Polish parliament keeps crypto bill veto intact

TLDR

Polands parliament has again failed to overturn the presidents veto on a major crypto regulation bill, so the veto and legal gap remain in place.

1. The Sejm fell short of the supermajority needed to override President Karol Nawrockis veto of the Crypto-Asset Market Act, its third failed attempt.
2. Poland stays the only EU member without a national MiCA framework, forcing local crypto firms to seek licensing and compliance in other countries.
3. Lawmakers are preparing a fresh draft, but its fate will hinge on addressing both Nawrockis concerns and the political fallout from the Zondacrypto scandal.

Deep Dive

1. Tight Vote, Veto Still Standing

On 6 Sep, the Sejm voted 241 in favor, 198 against, with 3 abstentions, failing to reach the 266 votes needed to override Nawrockis veto of the Crypto-Asset Market Act, so the veto remains legally in force. Reports describe this as the third unsuccessful override attempt and note that Nawrocki has rejected versions of the bill multiple times, arguing that legislators addressed only a small fraction of his proposed changes and insisting that bad law does not become good law simply because it passes a hundred times. Finance coverage confirms the vote tallies and sequence of vetoes.

2. Regulatory Gap And Business Impact

Because the veto stands, Poland remains the only EU member state without a functioning national framework implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which already applies EU-wide. The bill would have designated the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) as the crypto regulator, but in its absence KNF has publicly acknowledged that no clear authority exists, leaving firms in a gray zone on licensing and enforcement. Coverage notes that many Polish crypto operators will have to register in other EU jurisdictions to obtain MiCA-compliant permissions before serving Polish users under EU passporting rules, increasing cost and complexity for domestic businesses.

3. Scandal And Next Steps

The debate is heavily colored by the collapse of Zondacrypto, once Polands largest exchange, with alleged customer losses around $9495 million and a sprawling fraud and corruption probe involving figures such as the head of the Polish Olympic Committee. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has argued that stronger oversight could have prevented such abuses, while Nawrocki warns that overly broad powers, including website blocking, would drive legitimate firms abroad rather than protect consumers. After the failed override, the Finance Ministry is now drafting a new bill to align Poland with MiCA, according to officials quoted in legislative reporting. The key question is whether a revised proposal can satisfy enough of the presidents objections to pass in the coming months.

Conclusion

Polands decision to keep the veto intact prolongs its status as the EUs main regulatory outlier on crypto, pushing local firms to structure around foreign regimes while political actors argue over how hard to clamp down after Zondacrypto. The next meaningful signal will be the content and reception of the new draft bill; until that clears, Polands crypto sector operates in uncertainty within an otherwise harmonized European framework.