Polish lawmakers failed to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of crypto market oversight legislation on Friday, falling 25 votes short of the three-fifths majority required to succeed. The Sejm voted 241-198 in favor of the override, with 3 abstentions, but needed 266 votes to pass.
The failed vote came as prosecutors expanded their investigation into Zondacrypto, the Polish crypto exchange at the center of a major fraud scandal. BB Trade Estonia, the Estonian operator of Zondacrypto, was officially declared bankrupt by an Estonian court in August. A creditors’ meeting for BB Trade Estonia is scheduled for September 17.
Nawrocki has vetoed the crypto legislation three times, citing concerns that the proposed rules would overregulate the industry and impose excessive costs on regulatory authorities. The bill was designed to establish Poland’s national framework for implementing the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and place crypto market oversight under the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). MiCA already applies across the EU, but Poland currently lacks a designated authority responsible for supervising the cryptoasset market.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk pushed for the legislation by invoking the Zondacrypto investigation. Tusk disclosed testimony from a key witness alleging payments and attempts to influence politicians linked to Poland’s previous government. Prosecutors are investigating suspected fraud and money laundering connected to Zondacrypto, with estimated losses of no less than 350 million Polish zlotys, or approximately $95 million, according to an April prosecutor statement.
In July, prosecutors merged the Zondacrypto case with a probe into the 2022 disappearance of Sylwester Suszek, the founder of BitBay and Zondacrypto. The investigation also involves an alleged 2 million Polish zloty payment arrangement connected to a foundation linked to Zbigniew Ziobro, Poland’s former Justice Minister.
The veto override failure leaves Poland without a dedicated crypto regulator as MiCA requirements take effect across the EU. Nawrocki’s position reflects a tension between concerns over regulatory overreach and calls from Tusk for stricter oversight in response to the Zondacrypto scandal. Without the override, the regulatory framework remains stalled pending either a new legislative approach or Nawrocki’s approval of revised terms.
