As a result of today’s publication about a sanction being enforced, a legally final penal order issued by the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) in accordance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) has been published for the first time. In doing so, it signals that MiCAR is no longer an issue in relation to licensing and supervission, but that it is also an issue regarding enforcement.
The European legal framework for crypto-assets is now enforced across the entire supervisory cycle. The FMA supports the development of a regulated market for crypto-assets. Innovation and consistent enforcement do not contradict each other. Transparency and investor protection rules are material components of this legal framework.
The publication of sanctions that are enforced is part of the legal system for the purposes of transparency towards market participants and investors.
The fact that this is the first published case under the MiCAR regime does not, in itself, confer any special status on the company concerned or on the identified breaches.