Poland upholds crypto bill veto as Zondacrypto scandal widens

Polish lawmakers have again failed to secure the three-fifths majority needed to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of the country’s crypto market.

The Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, on Friday voted 241-198 in favor of overriding the veto, with three abstentions, falling 25 votes short of the 266 needed.

The vote was yet another attempt to advance Poland’s crypto market rules after President Karol Nawrocki vetoed crypto legislation three times, arguing that the proposed rules would overregulate the industry.

The regulatory dispute comes amid a deepening scandal involving defunct crypto exchange Zondacrypto, with its Estonian operator declared bankrupt and Prime Minister Donald Tusk citing an expanding criminal investigation to push for tighter crypto oversight.

Poland remains without MiCA crypto supervisor

The vetoed legislation was designed to establish Poland’s national framework for applying the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), including placing oversight of the crypto market under the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).

KNF said Friday that the country still lacks a designated authority responsible for supervising the cryptoasset market, despite MiCA already applying across the European Union.