Polish authorities are reconsidering the need for clear cryptocurrency regulations following the Zondacrypto scandal, one of the country’s largest crypto-related corruption cases.
During a Council of Ministers meeting on Friday focused on drafting Poland’s 2027 budget, Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the situation surrounding the Zondacrypto exchange.
Tusk said the budget preparations had been overshadowed by the bankruptcy of Zondacrypto and the recent detention of Polish Olympic Committee President Radosław Piesiewicz in a corruption investigation.
“This is not some ordinary bribe, some one politician. It looks like a well-organized system in which names known from other situations appear,” Tusk declared, highlighting the seriousness of the developments.
Poland to revote on Crypto-Asset Market Act
Tusk said he would ask the Speaker of the Sejm to organize another vote on the Crypto-Asset Market Act. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the legislation for the third time on June 11.
“This is probably the moment when no one will have the nerve to say that there is ‘no problem’ or that we have a lot of time. At this point, I can no longer imagine that President Nawrocki, Chairman Kaczyński, and former Prime Minister Morawiecki would reject this problem with such incredible lightness,” Tusk stated.
Tusk has directly linked President Nawrocki to the Zondacrypto bankruptcy scandal, in which affected customers reportedly lost up to $94 million, according to estimates.
In a social media post, Tusk said the scandal was the reason behind the law’s veto. He accused the governing party of receiving “cash for watches worth 40,000 euros, for media, election parties, foundations of right-wing politicians.”
Crypto regulation leaves Polish exchanges in limbo
Przemysław Kral, the former head of Zondacrypto, criticized the legislation, calling it a “major step backwards” and warning that Poland’s crypto industry would “suffer” if it were passed.
The vetoes have left Poland in regulatory limbo, preventing the country from fully implementing provisions of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. As a result, domestic cryptocurrency exchanges are still unable to register in Poland.