Poland Is Close to Overregulate Its Crypto Market
The lower house of the Polish parliament, the Sejm, has approved a new crypto regulation. It implements the EU directive known as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), which is compulsory for all member states of the European Union. The new law, however, faces heavy criticism. Critics argue it is too strict and could make Poland one of the most regulated countries in the EU in the crypto assets market.
Strict licensing regime and penalties
Bill 1424, which still awaits formal confirmation of its third reading in the Sejm, introduces a licensing regime for crypto asset service providers (CASPs), aligning Poland’s regulations with the EU’s MiCA framework.
The bill’s passage has sparked a strong community response due to its restrictive provisions, which introduce criminal liability for violations — including fines of up to 10 million Polish zlotys ($2.8 million) and prison terms of up to two years.
Some fear that only large players will survive. “KNF (the Polish Financial Supervision Authority) gains broad authority, which may carry serious consequences,” Łukasz Pierwienis of Binance Poland told the Warsaw Business Journal. Others cite “gold-plating” — excessive national enhancements of EU rules — as a danger to innovation.
Supporters argue the regulation marks the end of the crypto “Wild West” in Poland and is necessary for investor protection. The law now heads to the Senate and the President, who may veto it.
KNF becomes the main regulator
The bill designates the KNF as the primary regulator of the country’s crypto asset market. Under the legislation, all CASPs — including exchanges, issuers, and custody providers, both domestic and foreign — must obtain a license from the KNF to operate in Poland.
To secure a license, CASPs must submit a comprehensive application detailing their corporate structure, capital adequacy, internal controls and compliance systems, risk management policies, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures.
Janusz Kowalski, a Sejm member from the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, criticized Poland’s implementation of MiCA as overly restrictive and warned it could jeopardize the country’s crypto market and its three million holders. “This is the largest and most restrictive cryptocurrency law in the EU,” Kowalski wrote on X after the bill passed its second reading.
He highlighted the law’s excessive length, calling it “118 pages of overregulation” compared with much shorter legislation in Germany, the Czech Republic, and other EU member states.
Tomasz Mentzen, a Polish politician and blockchain advocate, pointed out the challenges of implementing the new legislation given Poland’s slow regulatory procedures. “The KNF is the slowest-acting regulator in the EU, with an average application processing time of 30 months,” he wrote on X. He urged the Senate and President Karol Nawrocki to veto the legislation to safeguard Poland’s crypto market.
Sources:
https://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm10.nsf/Glosowanie.xsp?posiedzenie=41&glosowanie=63
https://cointelegraph.com/news/poland-parliament-passes-crypto-bill-criticism