Crypto asset regulation in Poland remains in limbo after the parliament upheld a presidential veto. The government’s push for greater supervisory powers, motivated by concerns over money laundering and Russian intelligence operations, has been thwarted.
The deadlock over the crypto bill underscores the intense feud between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Karol Nawrocki. Their ongoing conflict impedes policy at a time when Warsaw perceives a significant and growing threat from the US.
“It is beyond doubt that this arena is highly exposed to manipulation by foreign services, spy agencies, and criminal syndicates,” Tusk told the assembly. “Our duty is to provide the state with mechanisms so it is not defenseless.”
The prime minister initially shared sensitive intelligence with lawmakers in a private briefing. Following the vote, he took to a social media platform to assert that the decision favored “Russian capital and operatives against the safety of the nation and its people.”
Had it passed, the bill would have transposed the EU’s MiCA regulation into national statute. This would have given Poland’s financial authority new oversight of the cryptocurrency landscape and created criminal liability for certain activities involving Bitcoin or Ethereum.
