The European Banking Authority just laid out its playbook for punishing crypto companies that don’t play by the rules. And the numbers are serious — issuers of major tokens could face fines of up to 12.5% of their annual revenue.
The consultation paper, published Friday, establishes a standardized penalty framework for the EU’s landmark MiCA regulation — the Markets in Crypto-Assets rules that are the first comprehensive digital asset regime anywhere in the world. Under the proposal, the EBA will assess the severity of violations, then factor in aggravating or mitigating behavior to calculate final penalties.
The maximum fine for significant e-money tokens sits at 10% of annual turnover, or twice the profits made from the violation, whichever is higher. That’s meant to make even the largest global exchanges think twice.
Timing matters here. The framework drops just days before a July 1 deadline when crypto firms must have formal licenses to operate or market stablecoins in the EU. Companies that miss the deadline get restricted to withdrawals only.
Binance is the most obvious example. The exchange pulled its MiCA license application from Greece and started notifying EU users that services will be restricted after July 1. Onboarding new EU users stops, and existing users face limitations. The market reacted fast — Binance saw nearly $6 billion in net outflows over three days after the announcement.
The message from Brussels is clear: MiCA isn’t draft guidance anymore. It’s the law, and it has teeth.
