Key Takeaways
- Poland’s parliament failed to override a crypto bill veto, forcing local firms to register abroad for MiCA.
- The vote follows the Zondacrypto scandal, which stole $94M and sparked a massive state corruption probe.
- PM Tusk blamed opposition leaders for colluding with Zondacrypto, letting it infiltrate the Polish state.
Polish Sejm Fails to Overturn Presidential Veto On Crypto-Asset Market Act
Poland is facing a battle regarding cryptocurrency regulation amid a national scandal involving the demise of Zondacrypto, the largest local cryptocurrency exchange.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk called last month for a revision of the Crypto-Asset Market Act, which President Karol Nawrocki vetoed three times, after he warned the public about the act’s effects on Poles’ freedom and stability. At the time, he stressed that, given the circumstances, he could “no longer imagine that President Nawrocki, Chairman Kaczyński, and former Prime Minister Morawiecki would reject this problem with such incredible lightness.”
On Thursday, pushed by Tusk, the Sejm added the issue to its working agenda, allowing limited discussion, according to official reports. A vote followed on Friday, where the initiative failed to get the needed support for overturning Nawrocki’s veto, managing only to reach 241 of the 266 votes needed.
The motion marks the third time that the Sejm has failed to overturn the presidential veto on this crypto law, meaning Polish crypto operators still face a difficult task complying with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, registering their activities in other jurisdictions before operating.
The failed initiative follows a corruption probe that involves government officials connected with Zondacrypto, a national exchange that stole up to $94 million in customer funds. Polish Olympic Committee President Radosław Piesiewicz was detained in connection with this investigation.
Tusk blasted Nawrocki’s party representatives, accusing them of colluding with Zondacrypto and turning Przemysław Kral, Zondacrypto’s former CEO, into a local celebrity.
“In a sense, those who opened the door to the man behind Zonda Crypto—that is, you—very specifically: you, who brought him into the mainstream; who made Zondacrypto the de facto owner of the Polish Olympic Committee,” he declared while addressing the Sejm.
“Zondacrypto infiltrated the Polish state—it infiltrated the Polish state for a long time and without hindrance—because leading politicians from your party guided this company and its owners to the very highest echelons of power,” Tusk concluded.
