Poland's Crypto Licensing Freeze Hands Advantage to Foreign Firms

The Polish government's failure to pass legislation necessary for implementing parts of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation has left domestic firms unable to seek licenses, while foreign EU firms continue to enter the market.

In September, lawmakers fell short of overriding President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the legislation, which had been needed to designate a domestic authority to process MiCA applications.

The Polish Financial Supervision Authority has confirmed that authorization proceedings cannot begin until the designation is made by law.

This means that firms seeking a Polish license are stuck, while competitors authorized elsewhere in the EU can continue to operate through their home regulators.

MiCA allows an authorized crypto-asset service provider to operate across member states, and companies can notify their home regulator of the countries and services they intend to cover.