Poland Stalls on Crypto Regulation as Zondacrypto Scandal Widens
Polish lawmakers have failed to secure the three-fifths majority needed to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of the country's crypto market. The Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament, voted 241-198 in favor of overriding the veto on Friday, with three abstentions, falling 25 votes short of the required 266.
The regulatory dispute comes amid a deepening scandal involving defunct crypto exchange Zondacrypto, with its Estonian operator declared bankrupt and Prime Minister Donald Tusk citing an expanding criminal investigation to push for tighter crypto oversight. Nawrocki has said he supports crypto regulation but argues that Poland's proposed rules go too far, citing concerns over regulatory costs and authorities' powers to block websites.
The vetoed legislation was designed to establish Poland's national framework for applying the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), including placing oversight of the crypto market under the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). KNF said that the country still lacks a designated authority responsible for supervising the cryptoasset market, despite MiCA already applying across the European Union.