the scandal around the stock exchange fuels the dispute between Tusk and Nawrocki

The United States is also involved in the case. Zondacrypto sponsored last year's Polish edition of the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), during which former Secretary of Homeland Security of President Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, supported Nawrocki before the presidential elections.

Tusk's government has used the Zondacrypto scandal to push through long-blocked, EU-backed cryptocurrency legislation, while the opposition opposes the measures, which it sees as politicized repression.

The prime minister – who has a long-standing political dispute with Nawrocki – linked the stock exchange to the president's two vetoes of the bill implementing the EU regulation on markets in cryptographic assets (MiCA), which sets industry standards and safeguards for investors in crypto assets and companies providing services in this field.

Last month, Nawrocki stated in an interview with Channel Zero that Tusk's government risks paralyzing the cryptocurrency market through over-regulation. — The government does not protect the interests of Polish citizens. As a result, he wants to drive the entire cryptocurrency market out of Poland using brutal methods, including those who act honestly and do not cheat people. This does not solve any problem, Nawrocki said.

Zbigniew Bogucki, head of Nawrocki's office, said the president is not against regulating cryptocurrencies, but has reservations about what he called the “flawed regulatory model” proposed by the government.

The fight is intensifying

However, Tusk is taking advantage of the investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange as a political weapon against his opponentsclaiming — without providing public evidence — that Zondacrypto was built with “Russian money.” He said Zondacrypto's ties to the Polish right wing undermine efforts to better regulate cryptocurrencies, although the exchange is currently registered in Estonia, which has already implemented the EU's MiCA regulation.

— The cryptocurrency market and, more broadly speaking, the crypto-assets market, must be subject to regulations. Otherwise, it will be open to fraudsters and scammers, and this will lead to complete chaos, said Finance Minister Andrzej Domański in an interview with POLITICO.

In a social media comment, Kral condemned what he called “politically motivated attacks on our stock exchange.” He also emphasized that his company was solvent and rejected allegations that it had been stripped of its assets.

“Attempts to involve me and Zondacrypto in current political disputes are as absurd as they are harmful to the Polish innovation market,” he said.

Zondacrypto is closely linked to the activities of conservative political parties. — We know that Zondacrypto financed various activities of the right-wing political scene, including the CPAC event in Poland, Domański added.

The Sovereign Poland Institute, a foundation associated with former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, admitted in April that it had received PLN 450,000 from Kral. zloty. However, she emphasized that she did not ask him for a donation.

Zondacrypto is also one of the main sponsors of the Polish Olympic Committee.

The District Prosecutor's Office in Katowice said in a statement on April 17 that it had initiated an investigation into Zondacrypto “based on complaints from victims and media reports indicating problems with the withdrawal of funds collected on the Zondacrypto platform.”

Zondacrypto is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Central Europe and allowed investors to trade over 150 cryptocurrencies. Prosecutors said the exchange's customers were misled about the ability to buy and safely store both traditional money and cryptocurrencies on the exchange, prompting them to make financial decisions that led to losses.

Russian thread

Tusk claims that this is more than just a regulatory problem. He presented his arguments in a closed session of parliament and then said publicly that “the company's financial success is due not only to Russian money linked to the so-called Brava – one of the most powerful mafia groups in Russia – but also to Russian intelligence agencies.”

Zondacrypto did not respond to a request for comment.

While prosecutors try to build a case against the stock exchange, investors are turning to lawyers for help.

— So far, several dozen people have contacted my office, and new ones come forward every day. Individual losses range from several thousand zlotys to seven-digit amounts, Robert Nogacki, managing partner and founder of the Skarbiec law firm that handles complaints from Zondacrypto clients, told POLITICO.

Zondacrypto's growing problems prompt right-wing politicians to distance themselves from the company.

Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of PiS, said last week that Tusk's accusations are “an attempt to shift the blame for the cryptocurrency scandal onto Law and Justice.” “Our party has absolutely nothing to do with this,” he said.

PiS President Jarosław Kaczyński in the plenary hall of the Sejm, April 30, 2026.Albert Zawada / PAP

— I am a strong supporter of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies. And of course I will support such a bill, he added. Kaczyński also rejected allegations that PiS-linked groups received money from Zondacrypto.

Leaders of the far-right Konfederacja party, which is a strong supporter of cryptocurrencies, they are trying to distance themselves from Zondacryptowhile attacking Tusk.

Krzysztof Bosak, one of the party leaders, called on Tusk to make public the allegations he made against Zondacrypto during a closed session of parliament. He also questioned the need to regulate the cryptocurrency market.

“I still don't think the government should regulate the cryptocurrency market,” he said last week. – He lacks the tools to do this, and it goes against the very nature of the cryptocurrency market.