Poland's President Karol Nawrocki (@NawrockiKn) has vetoed the country's Crypto-Asset Market Act for a third time, deepening a political standoff that has left Poland as the only European Uni
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki (@NawrockiKn) has vetoed the country's Crypto-Asset Market Act for a third time, deepening a political standoff that has left Poland as the only European Union member state without domestic legislation implementing the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), with just 20 days until the bloc's licensing deadline.
Poland's lower house of parliament had passed the Crypto-Asset Market Act 241 to 200 on the third attempt, after two earlier versions were killed by presidential vetoes. The legislation was designed to implement the EU's MiCA framework in Poland. Nawrocki rejected it anyway. The president has been unambiguous about his position: "I will not sign a wrong law just because it was passed again by the parliamentary majority," he said, adding that Poland should attract innovation, not push it away.
Nawrocki's objections centre on what he sees as excessive regulatory burdens on small businesses, specifically the powers the bill would grant the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) to halt trading and impose fines of up to 10 million zloty.His office has also flagged provisions that would allow authorities to block crypto-related websites with minimal oversight, with a presidential spokesman warning that officials could effectively shut down a company's entire online presence overnight.The bill's supervisory fee structure drew criticism too, with Nawrocki arguing it would disadvantage startups while giving an edge to larger foreign corporations and banks.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition government has argued that the legislation is necessary to protect consumers and ensure Poland benefits from an orderly digital asset market.Finance Minister Andrzej Domański responded sharply to the veto, accusing the president of choosing chaos over consumer protection and warning that Polish citizens would now be uniquely unprotected from crypto scams compared to their EU counterparts.The government has also cited national security grounds, pointing to Russian involvement in crypto markets and claims that Moscow uses cryptocurrencies to pay operatives carrying out sabotage in Poland.
The impasse creates a structural imbalance: foreign companies such as Coinbase, which secured a MiCA licence in Luxembourg in 2025, can operate freely in Poland, while domestic firms have no formal path to a MiCA-recognised licence at home.Deputy Finance Minister Jurand Drop has warned that if Poland fails to designate a supervisory authority by July 1, firms will relocate to other EU countries, costing the Polish state tax revenue. For Polish crypto companies, the choice is stark: seek a licence in another EU jurisdiction or face losing access to the single market entirely.
Sources:Cointelegraph: Poland President Vetoes Crypto Bill As Firms Seek MiCA Licenses AbroadNotes from Poland: President Again Vetoes Government Bill on Crypto-AssetsCrypto Briefing: Polish Government-Backed Crypto Bill Passes After Repeated Presidential Vetoes
