Jessie A Ellis
Apr 18, 2026 13:16
Polish lawmakers fell 20 votes short of overriding President Nawrocki’s veto, leaving Poland as the only EU state without MiCA implementation.
Poland’s parliament fell short of the votes needed to override President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of a crypto regulation bill Friday, leaving the country as the sole EU member state without Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) implementation.
The override attempt mustered just 243 votes against the veto—20 shy of the 263 required—while 191 lawmakers backed the president’s position. The failed vote extends a political deadlock that began in December 2025 when Nawrocki first rejected the legislation.
Regulatory vacuum creates deadline pressure
The stakes extend beyond political theater. Virtual Asset Service Providers currently operating under Poland’s transitional anti-money laundering framework face a hard deadline: they must obtain full CASP licenses by July 1, 2026, or cease operations. Without implementing legislation, the path to licensing remains unclear.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański warned that continued delay risks turning Poland’s crypto market into an “El Dorado for fraudsters.” The bill would have granted the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) expanded powers to suspend trading and halt token offerings—measures critics argue could stifle innovation.
Nawrocki has defended his vetoes on grounds of excessive regulation and potential harm to small businesses. “I will not sign a wrong law just because it was passed again by the parliamentary majority,” he said after vetoing a nearly identical bill in February. “A wrong law that passed a hundred times still remains a wrong law.”
Zonda controversy clouds debate
The regulatory fight has become entangled with accusations against Zonda, Poland’s largest crypto exchange. Prime Minister Donald Tusk alleged the platform has ties to Russian criminal networks and has funded political opponents—claims Zonda CEO Przemysław Kral dismissed as “absurd” attempts to drag the company into “political squabbles.”
The exchange faces separate troubles. Kral disclosed last week that a wallet reportedly holding $330 million in Bitcoin—approximately 4,500 BTC—remains inaccessible. He claims control of the wallet stayed with former CEO Sylwester Suszek, who disappeared in 2022.
What happens next
The government reintroduced a virtually unchanged bill within days of December’s first veto defeat, suggesting another attempt is likely. But with Nawrocki showing no signs of softening his position, Polish crypto firms face growing uncertainty.
Some aren’t waiting around. Reports indicate companies are already seeking MiCA licenses in other EU jurisdictions—a regulatory arbitrage that could see Poland’s crypto industry migrate elsewhere before domestic rules materialize.
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