bitpanda GmbH €70,000 ($81,150) for violating the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. It is the regulator’s first publicly disclosed enforcement action under the framework.
The violation centered on a white paper. Bitpanda published the crypto-asset document without submitting it to the FMA at least 20 working days in advance, as MiCA requires. The mandatory cooling-off period between regulator notification and public release was, in effect, skipped. Marketing communications tied to the token launch also left out required disclosures: a statement that regulators had not reviewed or approved the document and that the provider bore sole responsibility for its contents.
The scope appears broader than a single filing oversight. Cointelegraph reported that the FMA found “several dozen” white papers were affected and that the violations occurred in spring 2025. The FMA did not identify the specific cryptocurrency involved.
Under MiCA’s white-paper requirement (Article 39, per Cointelegraph), crypto-asset providers must file documentation with their national competent authority before going public. That filing window gives regulators a chance to review the document and flag deficiencies before retail investors see it. Separate marketing-disclosure rules require providers to state clearly that the offering lacks regulatory sign-off.
Bitpanda pushed back on the scope of the breaches. In an emailed statement, the company said it “prepared a comprehensive whitepaper in accordance with MiCAR requirements, submitted it to the FMA, and continuously coordinated the entire process with the authority.” Bitpanda attributed the findings to “timing and formal specifications surrounding the publication of the whitepaper and an accompanying information document” and said they concerned a single token launch. The company said it fixed the issues after the FMA raised them and chose a “swift, consensual conclusion” to the proceedings.
The two accounts do not align. The FMA points to dozens of white papers. Bitpanda narrows it to one. Neither side has published the underlying documents.
The proceedings were concluded through an expedited process under Austria’s Financial Market Authority Act. The penalty is final. Bitpanda accepted the outcome.
The case is an early bellwether for how EU regulators intend to police crypto firms under MiCA, which took full effect across the bloc in December 2024. Austria’s FMA separately authorized Bitpanda GmbH to provide custody, exchange, and order-execution services in April 2025. Bitpanda also holds a MiCA license from German regulator BaFin, secured last year.
Bitpanda ended 2025 with 7.4 million registered users, up 25% from a year earlier, and €371 million in adjusted revenue. The Vienna-based exchange has publicly signaled plans for an initial public offering.
Neither the FMA nor Bitpanda disclosed whether the fine has been paid.
