The Austrian Financial Markets Authority has imposed a fine of seventy thousand euros on the cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda for several violations of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation. According to the regulator, the company failed to provide a white paper for the crypto asset at least twenty working days before its publication, as required by the regulation. In addition, the exchange distributed a marketing message before the necessary document was published, and the material itself lacked a number of mandatory elements. In particular, Bitpanda did not indicate that the white paper had not been reviewed or approved by the regulator, and that the supplier itself is responsible for it. Also, the marketing message did not include a phone number and an email address for contact.

The Financial Markets Authority noted that the proceedings were completed in an expedited manner in accordance with Austrian law, and the decision to impose a fine has already entered into legal force. The regulator emphasized that this is the first published final ruling imposing a fine in accordance with the new European regulation. The agency stated that this case clearly demonstrates the shift in European regulation of crypto assets from the licensing and supervision stage to direct enforcement. The European legal framework for digital assets now applies at all stages of the supervisory cycle.

The regulator also emphasized the importance of transparency and investor protection rules, noting that the publication of sanctions should ensure openness for market participants. At the same time, the agency separately clarified that the status of the first published case does not confer any special significance on the exchange itself or on the identified violations. To date, the countries of the European Union have already issued two hundred and forty‑four licenses under this regulation, with Germany accounting for a quarter of all issued permits. This regulation has become the first public confirmation of the application of penalty sanctions within the framework of pan‑European regulation of cryptoassets.