Cryptocurrencies “incompatible with decency”, but taxes have to be paid. Ministry of Digitization with a surprising decision
The decision contrasts with the mission declared by the ministry to support digitization and equalizing the opportunities of innovative entities. MOBIATR has become a popular KYC tool and is used by banks, insurers and the e-commerce sector because electronic identity confirmation shortens the registration process and reduces service costs. By blocking the cryptocurrency exchange, the government de facto hinders customers access to a fully legal investment product, and at the same time accepts the same risks at bookmakers.
– The Ministry of Digitization in 2025 recognizes cryptocurrencies as “incompatible with decency”. This is not only incomprehensible – it is compromising – says Przemysław Kral, president of the Zondacrypto stock exchange for Business Insider. And he adds: – We are an regulated entity, licensed in seven countries. In Estonia, the integration with the local counterpart of the mobititel took place without obstacles, and what is more, the supplier invited us to cooperate. Only in Poland innovation is supposed to be allegedly arguing with morality.
The government will be happy to collect the tax on “immoral” cryptocurrencies
The moral argument sounds even less in the light of fiscal practice. A pit line tax in the amount of 19 percent is collected from profits from cryptocurrencies trading in Poland. – Exactly The same as with classic capital instruments.
The tax office does not refuse to accept these revenues, and the growing number of taxpayers reporting revenues from cryptocurrencies contribute to increasing budget revenues.
It is also impossible to ignore a wider regulatory context. The EU MICA regulation entered into force in June 2023 and on December 2024, it came into force in relation to stock exchanges and other cryptococation service providers. It imposes uniform requirements for transparency, licensing and supervision. Thanks to this, entities that meet standards, including zondacrypto, can provide services throughout the EU on uniform principles.
Member States have until June 30, 2025 to report full national solutions to ESMA, but Poland has still not presented a dedicated act implementing MICA.
Meanwhile, the demand for cryptocurrencies is already an important economic phenomenon. According to the latest study, UCE Research and ARI10 invests 18.4 percent in them. adult Poles. This is one of the highest penetrations in the region and proof that the market is no longer niche. For this group Simplified registration using a mobitiel would mean faster and safer access to the stock exchange in accordance with European AML regulations.
– Poland does not yet have a law implementing MICA, and yet it considers cryptocurrencies too dangerous to be able to register on the stock exchange via a mobile. That is Lack of regulation is also a reason to block the industry that is striving for these regulations. This is a vicious circle and proof of the institution's lack of readiness to talk about innovations – notes Przemysław Kral.
– Instead of looking for a common language and supporting domestic companies that are the first to wipe the routes in the world of new technologies, the Polish government chooses the door closing. It is all the more painful because, as Zondacrypto, we have been supporting education for years, training uniformed services or public officials. Regulators from other EU markets, including The European Commission invites us to talk. Polish, in turn, prefer to ignore the topic – he adds.
It is worth emphasizing that All of Europe implements Mica and focuses on transparency, security and development of the crypto market. Poland – when assessing the Ministry's decision – seems to last in another reality, where administrative decisions are based on unclear criteria of “good customs”.
Gambling services are supported
In practice, the effect of refusal is the opposite to the declared purposes of consumer protection: it limits the competition of licensed platforms, strengthens less transparent alternatives and hinders tax enforcement.
It is also difficult to find equal treatment of industries. The ministry accepts the use of mobitiel for gambling, in which addictions and social costs are well documented, and refuses to a sector that has been subjected to strict European regulation.
From the point of view of investors and technology companies, the signal is unambiguous. Poland is still behind the EU's uniform digital market and its own fiscal interest. Although the state downloads 19 % Tax on profit from cryptoctives hinders legal entities in harmony with the law.
If the national implementation of MICA and a more coherent approach to digital identification does not appear by June 30, 2025, Poland risks the loss of a part of the dynamic fintech segment in favor of jurisdiction, which combine consumer protection with regulatory pragmatism.
– As an entrepreneurs, we only want equal rules and opportunities to develop modern services for our users. If bookmakers can be a part of digital Poland, it should be the more that it can be a stock exchange legally and responsibly approaching their mission – emphasizes Przemysław Kral.
We contacted the Ministry of Digitization regarding this decision and asked for a comment. “Each administrative decision signed by an authorized official of the Ministry of Digitization is issued based on individual factual and legal circumstances, which are described in detail in the justification of the decision. It happens that In some cases, the interpretation of the regulations is difficult due to the residual and ambiguous regulations” – the Ministry's Communication Office informed us.
“In accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure, a party dissatisfied with the decision may apply to the Minister of Digitization within 14 days from the date of its delivery to reconsider the case, which will result in re -analyzing the circumstances of the case. Regardless of the above with the above We will verify and interpret the regulations in the field of cryptoactive market and the Mobatcian application – In the light of the new regulations prepared on this market, “we read in response.
