Poland’s crypto licensing deadlock is handing foreign EU firms an advantage

Poland’s failed crypto vote has left domestic firms unable to seek licenses while EU-authorized rivals continue entering the market.

The Sejm failed Sept. 4 to override President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of legislation needed to implement parts of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, prolonging a licensing gap more than two months after Poland’s transition period expired.

Lawmakers recorded 241 votes to re-enact the bill, 198 against and three abstentions, falling short of the threshold required to overcome the June 11 veto.

Without the legislation, Poland has yet to designate the domestic authority needed to process ordinary MiCA applications. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority’s office has said authorization proceedings cannot begin until that designation is made by law.

That leaves firms seeking a Polish license stuck even as competitors authorized elsewhere in the bloc retain a route into the same market.

EU licenses offer a way around Poland’s blockage

MiCA allows an authorized crypto-asset service provider to operate across member states through its home regulator.

A firm can notify that regulator of the countries and services it intends to cover and begin cross-border activity once it has transmitted the information, or after the applicable waiting period. Polish regulators have confirmed that route remains available.