Polish president vetoes law regulating crypto-assets market

Dec 1, 2025 | Business, Law, Politics

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a bill that sought to introduce regulation of the crypto-assets market in Poland, bringing the country in line with EU rules.

The government argued that the measures were necessary to protect consumers and ensure that Poland benefits from the market. But Nawrocki, who is aligned with the opposition, says that they in fact “pose a real threat to the freedoms of Poles and the stability of the state”.

In June, the government approved the bill, which was intended to help Poland comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

The Polish bill would have designated the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) as the body responsible for overseeing the crypto-asset market.

Firms operating in the industry would be required to submit information on their activities to the KNF, which would be empowered to impose sanctions if necessary. The bill would also have introduced criminal liability for offences relating to crypto-assets.

The government argued that, as well as bringing Poland in line with EU rules, the measures were necessary to protect consumers. Finance ministry data indicates that 18% of Poles have experience investing in cryptoassets and around a fifth of them have fallen victim to fraud or abuse, reports the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

 

In November, the legislation received final approval in parliament, where it was supported by the ruling coalition, which ranges from left to centre-right. The right-wing opposition voted against it, but did not have the majority required to block it.

It then passed to Nawrocki, who is aligned with the opposition and has regularly exercised his right to veto bills. Deputy finance minister Jurand Drop, who led work on the crypto-assets bill, appealed to Nawrocki to sign it into law.

He warned that the EU’s MiCA regulation requires member states to designate an authority to oversee the crypto market. If Poland does not do that by 1 July 2026, crypto firms will not be able to register in Poland and will instead move to other EU countries, Drop told PAP.

That would mean fees and tax revenue from services provided to Polish clients going abroad, said the deputy minister. And, if Polish customers have problems with their accounts, they would have to seek assistance from foreign service providers.

However, on Monday evening, Nawrocki’s chancellery announced that the president had decided to veto the bill as he believes it “posed a real threat to the freedoms of Poles, their property and the stability of the state”.

The president expressed concern, for example, that the law would have “allowed the government to disable the websites of cryptocurrency companies with a single click”. His office argued that “the regulations regarding domain blocking are opaque and potentially open to abuse”, and more stringent than in other countries.

Nawrocki also expressed concern at the “sheer size and resultant lack of transparency” of the legislation. He pointed to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, which have implemented regulations of around a dozen pages at most, whereas Poland’s bill was over 100 pages long.

“Overregulation is a surefire way to push companies abroad, instead of creating the conditions for them to earn and pay taxes in Poland,” wrote the president’s office.

Finally, Nawrocki argued that the level of regulatory fees included in the bill had “been set at a level that prevents small businesses and startups from developing, while favouring foreign corporations and banks”, thereby “killing the competitive market, and seriously endangering innovation”.

“The crypto-assets market requires regulation, but [in a way that is] reasonable, proportional, and safe for users,” wrote presidential spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz. “The government had two years to prepare an act consistent with the European MiCA regulation…Meanwhile, a legal mess was created.”

The president’s decision was welcomed by Sławomir Mentzen, one of the leaders of the far-right opposition Confederation (Konfederacja) group. Mentzen, who is a well-known proponent of crypto, said that the bill would have “destroyed the Polish cryptocurrency market”.

However, Nawrocki’s decision was condemned by figures from the government. “Poles [will be] the only ones in the EU left without protection; fraudsters have a free pass; and Putin is rubbing his hands,” tweeted government spokesman Adam Szłapka.

“When the bubble bursts and thousands of Poles lose their savings, at least they will know who to thank,” wrote foreign minister Radosław Sikorski.

“Already, 20% of [crypto] clients are losing their money as a result of abuses in this market,” commented finance minister Andrzej Domański. “We wanted to protect them, [but] the president chose chaos and takes full responsibility for his actions.”

Last month, news service WNP reported that most entities in the Polisy crypto market supported introducing the bill, even if just to bring more clarity and predictability.

“The law isn’t perfect, but we have to start somewhere,” Piotr Brewiński, president of the FinTech Poland Foundation, told WNP. “We’re already a year and a half behind on the regulations, and we can’t afford further delays, which will put the industry in an even more difficult position.”

XTB, a Warsaw-based brokerage firm that offers an online trading platform, appealed to Nawrocki to sign the bill, warning that not doing so would “mean uncertainty and hinder investor protection as well as the development of the sector”.

However, other representatives of the industry called on Nawrocki not to sign the bill, saying it would harm the development of the market, reports PAP.


Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Pierre Borthiry – Peiobty/Unsplash

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