Polish lawmakers approve MiCA-style crypto rules

TLDR

Polands lower house has approved a MiCA-aligned crypto bill, moving toward EU-style licensing and oversight for crypto but leaving a presidential veto risk in place.

1. Lawmakers passed a Ministry of Finance bill to implement EU MiCA, empowering regulator KNF to license and sanction crypto-asset service providers.
2. The push is driven by an EU MiCA deadline and a major Zondacrypto fraud probe that has exposed regulatory gaps.
3. The bill still needs Senate and presidential approval, so Polish users and firms face both incoming stricter rules and ongoing political uncertainty.

Deep Dive

1. What The Bill Changes

Polands Sejm approved a government-backed bill (No. 2529) to align national law with the EUs Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in a 241200 vote during its 57th sitting in Warsaw, according to parliament-focused coverage.

The bill designates the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) as the national crypto regulator and introduces a licensing regime for all crypto-asset service providers, including exchanges, issuers, and custodians, domestic and foreign. KNF would be able to impose administrative sanctions, freeze accounts and transactions, and levy fines reportedly up to 25 million zlotys under the framework described in a detailed policy analysis.

Critics argue the text still includes broad domain- and account-blocking powers with limited judicial oversight, which was one of President Karol Nawrockis main objections in earlier vetoes. That raises both consumer-protection benefits and free-speech or overreach concerns for crypto businesses.

2. Why It Passed Now

MiCA is already in force at the EU level, and member states need domestic rules in place ahead of key deadlines in July, with transitional regimes for existing providers ending July 1, 2026, as highlighted in EU implementation coverage. Poland had been the last EU country without such a framework.

At the same time, prosecutors are pursuing a multi-million dollar fraud probe into Zondacrypto, formerly Polands largest exchange, where more than 350 million zlotys (about $96 million) in customer funds are inaccessible and alleged Russian-linked influence is under investigation, according to case reporting.

This scandal, plus warnings from the financial watchdog that failure to implement MiCA could leave Polish firms unable to operate legally across the EU, created strong political pressure to finally pass a tougher bill despite earlier presidential vetoes.

3. Impact And What To Watch

If enacted, the law will require exchanges, brokers, custodians, and token issuers serving Polish clients to obtain a MiCA-compliant license under KNF, with stricter KYC/AML, governance, and reporting standards similar to other EU states.

However, the bill must still pass the Senate and be signed by President Nawrocki, who has twice vetoed similar drafts and is widely expected to consider doing so again due to concerns over one-click domain blocking and high supervisory fees noted in policy commentary. Continued deadlock could push local firms to seek licenses in other EU jurisdictions while foreign MiCA-licensed providers passport services into Poland.

Conclusion

Polands approval of a MiCA-style bill in its lower house is a significant step toward bringing its crypto market under the same licensing and investor-protection regime as the rest of the EU.

The combination of a looming MiCA deadline and the Zondacrypto collapse has tilted politics toward stricter oversight, yet presidential veto risk keeps the outlook uncertain. How Warsaw resolves this standoff will determine whether Polish crypto activity consolidates into regulated, MiCA-licensed players at home or increasingly migrates to other EU hubs.