Poland’s Crypto Law Proposal: Minimal MiCA Implementation Hits Parliament

Poland's legislature is now weighing a new cryptocurrency bill—one that implements the bare minimum of the EU's sweeping MiCA regulations. The move signals a deliberate, strategic sidestep.

Why Go Minimalist?

The proposal essentially checks the compliance box while granting domestic crypto firms maximum operational breathing room. It adopts only the foundational requirements from MiCA, avoiding the more stringent operational and capital rules that could stifle local innovation. Think of it as regulatory arbitrage in legislative form.

The Warsaw Workaround

By implementing a 'light-touch' version, Poland positions itself as a potential haven for crypto businesses looking for an EU foothold without the full burden of MiCA's rulebook. It’s a calculated play to attract capital and talent—a classic case of a nation betting on regulatory divergence to gain a competitive edge. After all, in high finance, the best returns often come from finding the loophole before it gets patched.

This isn't just a policy shift; it's a provocation. Poland is testing the limits of EU harmonization, betting that a minimalist approach will fuel its own digital economy faster than Brussels can object. The message to the crypto world is clear: one door is starting to close, but another might be cracking open—with fewer forms to fill out.

Citizens restart crypto regulation process in Poland

An alternative bill aimed at regulating the Polish crypto market, arguably the biggest in Eastern Europe, has been presented for public consultations.

The document, which was submitted to the Sejm earlier this month, has now been published by the lower house of Polish legislature.

The new legislation is authored by experts in the field, including lawyers and representatives of businesses and financial institutions.

The group is led by Prof. Krzysztof Piech, head of the Blockchain Technology Center at Warsaw’s Lazarski University, the Bitcoin.pl portal reported.

This week, the Polish economist took to X to urge interested parties to acquaint themselves with the draft available for review on the parliament’s website.

More than 30 people were involved in the effort to give Poland the concise legal text that can help it become a crypto hub, he revealed earlier on LinkedIn, stressing:

“This is an expert version, not an industry one … nor is it an initiative of the President … nor is it a project in an election campaign, because it was not about taking side in the dispute, but solving a real market problem that politicians in the current situation are not able to solve.”

Piech also noted that the move is not formally a civic one either, as this would have required the gathering of 100,000 signatures. The bill was officially filed by Sławomir Mentzen, the pro-crypto candidate of the far-right political alliance Konfederacja in the last presidential election.

Latest regulatory push follows government failure

The new legislation was put forward after the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk tried but failed to impose its vision of how the Polish crypto space should be regulated.

The law drafted by the center-right, liberal-conservative ruling Civic Coalition proved controversial, with members of the Bitcoin community claiming it may kill domestic crypto business through overregulation and high compliance costs that go far beyond the latest EU standards.

Poland’s Crypto-Asset Market Act was vetoed twice by President Karol Nawrocki, who was elected in 2025 as the candidate of the right-wing, national-conservative Law and Justice party.

In his motives, the head of state alleged that the provisions threaten the freedoms and property of Poles as well as the stability of their country.

The Tusk cabinet responded with a probe, accusing Nawrocki of attending to the interests of an industry allegedly infiltrated by players linked to Russia and other former Soviet states.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), which had been granted excessive oversight powers, warned that all Polish crypto platforms may soon become illegal if Warsaw does not enforce a low introducing Europe’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules by the July 1 deadline.

New bill bets on minimalistic MiCA enforcement

The expert-written draft proposed now is significantly thinner than the 60 pages prepared by the government, Prof. Piech indicated, detailing:

“The starting point were the shortest laws in the EU: Cypriot, Slovak or Latvian.”

Thus, the “EU+0” approach chosen by its authors is based on a simple implementation of the European regulations, with some “Poland-specific solutions,” and fair fees for crypto firms.

The plan has already been backed by relevant organizations, including the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, the Polish Blockchain Association, and the Polish Bitcoin Association.

At least 231 out of a total of 460 votes are needed to push the proposal through the Sejm, before it goes to the Senate, the upper house of parliament, and eventually hits Nawrocki’s desk for signature. Given its independent origin, it is not impossible for this to happen.

About 3 million people are believed to be engaged, one way or another, with the Polish crypto sector, which is the largest in the eastern part of the European Union.

The authorities in Poland should act fast and wise this time, as other nations striving to become MiCA gateways are already trying to snatch some of its crypto business, as recently reported by Cryptopolitan.

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