AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Oliver Völkel, Jara Erhard and Bryan Hollmann, CERHA HEMPEL
CERHA HEMPEL Parkring 2 1010 Vienna Austria Tel: +43 699 182 68 777 Fax: +43 1 514 35 35 Email: oliver.voelkel@cerhahempel.com Web: www.cerhahempel.com
1. Overview of Blockchain and Crypto- Assets 1.1 Blockchain Austria has positioned itself as one of the top EU juris- dictions for crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) and token-based protocols and projects. This is pri- marily due to its already existing large community. The overarching theme in the market is still adapting to the new rules established by the EU Markets in Crypto- Assets Regulation (MiCA). This includes, in particular, compliance with the guidelines and regulatory techni- cal standards (RTS) issued by the European supervi- sory authorities, which further specify and clarify the provisions of MiCA. 1.1.1 Evolution of Uses of Blockchain Evolution of the Blockchain Market Since MiCA became fully applicable at the end of 2024, Austria has moved beyond the national tran- sitional phase and into full MiCA supervision, making 2025 effectively the first “licensing year”. During this period, numerous applications were submitted and former VASPs transitioned into the new CASP regime. The FMA actively supported this process through reg- ulatory guidance, a public roadmap for CASPs, and engagement in industry events such as Vienna Fin- Tech Week and the FMA FinTech Day. By the end of 2025, the FMA had granted the first eight MiCA CASP licences in Austria. Early supervi- sory experience is already reflected in initial market data: Austrian CASPs reported approximately 6.7 mil- lion registered users, of which around 3 million com- pleted KYC, while about 1 million were actively trading in 2025.
In terms of market size, crypto-assets held in cus- tody on behalf of clients exceeded EUR4.4 billion at year-end 2025. The market shows a high degree of concentration, with BTC, ETH and XRP account- ing for more than 70% of total holdings and Bitcoin alone representing around 47%. Annual transaction volumes surpassed EUR17 billion, again with Bitcoin leading by value. Current Use Cases Highlights of the Austrian market The “Blockchain Landscape Austria” map under- scores the substantial size and diversity of Austria’s cryptocurrency market, featuring 230 active partici- pants. To give some highlights, Austria is home to one of the largest EU-based CASPs and also to one of the largest operators of validators on Ethereum, and, before the switch to proof-of-stake, the world’s larg- est Ether mining pool. The first security token offering approved by any EU regulator was carried out in Aus- tria. The world’s first and to this day most successful postal stamp with a blockchain twin was issued in Austria. Moreover, increasing numbers of international participants are choosing Austria as the location for MiCA licensing, such as the world’s second largest Several tokenisation providers offer their services, and there are multiple businesses already operating on the basis of asset tokenisation. Business models span a diverse range of sectors, from tokenised car sharing, energy communities, wine, precious metals, gem- stones, or real estate investments. Moreover, tokeni- sation is not limited to tangible assets; it is also being applied to financial instruments. Tokenised securities, crypto exchange. Asset tokenisation
37 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook