The president vetoed the bill on the crypto-assets market. “A legal mess has arisen”

President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the act on the crypto-assets market – informed the press spokesman for the head of state, Rafał Leśkiewicz, who called it a “legal mess”, posing a real threat to Poles' property and the stability of the state. This decision fulfills Nawrocki's election promise, but at the same time means a further delay in the implementation of the European MiCA regulation in Poland.

“Today, the President of the Republic of Poland decided to veto the act on the crypto-assets market. President Karol Nawrocki uses the constitutional prerogative of veto only when the provisions threaten the freedoms of Poles, their property and the stability of the state. And this act creates such real threats,” the president's spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz said on the X.com website.

‼️Today, the President of the Republic of Poland decided to veto the act on the crypto-assets market. President Karol Nawrocki uses the constitutional prerogative of a veto only when regulations threaten Poles' freedoms, their property and the stability of the state. And this bill…

— Rafał Leśkiewicz (@LeskiewiczRafa) December 1, 2025

Why did the president veto the bill on the cryptoasset market?

As Rafał Leśkiewicz pointed out, President Nawrocki exercised his constitutional right to veto due to three key problems regarding the bill adopted by the Sejm. The most important of them was “the government's ability to disable the websites of cryptoasset companies with one click.” According to the Chancellery of the President, opaque domain blocking regulations can lead to abuse, and if a website is taken down, people lose access to their digital assets.

The second argument for rejecting the act was excessive regulation and lack of transparency in the adopted solutions. “While the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have implemented regulations of several or a dozen pages, the Polish act has over a hundred of them. Overregulation is a simple way to push companies abroad – to the Czech Republic, Lithuania or Malta – instead of creating conditions for them to earn and pay taxes in Poland,” the president's spokesman pointed out.

The last issue was the amount of supervisory fees. “They were set at a level that will prevent the development of small companies and startups, and will favor foreign corporations and banks. This is a reversal of logic, killing the competitive market and a serious threat to innovation,” said the Chancellery of the President.

What's next? We are facing further delays

“President Karol Nawrocki emphasized during the election campaign that he would not allow regulations limiting freedom of investing in modern assets. The crypto-assets market requires regulations, but reasonable, proportionate and safe for users. The government had two years to prepare an act consistent with the European MiCA regulation on the crypto-assets market in the European Union. Meanwhile, a legal mess has arisen that affects Poles and Polish companies,” the president's spokesman pointed out.

On the other hand, President Nawrocki's decision extends the legislative paralysis. Poland is over 11 months behind in the implementation of MiCA. As market experts pointed out, this delay creates regulatory chaos and the risk of the European Commission opening infringement proceedings against Poland. There is also a real fear that Polish companies will not be able to obtain a license by the deadline set for the end of June 2026, when the transitional period specified in the MiCA directive, which cannot be extended, ends.

The president's center took the position that although regulation is necessary, it must be “reasonable, proportionate and safe.” Experts participating in consultations on the draft act on the crypto-assets market have repeatedly emphasized that politicians were deaf to many of the doubts they raised. Many companies in the industry asked for the president's veto. On the other hand, people asked to sign the act, among others: XTB and the Fintech Poland association, pointing out that although it is bad, it will be better than none.

An alternative draft law implementing the EU directive, whose submission to the Sejm was announced by PiS MP Janusz Kowalski, is being developed under the leadership of a team of a well-known cryptocurrency market expert, Prof. Krzysztof Piech. According to preliminary information, this act is intended to minimally adapt Polish law to EU requirements, avoiding over-regulation. It also assumes the establishment of a new supervisory office that will take control of the crypto market in Poland. The only question is whether such an idea will gain the approval of the parliamentary majority and how long the legislative process will take.

MM

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