Polish President Karol Nawrocki vetoed a cryptocurrency regulatory bill for the third time, which sought to implement Europe's Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the country.
Nawrocki said Thursday he supports regulating the cryptocurrency market but argued that the government incorporated only one of 16 key amendments proposed by his office. He said that the text was nearly identical to the previous two drafts he refused.
The third veto of the bill delays Poland's alignment with the EU-wide regulatory framework just weeks before the end of MiCA's transitional period on July 1. Following the end of the grace period, crypto asset service providers will be required to hold a MiCA license or stop servicing EU clients.
Poland is currently the only EU member state without a domestic MiCA implementation. Following the July 1 deadline, Poland-based crypto asset service providers without a MiCA license may lose the legal basis to serve EU customers.
Related: MiCA architect says EU should prioritize tokenization over DeFi rules
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk slammed the veto in a Thursday X post, writing: “It sounds unbelievable, but the president has vetoed the cryptocurrency bill again. He seems more entangled in it than everyone thought.”
Source: Donald Tusk
Political deadlock deepens over crypto bill
The decision adds to Poland’s political standoff on how the country should oversee crypto assets. It comes nearly two months after Poland’s parliament failed to reverse the second veto issued by President Nawrocki.
Lawmakers fell short of the 263 votes needed to override the veto in an April vote on the bill, which is backed by Tusk’s government and seeks to align Poland with MiCA.
Nawrocki has reportedly defended his opposition by citing concerns about excessive regulation, limited transparency and the potential burden on small businesses.
Government officials warned that delays leave consumers and businesses exposed to fraud and abuse.
The third veto comes as scrutiny of Poland's crypto sector intensifies. Prosecutors are investigating one of Poland's largest crypto exchanges, Zondacrypto, for suspected fraud and money laundering involving 2,000 customers with alleged links to Russian organized crime.
Zonda CEO Przemysław Kral has denied accusations of misappropriating funds.
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