Poland Misses Third Chance to Implement MiCA-Compliant Crypto Licensing Framework

Poland’s lower house voted 241‑198 on September 4, 2026, to override President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of a crypto‑licensing bill, but missed the three‑fifths supermajority (266 votes) by 25. The failure leaves the country without a functional framework to implement the EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA), the only EU member state in that position.

What the Bill Would Have Done

The proposed Act on Crypto‑Asset Markets aimed to align Polish law with MiCA by granting the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) authority to:

• Issue licences to exchanges, custodians, portfolio managers, transfer service providers and advisory platforms.
• Enforce compliance, including suspending transactions for up to 96 hours, imposing fines, and blocking websites of unlicensed or fraudulent operators.
• Introduce consumer‑protection rules such as mandatory token‑issuer disclosures and criminal liability for certain violations.
• Cap supervisory fees at 0.4 % of revenue for service providers and 0.5 % for token issuers.

Political Stalemate

This was the third veto by President Nawrocki since December 2025. Earlier attempts to override the veto in December 2025 and April 2026 also fell short, each missing the required 266 votes by a similar margin. The president argues the bill imposes excessive costs on smaller firms and grants overly broad powers to block websites.

Consequences for the Industry

MiCA’s transitional period ended on July 1, 2026, requiring crypto‑asset service providers to hold a licence from their home regulator. Because Poland’s KNF cannot issue licences, an estimated 2,000 registered crypto firms are now in a regulatory dead‑zone, seeking licences abroad.

Backdrop of the Zondacrypto Scandal

The regulatory impasse coincides with the fallout from the Zondacrypto exchange collapse. Prosecutors have linked the fraud to losses exceeding 350 million zlotys, with total exposure potentially reaching 2.4 billion zlotys. The exchange’s Estonian operator was declared bankrupt in August 2026, and investigations have implicated high‑profile figures in alleged misconduct.

Outlook

Poland must either draft a new bill that secures a supermajority or adopt an alternative approach to meet MiCA requirements. Until then, the domestic crypto sector remains isolated from the EU licensing regime, and the broader debate over regulation versus innovation continues.