President Karol Nawrocki has blocked Poland’s long-anticipated “Crypto-Asset Market Act,” saying the invoice’s broad powers would undermine civil freedoms, endanger property rights, and destabilize the nationwide economic system.
The transfer has sparked a nationwide debate, drawing reward from the crypto group and fierce criticism from authorities officers pushing for stricter oversight.
Notably, the invoice, accredited by the Polish Sejm in late September, was supposed to align the nation with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Property (MiCA) framework. As an alternative, it now finds itself on the heart of a political standoff that might affect Poland’s digital-asset panorama for years.
In keeping with a Monday observe by President Nawrocki, one of the vital troubling components of the invoice was its provision permitting authorities to disable or block web sites linked to cryptocurrency providers.
He argued that such broad powers lacked the transparency and safeguards seen in comparable EU rules, warning that “a single click on” could possibly be used to stifle professional companies and silence innovation.
Nawrocki mentioned the measure “opened the door to abuse,” including that related legal guidelines in neighboring nations have been far narrower and designed with clearer checks and balances.
The president additionally criticized the dimensions and complexity of the invoice, which stretched over 100 pages, far exceeding the regulatory frameworks adopted by nations just like the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Overregulation is a surefire approach to push firms overseas—to the Czech Republic, Lithuania, or Malta—as a substitute of making the situations for them to earn and pay taxes in Poland.” He warned.
Excessive regulatory charges have been one other sticking level. Nawrocki argued that the proposed price construction would make it almost inconceivable for home startups to compete, leaving the market to massive overseas companies and monetary establishments.
“This can be a distortion of competitors and a risk to innovation,” his workplace mentioned.
Members of the ruling coalition responded sharply, accusing the president of undermining shopper safety efforts at a time when crypto-related fraud stays a persistent concern.
Deputy Finance Minister Jurand Drop warned that with out a designated supervisory authority, as required by MiCA, crypto companies could also be unable to register in Poland after July 1, 2026. This might set off an exodus of firms to different EU states, taking charges, tax income, and buyer safety mechanisms with them.
Reactions from the crypto business have been combined. Whereas some organizations argued the invoice would lastly carry readability to a fragmented market, others noticed the laws as excessively restrictive. Sławomir Mentzen, a right-wing opposition determine and outspoken crypto advocate, celebrated the president’s resolution, saying the invoice would have “destroyed the Polish cryptocurrency market.”
Elsewhere, economists like Krzysztof Piech added that MiCA’s EU-wide guidelines, which take impact in mid-2026, would finally present the wanted investor protections with out the burdens imposed by the Polish invoice.
