Polish president rejects crypto regulation ahead of EU deadline
Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a cryptocurrency regulatory bill for the third time on June 12, blocking Poland’s implementation of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA). The veto leaves Poland as the only EU member state without domestic MiCA legislation as the framework’s transitional period ends July 1.
Nawrocki said he supports regulating the cryptocurrency market but rejected the bill because the government incorporated only one of 16 key amendments proposed by his office. The text of the third bill was nearly identical to the previous two drafts he refused.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk responded with frustration. “It sounds unbelievable, but the president has vetoed the cryptocurrency bill again. He seems more entangled in it than everyone thought,” Tusk said.
After July 1, crypto asset service providers in Poland without a MiCA license may lose the legal basis to serve EU customers. The regulation establishes minimum standards for custody, market conduct, and consumer protection across the bloc.
Zonda investigation clouds regulatory debate
The regulatory stalemate occurs as prosecutors investigate Zonda, a Polish cryptocurrency exchange, for suspected fraud and money laundering involving approximately 2,000 customers with alleged links to Russian organized crime. The investigation followed a report by blockchain platform Recoveris, which alleged that Zonda may have been insolvent based on a sharp decline in the exchange’s hot wallet balances.
Zonda CEO Przemysław Kral claimed in April 2026 that one of the exchange’s cold wallets holding around 4,500 Bitcoin became inaccessible. Kral denied accusations of misappropriating funds and claimed the inaccessible cold wallet private keys were intended to be handed over by Sylwester Suszek, Zonda’s founder and former CEO, who has been missing since 2022.
“So for all those who claim that I had anything to do with Sylwester’s disappearance, this is the prime argument that I care the most about Sylwester being found,” Kral said.
Regulatory vacuum deepens
Poland’s repeated rejection of MiCA implementation legislation creates legal uncertainty for the country’s crypto sector. Under the EU framework, member states must authorize crypto asset service providers through a licensing process. Without domestic legislation, Polish exchanges cannot legally operate across the EU after the July 1 deadline.
Nawrocki has not publicly detailed the specific amendments his office proposed or explained why the government declined to incorporate them into the final bill. The president’s office has not indicated whether further negotiations are possible before the July 1 transition.
