The penalty, one of the first under the MiCA framework, marks the start of an era of oversight of VASPs’ activities to ensure the uniform application of the framework across the EU. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) stressed that no special treatment would be given to Bitpanda.
Key Takeaways
Austria fined Bitpanda 70K euros for missing a whitepaper deadline, marking the first penalty under EU’s MiCA.The historic penalty signals that MiCA regulation has shifted from mere supervision to active enforcement.The fine sparked criticism, raising questions about Bitpanda’s trustworthiness and regulatory compliance.FMA declared that Bitpanda failed to comply with MiCA Article 8, failing to notify the institution of a cryptocurrency whitepaper at least 20 days before its admission to trading. In addition, the FMA also issued a marketing notice without having previously published the required crypto whitepaper, contrary to what MiCA Article 1 establishes.
“MiCAR serves to create a uniform legal framework for crypto assets across the Union and aims in particular to protect investors and ensure the integrity of the crypto markets. The criminal record is legally binding,” the regulator assessed.
The Austrian regulator also highlighted that this was the first legally binding penalty issued under the MiCA framework, stressing that it made it clear MiCA “is no longer just a concession and supervisory issue, but has also arrived in enforcement.”
“The FMA supports the development of a regulated market for crypto assets. Innovation and consistent enforcement are not mutually exclusive. Transparency and investor protection regulations are essential components of this legal framework,” it concluded.
“A license only builds trust if the rules behind it are consistently followed,” Miller criticized.
