Poland's Parliament Fails Again to Override Veto on Crypto Regulation Bill

Poland's parliament has failed for the second time to override a presidential veto on a crypto regulation bill. The country remains one of the few EU member states without MiCA, or Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

The legislation was championed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk as necessary for aligning Poland with the EU's crypto framework introduced in 2024. However, President Karol Nawrocki issued a veto citing concerns about excessive regulation and limited transparency.

Tusk accused Zonda, Poland's largest crypto exchange, of ties to illicit funding. He claimed intelligence reports link the platform's origins to Russian criminal networks. Zonda CEO Przemyslaw Kral rejected these accusations on X, calling them 'absurd' and harmful to the Polish innovation market.

The lack of regulation has exposed both consumers and businesses to fraud, according to Finance Minister Andrzej Domański. He described the unregulated environment as an 'El Dorado for fraudsters.' The dispute has drawn in Zonda, which lobbied against the bill, and a separate issue regarding a $330 million crypto wallet.

Nawrocki vetoed the original legislation in December, saying 'a wrong law that passed a hundred times still remains a wrong law.' The government reintroduced a revised version of the legislation but failed to override the presidential veto for the second time. Parliament fell short of the 263 votes needed, with 243 lawmakers voting against the veto and 191 voting to uphold it.