Polish lawmakers have failed to overturn the presidential veto on a government-proposed draft law designed to introduce regulations for the Polish cryptocurrency market. The controversial legislation has become the focal point of a political clash in Warsaw.
Prime Minister Tusk has also accused the head of state, Nawrocki, of acting under Russian influence. The vote was carried out at a session on Friday, with 243 of them voting against the veto, falling short of the 263 votes required to defeat it. Another 191 deputies supported Karol Nawrocki’s decision to halt the adoption of the bill. The latter was put forward by the government to transpose the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules into national law, but critics say it’s much stricter than the European legislation.
Polish parliament fails to overturn draft crypto law veto
So far, Nawrocki has stopped it twice, citing overregulation and excessive burden on small businesses among his motives, and this is the second push to overcome his opposition. When he sent it back for amendments in December, the president warned that the Polish Crypto-Asset Market Act “threatens the freedom of Poles, their property and the stability of the state.”
Meanwhile, representatives of the center-left Tusk cabinet have been attacking Nawrocki, who is backed by the right-wing opposition, for blocking cryptocurrency regulation in the country. Poland remains the only EU member state that is yet to comply with the framework adopted by Brussels in 2024, the public broadcaster TVP noted in a report ahead of the weekend. It must do so by July.
The lack of rules creates an “El Dorado for fraudsters,” Finance Minister Andrzej Domański stated Friday, adding the veto leaves both consumers and entrepreneurs without adequate protection. The political conflict in Warsaw has already gone far beyond a normal debate over the future of cryptocurrencies and regulations in Poland.
Tusk claims Russian influence behind crypto veto
In his latest attack, Donald Tusk claimed that a crypto firm allegedly funded with money coming from Russia has been sponsoring events promoting his opponents. Among them was a meeting of America’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Polish city of Rzeszów in March last year, which backed Nawrocki’s campaign days before the presidential election.
The Prime Minister was referring to Zondarcrypto, a major exchange in Poland. “The source of this company’s financial success is not only Russian money linked to the so-called Bratva, one of the most important mafia groups in Russia, but also to Russian secret services,” he said. Citing information from Poland’s security agency ABW, Tusk accused the trading platform’s CEO, Przemysław Kral, of making large donations to foundations linked to opposition figures.
The premier also insisted that the blocking of his government’s crypto regulations is an indication that some politicians are serving the company’s interests. The Polish exchange, which is now registered in Estonia, recently became the main topic of multiple media reports that revealed it is facing liquidity issues affecting withdrawals and sponsorship payments.
While its chief executive rejected these claims, he also admitted this week that he does not have the key to a crypto wallet holding over $330 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) since the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor, Sylwester Suszek, in 2022. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński vowed that the current government in Warsaw will continue its efforts to regulate the crypto market.
