Polish President Vetoes Strict Crypto Regulation Bill, Citing Threat to Freedom
Poland just dodged a regulatory bullet aimed straight at crypto freedom.
The President's Veto: A Stand for Liberty
In a move that sent shockwaves through Warsaw's corridors of power, the Polish president slammed the brakes on a sweeping crypto regulation bill. The official reason? An overreach that threatened to stifle innovation and personal financial sovereignty. It's a rare political win for the crypto sector in Europe, where the regulatory tide often flows the other way.
Why This Veto Matters
This isn't just bureaucratic paperwork. The vetoed bill represented a hardline approach, one that could have set a dangerous precedent for other nations watching from the sidelines. By rejecting it, Poland signals a potential middle path—acknowledging the need for guardrails without building a cage. It keeps the door open for developers and investors who see blockchain as a tool for empowerment, not just another asset class for traditional finance to eventually co-opt and dilute.
The Global Ripple Effect
Watch this space. The decision puts Poland at odds with the broader EU push for comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework compliance. It creates a fascinating tension: national sovereignty versus continental standardization. For crypto natives, it's a reminder that political advocacy works—sometimes, the system can be bypassed.
A win for crypto liberty, and a headache for bureaucrats who still think a spreadsheet is the pinnacle of financial technology. Sometimes, the old guard needs a reminder that not all innovation fits neatly into their pre-2008 rulebooks.
Government Pushes Tough Oversight for Poland’s Crypto Market
Introduced in June, the bill sought to place Poland’s digital-asset industry under strict supervisory control.
Supporters inside government said the measures were needed to protect consumers from fraud and abusive practices.
However, critics, including opposition lawmaker Tomasz Mentzen, had predicted that the president WOULD refuse to sign it after it cleared parliament, describing the draft as a blunt instrument that punished legitimate firms alongside bad actors.
The president’s office highlighted several flashpoints. One was a clause that would give authorities wide powers to block websites linked to crypto activity.
Prezydent RP @NawrockiKn odmówił podpisania ustawy o rynku kryptoaktywów.
Zdaniem Prezydenta, zawetowane przepisy realnie zagrażają wolnościom Polaków, ich majątkowi i stabilności państwa. https://t.co/ZBXaZg5uQI pic.twitter.com/27n7gpAayF
“Domain-blocking laws are opaque and can lead to abuse,” the statement said, warning that such tools risk being used beyond their original purpose.
Nawrocki added that the legislation was so dense that it undermined transparency, particularly when set against leaner frameworks in neighboring Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.
Overly tight rules, he added, would simply drive companies, and tax revenues, to more welcoming jurisdictions such as Lithuania and Malta.
The president also pointed to high oversight fees baked into the bill, arguing they would deter startups while favoring large foreign firms and banks.
“This is a reversal of logic, killing off a competitive market and a serious threat to innovation,” he said.
Polish Ministers Slam President’s Crypto Veto
Meanwhile, members of the government moved quickly to condemn the veto.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański accused the president of having “chosen chaos,” while Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski warned that the absence of new controls would leave savers exposed if markets turn.
Crypto advocates pushed back, saying the blame for scams and losses rests with enforcement failures, not with the rejection of a single statute.
Economist Krzysztof Piech argued that Poland is not operating in a regulatory vacuum, noting that the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets law will bring union-wide investor safeguards from July 2026.
Jakie dobre, konkretne wytłumaczenie, o co chodziło w tej ustawie…
Z dedykacją dla całej koalicji rządzącej, która krypto nie ogarnia, ale głosuje tak musi.
Od 1 lipca 2026 cały polski rynek będzie uregulowany i nadzorowany – nawet bez żadnej ustawy. Jesteśmy bowiem w UE. https://t.co/YCiLmut4xp
In October, Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, said Russia is using cryptocurrencies to pay saboteurs carrying out hybrid attacks across the European Union.
The method, he said, allows Moscow to conceal financial flows and evade detection by Western intelligence services.
Cenckiewicz said the FT that Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, has been using crypto to finance operations ranging from sabotage to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
