Poland finds itself in a regulatory vacuum once more. President Karol Nawrocki vetoed for the second time a law that was meant to align domestic rules with the European MiCA framework (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation). While part of the crypto community welcomes his move as a defense against “overregulation,” domestic firms warn of unequal conditions and the threat of business migration to other EU states.
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Second veto in several months
The president last week refused to sign draft law No. 2064, which was meant to implement the European MiCA regulation into Polish law. According to his office, the text was “virtually identical” to the previous draft No. 1424, which he vetoed in December.
MiCA represents a single European framework for regulating cryptocurrencies and crypto service providers. EU member states must designate a supervisory authority and introduce a licensing process so that firms can operate under the new rules during the transitional period. For Poland, the key date is July 1, 2026.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) had previously warned that the country has yet to designate a competent authority to oversee the crypto market. This means local firms currently lack a clear path for applying for a MiCA license.
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President: Poland should attract innovation
Nawrocki defends his veto by arguing that the draft law represented excessive regulation that could stifle the sector. “I will not sign a bad law simply because a parliamentary majority approved it again. A bad law remains a bad law, even if it passed a hundred times,” the president stated. In his view, Poland should attract innovation, not drive it away.
Criticism of the draft also came from the political arena. Polish politician Tomasz Mentzen called it “extensive overregulation” that could hamper the crypto sector.
The debate has thus revealed a deeper divide within the Polish government: some political representatives push for stricter implementation of European rules, while others warn against excessive bureaucracy.
Regulatory asymmetry: Foreign exchanges have the edge
Paradoxically, the absence of implementing legislation does not create a freer environment but rather an imbalance.
Foreign companies that obtain a MiCA license in their home country can “passport” their services to other EU states—including Poland. This means, for example, that American crypto exchange Coinbase, which secured a MiCA license in Luxembourg in 2025, has already expanded its services in Poland.
Conversely, domestic firms do not yet have a formal opportunity to begin the licensing process directly in Poland.
“This does not change our strategy,” said Sławek Zawadzki, co-founder of the Kanga Exchange, in an interview with Cointelegraph. According to him, the firm has always anticipated that the implementing law might not enter into force on time and has prepared an alternative jurisdictional solution abroad. He described the situation as a “regulatory asymmetry.”
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Smaller firms could disappear from the market
Przemysław Kral, CEO of Zonda Crypto, a Polish-founded exchange now registered in Estonia, comments even more sharply on the situation. The company has been operating outside Poland for some time and also plans to obtain a MiCA license in another country and subsequently “passport” it back.
“We are confident we will remain a key player in the market. However, many small Polish crypto firms may lose the opportunity to operate in the market,” warns Kral.
It is precisely smaller local projects that may be most vulnerable. They lack the capital and legal infrastructure of major players to quickly relocate their headquarters to another jurisdiction and undergo the demanding licensing process abroad.
What’s next?
After the second veto, the possibility of a new, more lenient draft is beginning to emerge. Polish economist Krzysztof Piech announced that he is working on an alternative, “more crypto-friendly” version of MiCA implementation. According to him, the proposal is in its final preparation stage.
The question remains whether a new law can be adopted in time before the transitional period, or whether Poland will enter the summer of 2026 without a clear domestic framework.
For ordinary cryptocurrency users, nothing dramatic changes for now—exchanges continue to operate. For the sector itself, however, uncertainty is crucial. It will determine whether Poland becomes a hub for digital innovation or a market from which crypto firms migrate elsewhere within the European Union.
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