Austria’s FMA fines Bitpanda $82K in first public MiCA sanction

Austria’s Financial Market Authority fined crypto platform Bitpanda €70,000 ($82,000) for violating the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, marking Austria’s first publicly disclosed final sanction for a MiCA breach. According to the FMA, Bitpanda violated a rule requiring crypto white papers to be submitted to authorities at least 20 business days before publication and distributed related marketing materials before the white papers were published. The regulator also said some marketing materials omitted required language stating they had not been reviewed or approved by authorities and clarifying the operator’s responsibility, as well as contact details including a phone number and email address. The sanction was finalized through a fast-track procedure.